I can't believe this series is not popular. This is quite similar to the 'In Death' series with the murder, mystery and romance. I read 'In Death' quite some time ago, but I think I like this Fatal series Book 1 even more so, because the humours make me grin stupidly and some of the the part is quite emotional. I actually did cried, albeit not bawling my eyes out. I'm not sure how the rest of the series will be, but Fatal Affair is such a great read. The lead character Detective Sam Holland is smart, witty and compassionate. What I really like is that she had such a supportive family and co-workers. Her sidekick, Freddie, the 27 years old virgin and her quadriplegic dad, who is an ex-cop and her Uncle Joe.
Fatal Affair began with Nick, the chief of staff for Senator John O' Connor, who happened to be his boss and best friend since Harvard, died and gruesome dead at home. By luck, Sam was assigned to the case and we learned that Nick and Sam had an one night stand six years ago. From their first meeting at the crime scene, you can feel that this two still had feelings for each other. Honestly, I hope Marie Force did a short novella on the prequel, they way this two keep thinking about each other for six long years, I'm sure their one night stand is very special and I was wondering how both of them got hooked up in the first place.
I was so invested on the romance and also the mystery surrounding the senator's death itself. This is no easy feat, as most of the time the author can't keep my interest in both department. Thrown in some crazy convict's wife who threaten Sam's life and her crazy ex-husband. We can really feel Nick's grief on the death of his only friend and he still needs to be the pillar of support for the O' Connor family he came to love. When Sam started to investigate and dig deeper into John O' Connor's life, Nick started to realise that he didn't actually know about his friend at all.
Nick is such an endearing character. I'm not sure if being in politics, make him such a diplomatic person. The way he deal with Sam's outburst and behaviour can definitely put him in the spot of best boyfriend we often dream about. Although, they both have arguments and misunderstanding like normal couples do, what I like most is, they often came around and settle the issue without dragging it out. The funny part is when we learned about his OCD behaviour. When Sam asked 'When are you going to turn into a jerk?' I thought the same too! He is so kind and understanding that I fear Marie Force will consider making him a jerk in the next book to create some drama. I hope not.
I think this book has it all, is funny, is romantic, is emotional and the mystery is engaging as well. I really want to know who is the killer from the get go.
Sam asked Nick about his past relationship,
"There was this one girl...."
"What happened?"
"She never returned my calls" (he is referring to Sam)