Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Michelle Godard-Richer

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

This is book 2 in the series. I loved the combination of the romance and thriller aspect. The pacing was fast and I couldnt put it down. This can be read as a standalone.

This book is definitely a on your toes, edge of your seat thriller!! I couldn’t put it down. It was a great read. This is number 2 in this series and the author recommended starting with this one. They both could be standalone. So of course I’m now on the hunt (pun intended) to get the first one so I can see if it answers any questions of mine. To me their could be room for a third one! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me access to this brilliant book!

I went into this book not knowing it was part of a series, yet felt a disconnect right from the beginning.
The plot holes weren’t helpful either.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What would you do if you saw someone disposing a body and that someone was your neighbor. You might grab your loved ones and run! This is the second book in a series (which I didn’t know starting the book) but it can be read as a stand alone. It was a fast pace thriller with a side of romance thrown in. Although at time I struggled to connect with the characters it did leave me guessing and the ending … what a cliffhanger!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the chance to read this arc!

Oh wow what a great read, but be aware it’s a cliffhanger in a sense. Jessica witnesses a murder, and has to take her son and run. She goes home and once again meets the man she loved years ago. But something sinister follows her.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

What would you do if you witnessed your neighbor disposing a dead body? Fatal Witness is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that gave me nightmares. Seriously, read this during the day to avoid scary dreams about your neighbors. This book is a feast for readers with descriptive narration, a well-developed plot, a full cast of characters, and an eerie vibe. I loved every minute of this thriller, and you will too.

Let’s start with the descriptive narration. Michelle Godard-Richer creates a mood with her narration and it’s downright spooky. No, not the spooky from all things paranormal, but from the circumstances Jessica, our brave heroine, finds herself in. Every scene, every moment, is described with intricate detail. The mood and setting are so well detailed, my imagination went into overdrive.

The characters add a level of intrigue, especially David. The author doesn’t reveal much at the beginning, so my curiosity was piqued. The more I read, the darker the characters delved. I connected with Jessica right away and kept shouting at her to flee.

The plot is exquisitely written. The suspense builds the further we get into the story. Michelle Godard-Richer writes with precision and there’s an emotional response from the reader. The author’s writing style is very Poeish or Hitchcockian. I was thoroughly impressed.

If you’re a thriller reader, you need to read this intense book. Brilliant from start to finish, Fatal Witness needs to be on your bucket list. I recommend this book to all readers.

Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author in the hopes I'd review it.

My Rating: 5+ stars

This book is so terrifying that you'll be checking the locks on your windows and doors as you read it! What an amazing thriller Michelle Godard-Richer has created!! This book is one of the best I've read this year! If you love thrillers don't miss this one!

Jessica wakes in the middle of the night and she's hot. She goes to the window, pulls up the blinds, and opens the window to let in some air. She gets immediate relief but notices movement outside. She sees her neighbor, Daniel, walking to his truck, opening the back, and returning back to the house. The next thing she knows, Jessica hears a scraping noise and it's coming from Daniel's house. He is now dragging a huge tarp to the back of his truck. He lifts it up to put in the truck bed and when he does, an arm slips out!! There's a butterfly tattoo on the wrist and Jessica knows immediately that the body is Daniel's wife!

Jessica gasps and drops down as David looks up at her window. Did he hear Jessica? Does he know that Jessica saw him? Does he know that Jessica knows that's his wife? Jessica crawls over to her cellphone and calls 911. She describes what she's seen and tells them to hurry. David goes back inside after raising the gate to his truck, turns lights off, and returns to his truck. He starts it and backs out of the driveway before the police arrive. Jessica tells the police over the phone David's license plate and describes his truck to them. They assure her they'll find him.

It's difficult for Jessica to sleep after this so she goes and checks on her 8 year old son, Bryce. Bryce is sound asleep and safe. She decides sleep won't be happening for her and goes downstairs to make some coffee. Jessica is a widower who lost her police officer husband about 6 years ago. He was shot in the head and killed immediately. It's just been Bryce and Jessica since then. Adam was such a good man. She still misses him and wears her wedding ring. Jessica dozes off on the couch and when she wakes she takes a shower. She hears something out front and when she looks, David is back, and he's washing his truck in the driveway! Jessica calls the police again and tells them about David. They send an undercover cop to speak with her and others to speak to David.

