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Fatal Fallout
Torn between duty and desire, two strangers must risk all for love
Nuclear physicist Dr. Claire Fleming has one rule: never get close to anyone. But when her colleague is murdered and she's targeted next, she must place all her trust in FBI agent Thomas Kincannon. Soon Claire forgets her tenet as she fantasizes about Thomas's touch.
Thomas is wildly attracted to Claire. But his life and his job are too complicated for any romantic entanglements. Despite this, they share a mind-blowing kiss, and there's no turning back. When Thomas's niece is abducted, the stakes become dangerously higher as Claire insists he trade her for the child. Somehow, Thomas must find a way to rescue his family and protect the woman who let her protective walls down just for him.
Nuclear physicist Dr. Claire Fleming has one rule: never get close to anyone. But when her colleague is murdered and she's targeted next, she must place all her trust in FBI agent Thomas Kincannon. Soon Claire forgets her tenet as she fantasizes about Thomas's touch.
Thomas is wildly attracted to Claire. But his life and his job are too complicated for any romantic entanglements. Despite this, they share a mind-blowing kiss, and there's no turning back. When Thomas's niece is abducted, the stakes become dangerously higher as Claire insists he trade her for the child. Somehow, Thomas must find a way to rescue his family and protect the woman who let her protective walls down just for him.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 2014
5 people are currently reading
419 people want to read
About the author
Lara Lacombe
74 books171 followersLara Lacombe is a recovering research scientist turned college professor who now spends her days writing and wrangling a toddler. She lives in Texas with her family and two entitled cats, and loves chocolate and her Crock Pot. She uses Facebook to procrastinate--stop by Lara Lacombe Books if you'd like to chat!
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 4, 2014
Good book with good suspense. Claire has been working with a Russian counterpart to help safely dispose of radioactive material from their decaying power plants. When her colleague is murdered and Claire receives a threat against her life, the FBI steps in to protect her. Thomas is much more than she expected.
I liked Claire. She is strong, independent and intelligent. She is also wary of getting emotionally involved with anyone. It hurts too much when they leave. Ivan's murder has left her feeling vulnerable and Thomas's presence makes her feel safer. She doesn't want to be attracted to him, but her body isn't listening to her brain. She is drawn to his strength, but also to his sense of humor and his love for his family. I loved seeing her open up to him about her past and how she realizes that it is still affecting her life now. Those issues create an opportunity for misunderstanding that sends her running when an old girlfriend of Thomas's shows up.
Thomas is focused on his work and his family. His brother was killed in a car accident a few months earlier and Thomas feels as though it should have been him. He spends a lot of his free time trying to fill in for his brother with his sister-in-law and especially his niece. He doesn't expect the intense attraction that he feels for Claire. He tries to fight it as it is a distraction from what he should be doing to keep her safe. But something about her is healing the hole in his life and he starts to dream of a future with her. I loved his sense of humor and how he had a way of lightening the strain that Claire was under. I felt so bad for him when his niece was taken and he had to find a way to rescue her while keeping Claire safe. I loved seeing the way that he had some things that he had to think about and readjust his reactions to at the end before he was able to convince Claire of his feelings.
I really enjoyed the suspense of the story. There was a lot going on in a short period of time. Claire and Thomas had to figure out the meaning of the papers that Ivan sent to Claire before the bad guy could stop them and kill them both. The intensity of little Emily's kidnapping and rescue as it set up the final confrontation had me turning the pages as quickly as I could to see how it would turn out.
I liked Claire. She is strong, independent and intelligent. She is also wary of getting emotionally involved with anyone. It hurts too much when they leave. Ivan's murder has left her feeling vulnerable and Thomas's presence makes her feel safer. She doesn't want to be attracted to him, but her body isn't listening to her brain. She is drawn to his strength, but also to his sense of humor and his love for his family. I loved seeing her open up to him about her past and how she realizes that it is still affecting her life now. Those issues create an opportunity for misunderstanding that sends her running when an old girlfriend of Thomas's shows up.
Thomas is focused on his work and his family. His brother was killed in a car accident a few months earlier and Thomas feels as though it should have been him. He spends a lot of his free time trying to fill in for his brother with his sister-in-law and especially his niece. He doesn't expect the intense attraction that he feels for Claire. He tries to fight it as it is a distraction from what he should be doing to keep her safe. But something about her is healing the hole in his life and he starts to dream of a future with her. I loved his sense of humor and how he had a way of lightening the strain that Claire was under. I felt so bad for him when his niece was taken and he had to find a way to rescue her while keeping Claire safe. I loved seeing the way that he had some things that he had to think about and readjust his reactions to at the end before he was able to convince Claire of his feelings.
