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When disaster strikes, a seasoned firefighter and the chief medical examiner join forces to rebuild their city – and ignite a fire for each other they can’t extinguish.

On a dark and stormy morning, a tornado touches down in Fox County, destroying homes and families and uncovering decades-old secrets.

Dr. Amelia Trace has been training to handle a mass fatality for years, but when she arrives on the scene with her forensics team, things are worse than she could imagine. Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, a teenager’s sleepover has ended in tragedy… and the fire department’s newest recruits are running around like a litter of unruly puppies.

Fire Lieutenant Simone Olivier is getting serious side-eye from the beautiful, stern medical examiner and she’s ready to put her rookies on a leash when one of them discovers a victim with a bullet wound. The scene becomes a homicide investigation – Dr. Trace’s turf – and with a killer on the loose, it’s all hands on deck before the evidence gets washed away in the rain.

Simone and Amelia team up to catch the killer, but can these career women find room for love too?

242 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2021

125 people are currently reading
197 people want to read

About the author

Cara Malone

68 books477 followers
I write stories that explore the thrills – and challenges – of falling in love as a woman-loving woman, including the bestselling Lakeside Hospital medical romance series and Rainbow Award honorable mention The Rules of Love.

My books are for you if you’re a fan of contemporary romance, if you love strong women who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable, and if you like a little heat with your sapphic love stories.

Grab a free copy of Mind Games on my website, CaraMalone.com

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5 stars
247 (46%)
4 stars
200 (37%)
3 stars
78 (14%)
2 stars
8 (1%)
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3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
Profile Image for Kexx.
2,342 reviews104 followers
March 14, 2023
Love this series and this is a real banker. An ideal story to get lost in. Will be moving on to book 4. Highly recommended.
150 reviews3 followers
November 17, 2021
I’ve really enjoyed this whole series. It’s cool with the criminal element attached to the romance. This was a quick love as many lesbian relationships are. I’m glad they at least addressed that and didn’t hide how quick it came to be. The MCs just connected and they had great chemistry.

This was a quick and entertaining read by Malone. I’ve come to expect consistency from her and that’s nice to have going into a new book.
Profile Image for Gail.
990 reviews58 followers
June 24, 2021
The Fox County Forensics series continues with a worthy #3 - an age gap suspense/romance featuring the Medical Examiner and Fire Lieutenant for the County as well as supporting characters from previous books particularly Tom. I was hooked from "It was a dark and stormy morning". Amelia and Simone feel an instant attraction at their first meeting right after a devastating tornado. Dealing with the aftermath plus a possible murder discovered at the same time adds intrigue. While the romance with our leads blossomed so did the added twists and turns pulling me further into the plot. Ms. Malone's storyline has murder, suspense, sex and the dark side of humanity - what a tangled web. There are also intermingled, a few dangling issues to be dealt with in the future, I suspect. Looking forward to more books in the series. I easily recommend this with 5 stars.

I rec'd an ARC from the author however, my review is completely voluntary and unbiased.
Profile Image for Lorraine Rusnack.
1,130 reviews33 followers
June 24, 2021
I am really excited reading this series. Each story has its own crime to be solved and you get one more piece of the mystery yet to be investigated. Amelia is the very hot ME for Fox County and she meets Simone a firefighter at the scene of a disaster. You just know things are going to heat up between them. This is a great series and I recommend that you start at the beginning with Mind Games.

I received an arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
10 reviews
Read
July 24, 2021
Interesting mystery but very little character development. The relationship never face or resolve serious crisis experiences that need to be worked through. Quick read.
Profile Image for Nicole.
382 reviews32 followers
July 7, 2022
I am liking this format, these shorter stories that all tie together to make one much longer story. I am invested now.

What I don't like? Age-gap romances. The worst thing about them, and I will grant that I am stereotyping; not all authors write them this way, but that the older person in the relationship is always really insecure. It is so, so common to see that partner written in a way that portrays a near-constant fear of being left for being too old or losing their beauty or some other, superficial thing. And all that does is cheapen the relationship. It makes it seem like they aren't in it for the right reasons, that they think their partner only loves them for the wrong reasons, and that they are doomed to failure. And in some ways, there are circumstances in which genuine concern may rise in which an age gap is a potential problem. But it isn't usually written quite so well, so...authentically.