David tells the cops that he has no idea where his wife is as she left yesterday and said she wouldn't be back. There's no evidence other than what Jessica saw so they can't arrest him. The undercover cop who comes to Jessica's house later is Adam's old partner and good friend. She tells him everything she saw and he agrees that David probably killed his wife. The problem is they have no body. He tells Jessica to keep her doors and windows locked and to be careful leaving the house. Several neighbors could've called the police on David but he might know it was her.

Jessica decides to keep Bryce home from school and brings him to work with her. She works at a preschool and Bryce likes helping out. After work, they stop at the grocery store as Jessica promised Bryce cookies for helping her out. As they're pushing their cart down the aisle, David is pushing his up the same aisle. David has a hateful look on his face and is staring right at Jessica. She sends Bryce to pick out the cookies he wants and says she'll meet him by the bananas, a nice open part of the grocery store. Once Bryce is gone, Daniel grabs Jessica's arm and backs her into the metal shelf holding the food. He tells her he knows it was her who called the cops and he will get her.

Jessica calls Adam's partner again and he comes to the store. Daniel is long gone, but he insists on escorting them home and staying for awhile. Jessica has decided to leave town and go back to her hometown in Montana. She packs up the important things for her and Bryce. Adam's partner stays overnight on the couch and when Jessica gets up early she notices a paper covering the window in her front door. It's a threatening note left by David. She wakes Adam's partner and he asks for a bag to put the note in for fingerprints or DNA. He goes outside to take care of collecting it and tells Jessica to lock the door. Jessica is waiting, but thinks it's been too long. When she looks out the peephole, she sees him lying facedown on her porch with blood coming from his head. She rushes out to help him. Luckily, he wasn't seriously hurt, just hit on the head and knocked out.

Jessica loads up the car in the garage so that Daniel can't see what she's planning. She doesn't want him to know she's leaving town. She gets Bryce in the car with his most precious possessions and they head off towards Montana to visit her Aunt Debbie. She has told Jessica to come and stay as long as she wants. She's terrified for Jessica after she described what has happened. Adam's partner follows her, helps her pick out a burner phone so that she can't be traced from her main cellphone, and once he's sure they're safe, goes back to town. Jessica is relieved and feels like she made the right decision.

Aunt Debbie is so happy to see them and Bryce is thrilled to be in a place with a big yard and farm animals! Aunt Debbie tells Jessica that she's invited Jon for dinner as he's back in town, too. Jon and Jessica were childhood friends and were as close as two people can be. Once they were out of high school, Jon was headed to the FBI academy and Jessica was headed to college. They loved each other but didn't know how to make a long distance relationship work. so they decided to let each other go. Jon lost his wife 3 years ago and knows the loss that Jessica feels. When Jon arrives, Jessica is very excited to see him. It's just like old times as they fall right back into a comfortable and easy conversation. Dinner is wonderful and Jon is upset at what brought Jessica to town. He promises to help anyway he can, including renting Jessica a house on his farm. The tenants recently left and it just has to be cleaned before she and Bryce can move in.

Things start happening at the new place almost immediately. A key to the lawn mower is missing and then it mysteriously reappears, there are flattened flowers on the side of the house, a man's hiking boot footprint that is much larger than Jon's down behind the house by the woods, and footprints leading up to a back road with fresh tire prints. Did David find Jessica? Does he know where she is? How is that possible? Who is in the old truck following Jessica and Jon? Are Jessica and Bryce in danger? How can they catch David? Will he finally get what he wants and make Jessica disappear? Will Jon and Jessica find their way back to each other? Will Aunt Debbie be safe alone on her farm?

The pacing of this book is insane. It moves so fast that I read it in less than a day. You'll be cheering on Jessica, Jon, Bryce, and Debbie. You don't have time to catch your breath as things keep happening. Buckle up for this one because it's a real thrill ride!! Fatal Witness comes out on May 31 so you don't have to wait long to read it. I rate Fatal Witness 5 stars and look forward to the next book by Michelle Godard-Richer. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Wild Rose Press for an advanced copy of Fatal Witness in exchange for a fair review. #FatalWitness

A suspenseful thriller with a gripping romance! I have been slowly getting into thrillers and this was the perfect book for me. I am usually one for cheesy romance novels, so I was hesitant going in. However, I am glad we got a romance between Jessica and Jon on top of the thriller. It was second chance romance that was done very well. The thriller aspect also did not disappoint! It was a fast paced page turner, I needed to know what was going to happen next. A great ending as well!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a gripping, twisty, psychological thriller. Once things were set in motion it just kept snowballing and growing. Just when I thought it was going to calm down and finally have something good happen, bam! Another twist and the world is turned upside down again. Definitely very interesting and kept my attention until the very end.