I really enjoyed the suspense of the story. There was a lot going on in a short period of time. Claire and Thomas had to figure out the meaning of the papers that Ivan sent to Claire before the bad guy could stop them and kill them both. The intensity of little Emily's kidnapping and rescue as it set up the final confrontation had me turning the pages as quickly as I could to see how it would turn out.
August 16, 2023
Dr. Claire Fleming has spent so much time lost in her work that she often forgets about the world around her, that is until that one email from close friend and mentor changes everything. When she learns that her friend has been murdered and she is supposed to be next she doesn't know quite where to turn. Then FBI agent Thomas Kincannon comes into her world...
The pages of Fatal Fallout will have you on the edge of your seat the whole way through, it's pages are packed with non-stop action and intensity! I promise once you start it you won't be able to stop, I grabbed this one this afternoon thinking I'd read a chapter or two and wound up reading the whole thing in one sitting, I HAD to know what was going to happen to these characters. There is a lot going on between the pages of this one, a budding romance, a murder to solve, a child to save from kidnappers all while keeping a doctor safe from the clutches of a ruthless killer.
This was a new to me author and I have to say her well penned words definitely made a good impression, it's been a long time since I've had a book grabbed ahold of me like that and make me forget about the world around me. Highly recommend you take a chance on this one, it will keep you thoroughly entertained from beginning to end.
The pages of Fatal Fallout will have you on the edge of your seat the whole way through, it's pages are packed with non-stop action and intensity! I promise once you start it you won't be able to stop, I grabbed this one this afternoon thinking I'd read a chapter or two and wound up reading the whole thing in one sitting, I HAD to know what was going to happen to these characters. There is a lot going on between the pages of this one, a budding romance, a murder to solve, a child to save from kidnappers all while keeping a doctor safe from the clutches of a ruthless killer.
This was a new to me author and I have to say her well penned words definitely made a good impression, it's been a long time since I've had a book grabbed ahold of me like that and make me forget about the world around me. Highly recommend you take a chance on this one, it will keep you thoroughly entertained from beginning to end.
January 11, 2018
A fast paced story. I enjoyed it a lot. The characters were well written, and the bad guy was scary enough to give me the willies. I would have liked to have a little more knowledge about how his family was doing at the very end, since they were all touched by the danger. At the end Thomas made a comment to Claire about how he comes as a package deal with his mom, sister-in-law and niece, but last I checked the sister-in-law wasn't too happy about Claire being in the picture. I guess I just wanted to know that she would come around and accept Claire in the end.
January 4, 2018
Fatal Fallout by Lara Lacombe is a terrific book. Although a quite respectable length, these pages just flew by, I may have read it in record time. The characters are masterfully crafted, even the villain, and the plot is consuming. I was sucked in on the very first page (poor Ivan) and stayed there. Claire and Thomas both deserved a happy ending. I wouldn't be unhappy to read more by Lacombe about the peripheral characters as this one was so well done.
September 29, 2020
I feel connected with this couple.I just don't like the sister in law of hero. She was a bitch
October 1, 2023
I love it when you have smart and strong characters such as Dr . Claire and Thomas. This book has romance, excitement, mystery, suspence, and action with intelligence thrown in. Absolutely loved it.
September 6, 2014
Despite the fact that “Fatal Fallout” is a Harlequin romantic suspense (a genre I typically spare my mind from the pain of absorbing), Lara Lacombe’s novel surpassed my expectations. Unlike most Harlequin-published novels, “Fatal Fallout” is well written and even witty in parts. For example, the very first conversation between main characters Thomas and Claire is both relatable and hilarious. The free indirect discourse that occurs with both main characters is very effective in making the characters seem like real rather than fictional people, causing the reader to become vested in the lives of the characters and thus turning the pages to see what happens to them.
Don’t get me wrong, the novel fits well into what I can only imagine is a set criteria that the story must meet to be published under the name Harlequin, overly detailed physical descriptions of the characters, highly sexual internal dialogues, and the typical man-in-shining-armour-saves-damsel-in-distress plot. In “Fatal Fallout” the stereotypical, overly sexualised gender roles are sexy scientist meets beefy FBI agent. What I do appreciate about Lacombe’s choice in characters, though, is the fact that Claire is an intelligent, independent, and strong woman before, and even sometimes while, interacting with Thomas. When she can, Lacombe ensures her descriptive text takes on a sure sign of her own writerly intelligence. Phrases such as “lethally quiet” and “creatively gruesome” are just two of many instances of smart writing that caught my attention.
