REVIEW: Fatal Invasion by Marie Force

In Fatal Invasion (Fatal #13) by Marie Force, Lieutenant Sam Holland and her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano, have had their fair share of challenges since falling for each other. But the newest homicide case Sam is investigating changes everything. After a horrific fire kills a prominent businessman and his wife, leaving their twin five-year-olds orphaned, someone needs to step up as their advocates. And Nick and Sam are just the people to do it. One look into the scared eyes of the two young children and they know they’ll move heaven and earth to keep them safe and show them the care and love they so need.

“When are you going to tell me you’re sick of me, my job, the chaos, the drama?”
“Never.”
“You say that now.”
“I mean it forever. I knew exactly who and what I was marrying. Don’t be waiting for me to start hassling you about the things that make you who you are. It’s not going to happen.”

As the homicide case progresses and Sam is up to her eyeballs sorting through leads, Sergeant Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales faces down his own demons. Those of a more personal nature, as he battles his grief and guilt over his partner’s death several months ago. Hiding his true feelings and his coping mechanism from everyone around him, Gonzo realizes too late that he’s pushing away the people who not only love him, but those who can help him through his grief. It will take some hard work, but Gonzo can only hope that he’ll be able to get himself back on the straight and narrow before he hurts anyone else he cares about.

‘Everyone needed him, wanted a piece of him, expected things from him when his well was empty. He had nothing to give them. Couldn’t they see that?’

With a thrilling plot and intriguing dynamics between a stellar cast of characters, Fatal Invasion had me reading at a fevered pace all the way through until its emotional end.

‘She was known for her ability to soldier through the worst of times, but sometimes it was just too much for even her to handle.’

Trigger warning: View Spoiler »Torture, murder, drug addiction. « Hide Spoiler

Okay, so I’m late to the party for Marie Force’s popular Fatal series but I can definitely see what all the fuss is about. I fell hard for Sam, Nick, Scotty, Gonzo, Christina and the rest of the characters, who were all unique and multi-dimensional. I ended up loving the multiple POVs which made it easier for me to jump in here at book thirteen. There was definitely a learning curve, but thanks to Force’s descriptive writing and the bits of background she included, I was able to piece things together quite nicely.

I was impressed with how complex the story was and how Force was able to blend in all the emotions I expect in her books along with the gritty, realistically depicted issues the group faced. And it wasn’t just Sam and Nick–a kickass couple who I adored–but everyone who had something major going on in their lives, whether it was something deeply personal or how the home invasion case affected them. Gonzo’s part of the storyline, particularly, was raw and heartbreaking. But it also felt like something very prominent in today’s world that readers will likely (sadly) relate to.

Nick and Sam truly were awesome. They were both such strong individuals with huge generous hearts. But together as a couple, they were indomitable. Their relationship had passion galore (it *is* a Marie Force book, after all!) but Sam and Nick also worked so well as a team, helping each other and even bouncing ideas off one another when facing the many tough situations they did in this book. Their adopted son Scotty was a great part of the story and such a cool teenager who had obviously been through a great deal in his young life. I loved what he was able to add to not only Nick and Sam’s lives, but to the lives of a few other unexpected guests they had in their home. *sigh*

A layered storyline with heart, drama, touching moments, and even some laughter, Fatal Invasion is a prime example of why I became–and continue to be–a fan of Marie Force’s work.

Book Info:

Published November 27th 2018 | HQN Books | Fatal #13

First the fire, then the heat…

A brutal home invasion. Two small traumatized survivors who may have witnessed the horror. Lieutenant Sam Holland has never worked a case quite like this one, in which her eyewitnesses are five-year-old twins. But when Sam steps up in a big way for them, she risks her heart as much as her career.

While Sam and her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano, go to battle in more ways than one for her tiny witnesses, her colleague Sergeant Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales battles his own demons. Months of unbearable grief and despair come to a head in an unimaginable way that threatens Gonzo’s status with the department and his relationship with his fiancée, Christina.

With trouble both at the precinct and on the case, Sam struggles to keep her priorities straight at home and at work while trying not to lose her heart to her latest crime victims.