Fatal Witness (The Fatal Series, #2) by Michelle Godard-Richer
I enjoyed this romantic suspense - but I did not realize it ended in a kind of cliffhanger. Jessica and Jon have a second chance romance after they are both widowed. She witnessed a crime, and the killer is after her. There is plenty of action and the book kept me on the edge of my seat - and there is a sort of HEA -then the cliffhanger. I you don't mind not knowing what will happen next you will enjoy the book.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Informative Scary Wonderful characters Action-packed Romantic Steamy Great world building Easy-to-read Tragic Page-turner Twisted Unpredictable Tear-jerker.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This book started out strong and then just totally got away from me. The story felt very rushed in my opinion.

A very exciting romantic suspense. Jessica sees her next door neighbor put his wives body in his truck and he knows she saw. Jessica and her son are on the run. There were several times in this book that I just wanted to yell don’t do that or be smarter. Overall I enjoyed the book and by the ending I know there will be another one.

This story was full of love and heartbreak. You can’t help but feel for Jon and Jessica as they get separated and follow different paths. Each of them will know heartbreak but they will come back together when Jessica is running away from a serial killer. She witnessed him with his wife’s dead body and he is now after the only witnesses who can connect him to the murder. So many twists and turns and the end of the book was a doozy! I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second in a series, however it can be read as a stand-alone. I did really enjoy the premise and plot but this moved so fast I felt I could not truly enjoy what was happening and get into the plot. I also felt like I was just thrown into the story without being able to gain any connection to the characters and especially the victim so I felt a disconnect to the story most of the way through. Saying this, the ending cliff-hanger was really interesting and I got hook so I do think I will read on and check out the first book in this series but it may need some more editing.

My first ARC! I was so excited receiving and reviewing this book - I went in without knowing that it is the second book in a series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone. A fast-paced thriller and I read this in one sitting!

This story follows a mom who witnesses her neighbor disposing of a body. She then flees with her child, bumps into a retired FBI agent who she previously had feelings with, and rekindled their love. He helps and protects her when the neighbor resurfaces and targets her because, of course, she was a witness to his crimes.

Anyway, as a mom myself, I love the element of how Jessica would do everything to protect her child. I particularly liked the romance mixed into the story, as well.

The writing style was just okay but would definitely recommend this book. Now, I'm on to reading the first book in the series.

This book was pretty good! I do wish the beginning of the book, specifically the first three or four chapters, would have been more developed. I would have loved learning more about the main characters, their history, and their relationships. It would have helped me connect to them a bit earlier. Overall, I would recommend this book, and am interested to read more from this author.

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC.

So, you get different POV's. Our MC Jess and Jon's and then David. This book was so all over the place and it was so fast it was almost giving me whiplash. It would have been much more better in first person, I didn't really like the writing style either. I loved Bryce though he was cute. The romance wasn't believable between Jess and Jon, the dialogue was lacking but some moments were cute. At the 70% mark it just picks up and boom that was very unexpected when everything else was pretty predictable. I did overall enjoy this book but it could have been way better. The pacing was off and this was a downer for me but for what it was I liked it for sure, just wasn't amazing.

I enjoyed reading this fast paced suspense thriller. The budding romance between our two MC's was a nice addition to such an intense read.

The story begins with Jessica witnessing something she never should have seen, her neighbor David loading his wife's body into the back of his truck. By looking out her window she's now put herself and her son Bryce in danger, David knows she is a witness to what he did and had no intention of letting her live to tell the tale.

I won't go any further into the plot details because I think it's best to experience the twists and turns of a thriller first hand but I really enjoyed the storyline of this novel and would recommend giving it a read .

Thank you Net Galley , Backlit PR and Michelle Godard-Richer for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

Review has been posted to Goodreads.
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