Shortly after his first meeting with Claire, Thomas’ thought process moves from the perfectly aligned drinking glasses in her kitchen cupboards to an assumption that her underwear drawer must be equally as organised. While still keeping with the internal sexual dialogue found in every Harlequin, Lacombe manages to make this particular passage, and others as well, exceptionally funny. Even the sexualised details, token requirements of Harlequin novels, are tasteful such as the phrase “the sound of him made her stomach flip-flop.” The intercourse scene itself is short, but arousing and does not take over as the major climax of the novel.
Overall, I found the 48-hour time frame that the novel’s events occur within to be the only really unbelievable aspect. Lacombe delivers a page-turner that is truly impressive to this Harlequin-skeptic!
Don’t get me wrong, the novel fits well into what I can only imagine is a set criteria that the story must meet to be published under the name Harlequin, overly detailed physical descriptions of the characters, highly sexual internal dialogues, and the typical man-in-shining-armour-saves-damsel-in-distress plot. In “Fatal Fallout” the stereotypical, overly sexualised gender roles are sexy scientist meets beefy FBI agent. What I do appreciate about Lacombe’s choice in characters, though, is the fact that Claire is an intelligent, independent, and strong woman before, and even sometimes while, interacting with Thomas. When she can, Lacombe ensures her descriptive text takes on a sure sign of her own writerly intelligence. Phrases such as “lethally quiet” and “creatively gruesome” are just two of many instances of smart writing that caught my attention.
Shortly after his first meeting with Claire, Thomas’ thought process moves from the perfectly aligned drinking glasses in her kitchen cupboards to an assumption that her underwear drawer must be equally as organised. While still keeping with the internal sexual dialogue found in every Harlequin, Lacombe manages to make this particular passage, and others as well, exceptionally funny. Even the sexualised details, token requirements of Harlequin novels, are tasteful such as the phrase “the sound of him made her stomach flip-flop.” The intercourse scene itself is short, but arousing and does not take over as the major climax of the novel.
Overall, I found the 48-hour time frame that the novel’s events occur within to be the only really unbelievable aspect. Lacombe delivers a page-turner that is truly impressive to this Harlequin-skeptic!
August 29, 2014
Fatal Fallout is a romantic suspense by Lara Lacombe. It is a great summer read and is easy to read in one day if you have lots of time to read. The story is interesting and the action keeps you on your toes while the romance portion is low key but gentle. It is romance not sex which is a delightful change.
Dr. Claire Fleming is a nuclear physicist who has kept to herself over the years. She has friends but no boyfriends. She just doesn’t let people get close because they might leave. One of her dearest friends and mentor is Dr. Ivan Novikoff of Russia. She gets an email from him which is unusual since he doesn’t like emails. He is rather paranoid about people listening in on communications. This email is different- it is a picture of “Dr. Novikoff, lying in a pool of his own blood, the horrible words painted in jagged red script across his chest. “You’re next”. Suddenly she is drawn into a world of mayhem she has never known before and has absolutely no idea why she is there. Will she ever get out of this crazy world? Will she find out why she is drawn into this mess?
FBI Agent Thomas Kincannon is taken off his other cases to take on the job of being a bodyguard for Dr. Fleming until they can figure out what is going on. He is not happy about this; but is determined to do his job. When he meets Claire for the first time, he feels a jolt of something. He wants to get to know her much better than he does. However, he curbs his interest for the time being and pays attention to his case. When the assassin comes to her home and attempts to kill her and wounds Thomas, things begin heating up. Who is this assassin and why does he want to kill Claire? Will Thomas recover enough to protect Claire?
Just as they are about to figure things out, the plot thickens with the kidnapping of Thomas Kincannon’s five year old niece. Ransom is out; but an exchange for Claire Fleming is on the table? What will they do now?
Dr. Claire Fleming is a nuclear physicist who has kept to herself over the years. She has friends but no boyfriends. She just doesn’t let people get close because they might leave. One of her dearest friends and mentor is Dr. Ivan Novikoff of Russia. She gets an email from him which is unusual since he doesn’t like emails. He is rather paranoid about people listening in on communications. This email is different- it is a picture of “Dr. Novikoff, lying in a pool of his own blood, the horrible words painted in jagged red script across his chest. “You’re next”. Suddenly she is drawn into a world of mayhem she has never known before and has absolutely no idea why she is there. Will she ever get out of this crazy world? Will she find out why she is drawn into this mess?
