by Marie Force
Part of Fatal, book 7
First published 2014
Police Lieutenant Sam Holland and Senator Nick Cappuano expect a peaceful Thanksgiving with their son. Instead, they discover Sam's seventeen-year-old niece Brooke collapsed on their front steps, barely alive and soaked in blood. As Sam investigates the brutal attack, the case becomes deeply personal. The boundaries between her role as aunt and detective start to crumble. Social media posts from that night raise troubling questions about Brooke's version of events. Sam suspects her niece isn't revealing the complete truth about what happened. Nick begins questioning Sam's methods and moral choices as she pushes harder for answers. The investigation puts their marriage under strain just when Sam needs his support most. Time runs short as Sam faces an agonizing choice: how far will she bend the rules to protect family? She must prove Brooke is innocent before the evidence turns her niece from victim into prime suspect.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: family-drama, unreliable-narrator
359 pages · Kindle Edition · Carina Press
Content warnings: violence