Was this the worst example of that? Not by far. In fact, I thought Amelia overcame her concerns pretty quickly, and the age gap was just that: numerical fact. But it is still worth saying that I am tired of seeing phrases like 'she'll want someone her own age' or 'want someone who can keep up' or 'need someone less jaded, who still wants adventure and children and blah blah blah'. There is always some variation of those things.

Anyway, I did enjoy this romance. Simone is someone I would like to get to know better as a character, and I hope to see more of in future books. Also, it was nice to get some really good sex scenes. A few recent romance reads I have had focused more on the implication of intimacy than anything that really happened, and I don't like those. I am using my imagination enough as it is, picturing what I am reading, can we not play metaphorical? As for the plot, the mystery of it all, that was even better. We will never know now if there was rape at play or not, but that phrase 'consent was a different animal back then' makes me wonder. It also pisses me off, because PC wording aside, consent is consent, regardless of the time period. Sounds like some douche took advantage of a situation, is what it sounds like, and only now laments that he couldn't get away with the same sort of thing 20 years later. But I never saw the double paternity lies coming.
Profile Image for Rachel.
29 reviews
June 23, 2021
I got an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Ok, folks, full disclaimer: Age-gap is not my thing. It used to be fine, not something I actively looked for but not something I avoided if I stumbled upon it, but due to some family matters that aren’t worth mentioning, I find myself extremely uncomfortable with age-gap. Thankfully, the gap in this book wasn’t that big (nine years), so I was able to mostly ignore it. Nonetheless, I’m afraid that has influenced my overall enjoyment of the book, and I think it’s something you should take into account when reading my review and using it to gauge if this book is worth reading.

Anyway, let’s start, shall we? I’m going to rate this book with a 3.75. As always, good plot with likable and relatable characters. You can feel the chemistry between Simone and Amelia, and how cute they are together. The romance felt a bit rushed, though, like they said “I love you”s too soon, about a month or so in. Admittedly, I’ve never been in a relationship before, so what do I know? All relationships are different, too, so maybe what’s fast for one is extremely slow for another. 🤷🏻‍♀️

There were quite a few chapters written from the perspective of some characters who were important to the story, but not that much? I felt like they gave some interesting insight into the story, making it more three dimensional, but at the same time I kept thinking, “screw this crap, just give me more Simone/Amelia goodness”. 😜 Maybe that’s also why their romance felt rushed, we don’t get as much of the pair’s interactions in this book as we usually get, and it made it seem like they didn’t spent as much time together.

Finally, I’d like to add that I found it difficult to get into the story at first, I kept getting distracted and tempted to skip pages. That may have been because of the age-gap thing, though. Also, the story picks up a few chapters in, so if you find yourselves in my situation just keep on reading (make sure to resist the temptation to skip pages cause there’s some pretty important info at the start, and you’re gonna be a bit lost later on if you don’t know it) and you’ll be rooting for our love birds in no time.

As always, any questions are welcome and will be answered happily.
Profile Image for Mari Stark.
257 reviews6 followers
June 29, 2021
4.5 stars

Number three of the Fox County Forensics series keeps delivering

When a natural disaster hits the town, Medical Examiner Dr Amelia Trace is ready to handle a mass fatality, but she didn’t expect it to be as big as it was; as well as she didn’t expect to feel an instant attraction for the Firefighter chief, lieutenant Simone Olivier. A mystery/murder is discovered and they are ready to find the culprit and deal with the heat growing between them.

As every book of the series, this can be read as a standalone but I suggest reading the previous books first, not only because they are great books, but because helps to know a bit more of the life in Fox County and we get to know about the other characters.

Something I enjoy besides the plot, character development and romance in this series, is we got a glimpse of the characters from previous books. Somehow give us a bit of follow-up on their HEA.
Cara gave us another very well-developed story, we have two mystery plots in this one, as usual, kept me on edge, but enjoying every second. Although, I was expecting the second mystery plot to be developed in this book, but looks like will be in the next one. This time we only got a hint of what’s coming.