FBI Agent Thomas Kincannon is taken off his other cases to take on the job of being a bodyguard for Dr. Fleming until they can figure out what is going on. He is not happy about this; but is determined to do his job. When he meets Claire for the first time, he feels a jolt of something. He wants to get to know her much better than he does. However, he curbs his interest for the time being and pays attention to his case. When the assassin comes to her home and attempts to kill her and wounds Thomas, things begin heating up. Who is this assassin and why does he want to kill Claire? Will Thomas recover enough to protect Claire?
Just as they are about to figure things out, the plot thickens with the kidnapping of Thomas Kincannon’s five year old niece. Ransom is out; but an exchange for Claire Fleming is on the table? What will they do now?
March 19, 2015
Doctor Claire Fleming, a scientist in the Nuclear Safety Group, has been working in concert with her Russian counterpart, Doctor Ivan Novikoff, and his international decommission team in an effort to reduce the threat from terrorists seeking to steal radioactive materials. When Ivan is brutally murdered, the assassin emails Claire a picture of his corpse, relaying an ominous “You’re next” warning. FBI agent Thomas Kincannon is assigned to “keep her safe until we figure out what is really going on here.”
Novikoff had been Claire’s friend, mentor, father figure . . . and his murder has devastated her. An unexpected delivery is made to her apartment and Claire is surprised to learn that just before he was killed, Ivan sent her an express mail package. But the package contains nothing except a yellowing sheaf of papers written in Cyrillic, which she is unable to read. The FBI arranges for a translator and they discover that the papers contain nothing except a list of random words . . . or are they?
As the assassin moves closer and closer to completing his mission to kill Claire and retrieve the papers Novikoff sent her, Kincannon’s five-year-old niece, Emily, becomes a pawn in the deadly game.
And just who is behind the nefarious scheme to sell nuclear fuel on the black market?
The predictable elements of a Harlequin Romance are clearly evident in Lara Lacombe’s story, with Claire and Thomas fighting, but eventually giving in to their mutual attraction. But the unfolding mystery surrounding the death of Claire’s Russian friend and the subsequent kidnapping of Agent Kincannon’s niece serve to raise this story far above the standard damsel-in-distress/knight-in-shining-armor drama that the reader might expect. It’s an intriguing page-turner that keeps the reader engrossed to the very end.
Recommended.
Novikoff had been Claire’s friend, mentor, father figure . . . and his murder has devastated her. An unexpected delivery is made to her apartment and Claire is surprised to learn that just before he was killed, Ivan sent her an express mail package. But the package contains nothing except a yellowing sheaf of papers written in Cyrillic, which she is unable to read. The FBI arranges for a translator and they discover that the papers contain nothing except a list of random words . . . or are they?
As the assassin moves closer and closer to completing his mission to kill Claire and retrieve the papers Novikoff sent her, Kincannon’s five-year-old niece, Emily, becomes a pawn in the deadly game.
And just who is behind the nefarious scheme to sell nuclear fuel on the black market?
The predictable elements of a Harlequin Romance are clearly evident in Lara Lacombe’s story, with Claire and Thomas fighting, but eventually giving in to their mutual attraction. But the unfolding mystery surrounding the death of Claire’s Russian friend and the subsequent kidnapping of Agent Kincannon’s niece serve to raise this story far above the standard damsel-in-distress/knight-in-shining-armor drama that the reader might expect. It’s an intriguing page-turner that keeps the reader engrossed to the very end.
Recommended.
July 5, 2016
I really wanted to love this book but it was just ok. I'm not going to rewrite a synopsis, I'll just give my impressions... basically alot of cliche and formulaic parts...
I thought it would be a more intelligent / scientific-type book, being that one of the main characters is a nuclear physicist, but no, Dr. Claire Fleming and FBI Agent Thomas Kincannon have very little to do with solving the case. They're basically just bumbling around trying to stay away from an assassin hired by someone in the Russian mob (very ambiguous). And I'll note, if you're running for your life, there'd probably be way less inner monologue about 'I think I love her/him, does she/he love me' kind of thing. That was driving me crazy, more plot, less thinking please. (Could've been a novella without all that.) This all took place within 3 days too, so little sleeping, irrational thinking, and heightened emotions abound = not so believable. And the shooting at the end, really?? I don't want to give it away, but to be shot there, have surgery, then everything is hunky dory 3 weeks later in the 'epilogue'? I don't think so, you'd be messed up after that. Unless it's a graze, in which you wouldn't need surgery. And to also have everything with the case wrapped up in a pretty bow 3 weeks later? I wasn't buying that. I would've been more interested reading about the main characters getting into the nitty gritty of solving the case.
