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Fatal Affair by Marie Force

Washington, D.C., Metro Police Detective Sergeant Sam Holland needs a big win to salvage her career—and her confidence—after a disastrous investigation.

The perfect opportunity arises when Senator John O’Connor is found brutally murdered in his bed, and Sam is assigned to the case. Things get complicated when Sam has to team up with Nick Cappuano, O’Connor’s friend and chief of staff…and the man Sam had a memorable one-night stand with years earlier. Their sexual chemistry still sizzles, and Sam has to fight to stay focused on the case. Sleeping with a material witness is another mistake she can’t afford—especially when the bodies keep piling up.



Nick, the man behind the man, finds the man in his bed... murdered. And who happens to catch the case? The woman who he hasn't been able to stop thinking about since their one night together. It's been six years since he's seen Sam, but she has never been far from his mind... or he hers.

I really enjoyed this story and how the author meshed the romance with the chaos of the murder investigation. And while I did find Sam's attitude to be too aggressive and irksome on occasion, it wasn't enough to overshadow how truly wonderful she was. It was probably because of how well her character played off of Nick. She constantly had something to prove, but she had her reasons (psycho ex that she should never have married, boys club on the police force, legacy of her cop father, etc.)

I didn't enjoy the way that Sam worked the case. She created theories and tried to fit the evidence to her theories, which wasn't what I would expect from a seasoned investigator. It's like the evidence didn't mean as much as the story she was hoping the murder would tell. I knew from the start that she was offbase, however, I didn't know who the murderer was and loved being surprised.

My favorite person was obviously Nick (with Freddie coming a close second and I'm looking forward to reading more about the virgin homicide detective) and he definitely made this story for me. His compassion, strength of character, and capacity for love and understanding made him a standout in this story. So for every moment I was annoyed by Sam, I had to only remember that Nick was worth it.

Side Note:
I did have issues with the accuracy of police procedure in this book. I've both prosecuted and defended defendants and here in Ontario, the police don't have the power to throw around the way Sam did. She threatened arrests without probable cause, she demanded persons of interest to stay in town under threat, and basically abused the power of her station. Probable cause and evidence didn't seem to carry any weight. Not to mention the way she processed a case. Theories before evidence... just no.


Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, romantic suspense and erotic romance. Her series include Gansett Island, Fatal, Treading Water, Butler Vermont and Quantum.

Her books have sold nearly 10 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller more than 30 times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, as well as a Speigel bestseller in Germany.

Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.

Visit http://marieforce.com for more information