This book is more dedicated to the romance than the mystery solving. I loved seeing the story of Amelia and Simone, how it grew beautifully, but I would like to see more of the mystery.

I like both characters very much, both are amazing, strong women, and each one as chiefs, have a main role in their expertise side. I was eager to know about Amelia story since the previous book, I am very glad this is about her. And was a delight to know Simone. Their chemistry is tangible from the beginning, and believable. Good thing Simone is a firefighter because there was a serious fire between them.

If you like a well-developed story, relatable characters, a good mystery to solve and a beautiful romance, this book and this series is definitely for you.

I received an ARC copy of the book from the author and voluntarily leaving my review.
Profile Image for Heather Chase.
51 reviews1 follower
May 10, 2022
A tornado touches down in Fox county, Dr. Amelia Trace; medical examiner and forensic pathologist, and Simone Olivier; firehouse lieutenant, jump into action. For Dr. Trace it’s cataloging remains and getting them into the refrigerated truck as they are found. For Lieutenant Olivier that means search and rescue, but also finding the deceased. As well as making sure it’s safe for the police and M.E. to enter destroyed buildings. While rescuing a mom and a group of teenage boys that got trapped in the basement of a torn apart house they find the remains of a girl who no one seems to recognize. Upon further inspection of her body they find a bullet wound. The rest of the book follows Amelia and Simone’s love story and the mystery of who was this girl and what happened to her. I rated it three stars because I didn’t like this book as much as I liked the second one in this series. I did like this one more than the first book however. Once again I love how this book is set in the same “world” as the previous ones, but the main characters are not the same. I wish more authors would follow this outline for series. I am not sure how I feel about the “Clark” chapters. It definitely feels like we are building up to something big, but for there to be a couple of teaser chapters in two books and still not go into more of the bigger story has me cautious. There is some great potential for a really good thriller novel, but with what I’ve seen from this author so far I don’t want to get my hopes up too high. Romance with a side of mystery seems to be her comfort zone.
Profile Image for Terri Noftsger.
479 reviews5 followers
February 22, 2022
I read this book in 2 days. If I had had the time I would have read it in one day. The chapters are short. It is a very propulsive read. This book is a lesbian romance, suspense, First Responder, disaster and recovery novel that touches on date rape, women’s safety in our society, and career vs relationships. I really liked the two main characters. I enjoyed the romance. I enjoyed the story of how First Responders (Fire Fighters) and the Coroner’s Office both respond to a natural disaster. While this series of novels does not need to be read in order. (This is the first book that I have read in this series. This book is the third in the series.) This book sets up the next book while being whole and complete in itself. When I go back and read the first two novels, I suspect that this novel was set up in the last one.
As in many lesbian novel series, each romance centers on the two main characters. Characters from previous novels can and do appear, but are not central to the story of the current novel.
The end of this novel was satisfying. The epilogue was unsettling. For me, and the mood I was in, I would have preferred to end in a high note. I would have preferred the epilogue be the last chapter and a happy ending be continued in the epilogue. Because of this, in my personal book journal I rated this book 4⭐️ for enjoyment, 4 ⭐️ for craft, and 3 1/2 ⭐️ overall. This won’t stop me from reading more from this author. Armed with this knowledge, I will be prepared for future readings of this author’s books.
1,276 reviews
June 23, 2021
I'm really enjoying the Fox County Forensic series and this one is full of secrets discovered after a tornado destroys many homes and leaves three dozen fatalities. Medical examiner Amelia Trace and fire lieutenant Simone Olivier are brought together by this awful natural disaster and their teams of secondary characters certainly enrich the plot.

I have always enjoyed Cara's writing style, whether she is penning a rom-com or a serious subject matter. This one is the latter. If tornado destruction is not enough, there's a homicide investigation that brings in Detective Tom Logan from the first two books. If you've read the previous books, you'll remember him as a bit of a matchmaker, too, so Amelia and Simone really can't help but get their HEA. While digging into the investigation, some twists and turns are discovered that I never saw coming, but thankfully nothing is graphic.