And the heat factor: 3 kisses and 1 short hookup were meh... To me, it was hardly a romance and hardly a suspense. Less inner monologue, more plot details would've filled in alot of the holes and made it a better story.
Apparently, this is #2 in a series, but it read like a standalone to me. Also, it's a rather quick read.
*I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review + it's signed = way cool.
I thought it would be a more intelligent / scientific-type book, being that one of the main characters is a nuclear physicist, but no, Dr. Claire Fleming and FBI Agent Thomas Kincannon have very little to do with solving the case. They're basically just bumbling around trying to stay away from an assassin hired by someone in the Russian mob (very ambiguous). And I'll note, if you're running for your life, there'd probably be way less inner monologue about 'I think I love her/him, does she/he love me' kind of thing. That was driving me crazy, more plot, less thinking please. (Could've been a novella without all that.) This all took place within 3 days too, so little sleeping, irrational thinking, and heightened emotions abound = not so believable. And the shooting at the end, really?? I don't want to give it away, but to be shot there, have surgery, then everything is hunky dory 3 weeks later in the 'epilogue'? I don't think so, you'd be messed up after that. Unless it's a graze, in which you wouldn't need surgery. And to also have everything with the case wrapped up in a pretty bow 3 weeks later? I wasn't buying that. I would've been more interested reading about the main characters getting into the nitty gritty of solving the case.
And the heat factor: 3 kisses and 1 short hookup were meh... To me, it was hardly a romance and hardly a suspense. Less inner monologue, more plot details would've filled in alot of the holes and made it a better story.
Apparently, this is #2 in a series, but it read like a standalone to me. Also, it's a rather quick read.
*I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review + it's signed = way cool.
August 28, 2014
Another amazing book from Lara Lacombe!! I love so much that she developed Thomas, a supporting character that I loved from Deadly Contact, in his own story. He was even better than expected and it was so satisfying that his buddy James was there to help him out! Also, love love love that everyone called Claire "Doctor" all the time-- PhDs should have their titles used more often ;)
Fatal Fallout was so excellent and such a page turner! Can't wait for Lara's next book!!! I wish she wrote and published as fast as I read!
Fatal Fallout was so excellent and such a page turner! Can't wait for Lara's next book!!! I wish she wrote and published as fast as I read!
August 19, 2014
I liked the hero and the heroine and the plot was pretty good as well, but the here's sister-in-law was a total witch and that was never really properly addressed in my opinion and this weakened the hero in my eyes, plus the heroine never called him on it which made her seem like a doormat... A real shame.
July 14, 2016
Won the Goodreads Giveaway for the autographed copy of this book.
This book was really good, caught my attention from the beginning and had some twists and turns throughout. Had me on my toes, and had a great ending. I would recommend this book to all reader friends that love romantic books but also enjoys a mystery/crime book as well.
This book was really good, caught my attention from the beginning and had some twists and turns throughout. Had me on my toes, and had a great ending. I would recommend this book to all reader friends that love romantic books but also enjoys a mystery/crime book as well.
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January 12, 2016"An interesting, unique plot is the true draw of this tale along with a tough, genuine hero in Thomas and a conniving villain. Strong suspense and an engaging romance make this story an enjoyable diversion" (RT Book Reviews). 4 stars
December 29, 2014
Loved reading this book. From start to finish the author, Lara Lacombe, takes you on a danger filled adventure where lives and hearts are at stake. As you follow the characters romance they pull you in and make you part of the suspense. I'll be watching for Lara's next book.
August 5, 2020
Fast paced story, typical romantic suspense. I liked Claire and Thomas. Claire was smart and relatively aware of her capabilities. I liked Thomas' family - Emily (his niece) was cute. There were some funny lines. 2.5 stars.
January 28, 2016
Loved the book. Would read another one in the series.
July 3, 2016
I won this book through the Goodreads Giveaway.
September 22, 2016
I think I was in the wrong state of mind as I could not become completely involved in this story. I do appreciate Goodreads Giveaway for giving me the opportunity to read this book
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews