Coup de Grace by Lani Lynn Vale

So the last in the series but did the author leave the best to last, well I don’t know about that then again I’m not complaining because every book in the series has been fabulous and this is no exception.

Nikki is Nico’s sister and their relationship is one that brought the biggest smile to my face- really they were so funny. Sibling rivalry never read so well, a stroke of genius.

Nikki works at the hospital on the IV team but that is not where her future lies, she is studying hard to become a midwife.

The other half to this coup is Michael, now we have had glimpses of him on and off throughout the series but getting my hands on his story has had the palms of my hands itching!

There has been a flicker between the two of them for more time than either of them really want to admit but after a brief dalliance they went their separate ways.

Michael is a complex character, or perhaps I am doing him a disservice – his home life is complicated. He is divorced and not for the reasons that everyone seems to think, he never let anyone in on the fact that his wife Joslin, had an affair. Perhaps if he had he could have saved his brother from getting sucked in by her devious schemes and just maybe his mother would have finally given up her attachment to the witch.

I loved Nikki, she does not suffer fools – she is to the point and in some respects bullish. But I liked that in her, she was so strong, it was always going to take a strong man to keep up with her.

But could Michael be that man?

Life on the SWAT team is harsh, and the author tackles some very difficult and sensitive situations with absolute aplomb, it takes a confident author to address subjects that are shied away from by most in real life.

Michael struggles to get his head around some of the horrors that he sees but it is made worse when it becomes clear that the circumstances of his last call out are not isolated… do they have a serial killer at large?

And when the authorities start to take a good hard look at the events it becomes clear that law enforcement may be the target audience of this predator.

Michael might carry a badge but that is not all he carries around with him, he weighs himself down with a multitude of demons that he needs shirk, he is his own worst enemy. For me I just wanted him to accept his medical condition and to loosen up on the daft reasoning he has in his head that he cannot have children, I found it excruciating because if ever a man needed to be a dad it was him, his kid would be the luckiest on the planet because he had so much love to give that I think my heart just hurt thinking about him not being someone’s dad.

I wanted him to smile, to lighten his load and I just knew that Nikki was the woman that he needed to be by his side but rekindling what they once had always seems to be just that little bit out of their reach, but they both wanted the same thing so I was hanging on to the hope that they could make it.

When they start to get their act together of course it is not all plain sailing but it was fabulous to read but the book is so much more than just their romance, it has angst, drama and peril and a mystery that was as dark and painful and that I never want to have to think about again.

The last book in this series, I thought I would finish it with a heavy heart having to say goodbye to the team but the roundup of the guys and their families brought the biggest cheesiest grin to my face and knowing that what is coming next.

I have three words to say ….Bring it on!!!!!