This story is full of wonderful characters, an exciting plot and great writing which I thoroughly enjoyed. Kudos, Cara, kudos!
Profile Image for J H.
526 reviews12 followers
October 4, 2021
Good, but had factual errors

I've been enjoying this series quite a bit, and I will continue to read it. Fox County seems to be a good place for lesbians to find love and excitement. I hope it never runs out of them!

Usually, I'm able to overlook most issues with a well-written book, but this time there were many significant ones. I'm older, and I have experience with some parts of the book. I don't think these things will be obvious to some readers, but they will be to others. I'm in my 50's, I was a Girl Scout when I was young, I was an X-ray tech (a radioGRAPHER takes them, a radiOLOGIST reads them), and I've had multiple surgical incisions, so I have insight on what was stated about each of those. I also had an issue with not knowing how to operate what was found in the ashes, but a safe of different ones was hauled out of the house with a crane. It would have been familiar, basic knowledge to use it.

All in all, it was still good, if I were able to make allowances for the greater errors.
Profile Image for Kris.
168 reviews3 followers
December 31, 2021
Book 3 in Cara Malone’s romantic suspense series has the darkest overall atmosphere yet still develops a sweet and tender age gap romance.

In the wake of a tornado, Fox County is in a state of emergency and tragedy. Fire Lieutenant Simone and Chief Medical Examiner Amelia both struggle to handle the difficult circumstances, even needing to solve a possible murder, all while developing an intense connection with one another.

The death and destruction of this installment lend to a much more somber tone. Malone manages to blend the lighter and darker aspects to create a very balanced and enjoyable story. The message of hope among the devastation was very appreciated.

The romance between Simone and Amelia is sweet and quite passionate. There is an instant spark of attraction that is fueled by the tragic events but levels out into a wonderful relationship.

The main antagonist of the series is still relatively quiet and only has a couple small parts.

The suspense and romance are both great and make this a perfect read for fans of the genre.
Profile Image for Katia M. Davis.
Author 3 books18 followers
August 22, 2021
Intriguing

I think this is my favourite book of the series so far. It felt more well rounded and more engaging than the first two. I particularly enjoyed the slow burn chemistry between the two mains and the fact both characters were good communicators so there was no silly drama. The main focus was clearly the criminal investigation and the romance, while at times quite hot, did not detract from that. If you enjoy fast paced forensic investigations that involve fire and rescue, this is a decent read.

Edit - damn cat jumped on my Fire and hit the submit button before I was done writing or fixing typos. Lol.
474 reviews2 followers
September 4, 2021
Good book

As working alcoholics Simone and Amelia found each other during a tornado. Simone a lieutenant with the fire department is trying to to help Tom and Amelia with all the bodies from the tornado when the find a person who was shot. Amelia who's working like crazy to get everyone back to their families told Simone that she was to busy to have a relationship with anybody. But Simone is persistent with what she wants. A beautiful love story during a time when things can be crazy
Profile Image for Carolyn G. Manuel.
1,070 reviews
March 16, 2023
Tornado

Dr. Amelia Trace is the Medical Examiner for Fox County. As she gets out of her car the tornado siren sounds and she runs into her building for cover. After the storm she deploys all of her people to handle the disaster and meets Lieutenant Simone Oliver, a firefighter, who is working the same neighbourhood. In the remains of a house they find a dead young woman no one knows. She been shoot and the hunt is on. Amelia and Simone are drawn together by the mystery and their growing need for love. Love the author and characters.
Profile Image for Rowan.
310 reviews3 followers
June 24, 2021
Another book in the Fox County series, but certainly can be read alone.
Medical Examiner Amelia meets Fire Lieutenant Simone when they are on a job together. They are immediately attracted to each other, but both are very busy with the aftermath of a tornado and a potential killer on the loose. This is a well written mystery with a good romance thrown in. Another excellent book from Ms Malone, would highly recommend.
Profile Image for Ash.
35 reviews
June 24, 2021
A great addition to the Fox County Forensics series, this book has mystery, romance, and humour throughout.

I really enjoyed the new characters, and the cameos from characters from the previous books - I would have enjoyed it even more if some of the details of the mystery were a little more filled out though; a couple of things didn't get fully explained by the end!

I received an arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Aris Duarte.
288 reviews3 followers
June 29, 2021
This series keeps getting better and better. Simone and Amelia meet at a disaster scene after a devastating tornado hits Fox County. They come together as colleges, lovers and buddies on their way to solver a mystery.

The cliffhanger from the past 2 books is just something I need to know more and I hope we can see more about it in the next book.

Another great book from Cara Malone that won't disappoint.
296 reviews2 followers
July 17, 2021
A very good read

Simone and Amelia’s journey was fraught with obstacles, suspense, and through it all … love prevails. Well developed characters and plot. I’m looking forward to the sequel. Clark is unnerving and filled with demons. I’m anxious to see how his sinister efforts are thwarted! I enthusiastically recommend this and any other works by this author. Thank you Peace
Profile Image for Rocío.
172 reviews1 follower
July 19, 2021
Book 3 in the Fox County Forensics series.
Amelia is a medical examiner and doesn't want a relationship. Simone is a firefighter and is not keen of a relationship either but when they meet in an after tornado scene, that seems to change.
You can read this book as a stand alone but I would recommend to read the whole series because it is quite interesting and enterntaining.
I highly recommend this book, as well as the other two.
Profile Image for Michael Wells.
1,088 reviews6 followers
June 29, 2021
Simone the firefighter and Amelia the county coroner met in the middle of a tornado emergency. The story goes from there. The main characters are very different. The plot is good and kept my interest. There was a lot of action throughout along with betrayal and mystery. The book lends it self to a sequel and it should be good. I recommend the is book for romance and mystery readers.
Profile Image for Susan.
671 reviews3 followers
September 23, 2021
Great!

Another well written book with engaging characters and a captivating storyline. This book can be read as a stand alone but it's always more interesting to me knowing the back stories of the supporting characters, the stars, if you will, from previous books in the series. Cara Malone is an author whose books belong on your lesfic must read list!
175 reviews2 followers
January 12, 2022
I loved this couple

Things get wild with the tornado that comes through. There’s the young woman’s body found in the house and I didn’t expect it to twist like that. I guess I was thinking she was another victim of the ride share guy. I think he is the creepiest character Cara has written. I think about him now when I hike and come across a guy on his own out there.
Profile Image for Jessica.
34 reviews11 followers
January 24, 2022
I was hoping this would be different than your typical romance novel and more focused on the forensics storyline. This was over the top cheesy and predictable. Saying "I love you" after 3 weeks of knowing each other and celebrating a 3 month anniversary. Do adults celebrate monthly anniversaries? It felt a bit cringy. It's fine for a fast read I guess.
Profile Image for Sam Way.
119 reviews3 followers
April 19, 2022
3.5*

Another good story. I’m enjoying the series, the relationships are very fast paced, which is pretty accurate for a lot of lesbian couples 😂 There must be something in the water in this town, most of the women in it are queer. It’s my kind of town.

I’m intrigued by this Clark character. Onto the next one… 👍🏻
Profile Image for Em.
1,667 reviews15 followers
June 23, 2022
“Simone hooked her finger under Amelia’s chin and tilted her face up to look into her eyes. ‘I don’t want you to worry about me. I won’t leave you.’”

Heroine: 42 year old Amelia Trace
Heroine: 33 year old Simone Olivier

The mystery continues with the big bad guy in the background. Not too much revealed in the newest installment. Tragedy hits Fox County and it brings change, loss, and new beginnings. Both Amelia and Simone are at the top of their professions that are typically dominated by men. They singularly focus on the job and their personal life suffers. But when they work a case together, priorities shift.

Cliffhanger – no (book #3 in series)
POV - Amelia & Simone
56 reviews1 follower
September 14, 2023
Kudos to Cara Malone

Cara has done it again. I LOVE this series! Each story has its own mystery and of course a bourgeoning love story that’s fun to watch develop toward the happy ending. And after the “happy ending” she leaves you with knowledge of more to come… I highly recommend the whole series!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews

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