Member Reviews
Jamie is a K9 Sergeant whose undercover assignment includes him being imprisoned so that he can penetrate the Mancusco family. Not that he has shown he is trustworthy to the family upon his release he has been accepted into the business and the only complication that arises are his feelings for Bella who is part of the family, but he is uncertain how big of a role she plays.
Bella may be part of the family, but it is not the life she wants. When she realizes the restaurant she is a partner in is being used for illegal purposes she has no where to turn. When she meets Jamie and his dog Jax there is no denying the connection between them, but she is hesitant as she wonders if he is just another person, she can’t trust in a lifestyle she wants no part of.
With the situation that Jamie and Bella find themselves there is uncertainty about each other which causes a little turmoil. When you combine that with the intrigue part of the story and feelings that both are unable to deny you are in for quite the adventure.
Above 'N' Beyond is an excellent police romance book filled with suspense and underlying danger. Jamie Pataglio is a Port Authority K-9 Sergeant who agrees to a deal to infiltrate a sector of the Italian mafia to get his sick father released from prison. Jamie agrees to help the FBI take down a mafia boss dubbed The Godmother, who is the head of the Mancuso crime family. Jamie's undercover status throughout the book makes for nail-biting tension and frighteningly high life-and-death stakes.
As Jamie's plan on infiltrating the Mancuso's mafia operation progresses, a wrench is thrown in his plans when he starts to develop feelings for a Mancuso. For the first time, Jamie feels the desire to go against his instincts and training on being undercover to protect and finally be honest with the one person innocently stuck in the middle of it all. Will he be able to protect her and fulfill his undercover operation without ruining them both?
I enjoyed this book immensely, and the inclusion of the K-9 officers and their dogs only adds to the intrigue. I loved reading about all the different kinds of things K-9s are trained to do and how they are valued the same as another human officer would be. The team dynamic between all the K-9 officers, that they would do anything for each other, and that loyalty and dedication is displayed wonderfully in this book.

“Above and Beyond” is the 7th in the Federal K-9 series by Tee O’Fallon, but can be read as a stand-alone book. Jamie Pataglio has gone undercover to bring down the Mancuso Crime Family, but gets more than he bargained for with Bella, the niece of the Godmother of the family.
O’Fallon ratchets up the suspense quickly setting the story in the heart of organized crime. It is a relatively quick paced book with adorable canine companions. At times, however, I needed to suspend belief that events would unfold as neatly as they did in the book. This spicy open door, forced proximity romance was an enjoyable easy read.
Tee O'Fallon brings her Federal K-9 series to a lovely conclusion with Above 'N' Beyond.
While the story follows many of the formulaic and predictable elements of a romance novel, Jamie and Bella's story still brought a lot of smiles to my face as I was reading. Their relationship with each other and with the people around them was beautifully written by O'Fallon keeping almost of them from appearing flat or just there to progress the plot.
Over the course of 7 books, I have fallen for her characters and their K9 partners and in this book she gave her readers a lovely insight into their lives as well. It's great to be able to see characters growing and changing but still being the characters you know and love.
Thank you so much to Netgally and Entangled Amara for letting me read an eARC of Above ‘N’ Beyond. This is the 7th and last book in the Federal K-9 series by Tee O’Fallon and I’ve definitely enjoyed the other books in this series that I’ve read so I was super excited to read this one!
Above ‘N’ Beyond 4/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads: Getting locked up had been easy. But for K-9 Sergeant Jamie Pataglio, going undercover at a maximum-security prison—and infiltrating the Mancusco crime family—was the hard part. Now, six months later, Jamie’s been accepted as one of the mob’s own, and he’s walking out of the gates as a free man…and stepping into the criminal underworld. There’s only one small, gorgeous problem: Bella Bianco.
The Italian bistro used to be Bella’s pride and joy. Now it’s become a nightmare, where her violent family uses her restaurant as its criminal home base. Guilty by association. She needs to find a way out, and fast. The last thing Bella needs is an attraction to their newest “associate”—even if every moment alone with him leaves her breathless. It’s almost enough to make her reconsider her “no mobsters” policy…
They can’t trust each other. But if either of them ever wants to break free of their circumstances, they don’t have a choice. They’ll have to take down her family. And if anyone finds out they’re working together…they’re both dead.
Above ‘N’ Beyond was definitely an interesting book. I liked Jamie as a character and I definitely liked Jax, the dog, so it definitely had that going for it. I also always love mafia/mob books, so I was really excited about the prospect of that, but Bella, Tony, Paola- just the crime family characters in general were harder for me to connect with, so I didn’t quite enjoy this one as much as some of the other books. Don’t get me wrong though, it was a fun, quick and easy read that was a good palate cleanser between some of my other heavier books, so I didn’t mind it, but don’t go into reading Above ‘N’ Beyond feeling like you’re going to super connect with all of the characters. Overall though, I did enjoy the book and the whole Federal K-9 series and if y’all haven’t read them yet, I definitely think you should pick them up today!
It’s a sad day for those of us who have read and enjoyed this series. Tee had done an amusing job keeping us entertained with these six books. I loved them all but think Jamie and Bella story is my new favorite. Jamie had done so much to save his father, even going to prison. He took an undercover job for the FBI to help put away the mob family, The Mancusco. He gets the information they need, and they get his dad the help he needs to stay alive. He also has to determine if Bella granddaughter of Paola, the Godmother of crime is one of them or being used by the family. Bella is the part owner of a popular Italian bistro. She is swept off her feet when she first meets Jamie even when she knows not to get involved with any member of the mob. But he is different, not only drop dead handsome but kind too. He has a wonderful German shepherd dog too. She loves dogs. When she saved a half-starved pup, Gnocchi from the cook, he surprised her with his kindness. As Bella and Jamie are thrown together both will have to deal with a ton of emotions, misunderstanding and lots of passion. This is a very fast paced, suspenseful story with lots of twists and turns. The ending will have you crying and also jumping for joy too. What a read. If you haven’t read the series, you really should go back and start at the beginning to get the most out of the books. Characters from past books show up in the following books. These are books I know I will go back and reread. I received an ARC from the author and wish to thank her. This is my honest opinion and am freely giving it.
Sergeant Jamie Pataglio has a personal reason for going undercover to infiltrate the Manusco crime family, he wants to save his father.
The Manusco's family hang out at Bistro Bianco, a restaurant owned by Bella Bianco, an innocent relative of the mob. She can be a big help to get evidence against the crime family, but can Jamie trust her ? And the attraction brewing between them is muddying the waters more.
Above N Beyond is a fast paced read. It was suspenseful and exciting to read. I do not have a furry pet but every time I read one books of the K-9 series, I am tempted to get one, and Jax and Gnocchi were adorable. This is the final book in the K-9 series and addicting even if you haven’t read the previous books in the series.
Tee O'Fallon has done it again. I think this is my favorite book in the K 9 series (though I missed one and have to go back)......I love the different background on the characters - love the underlying what you do for family theme (no not that one!)..... It's different, engaging and kept me reading late into the night to finish it. You know it's a good story when you can't put it down. I appreciate the skill and details surrounding the investigation/legal side of things - realistic in terms of implications but still redeeming in the end. . If you've been reading this series you will love this one. If you haven't you can still read this - there are some guest appearances but nothing that would detract from other stories. ..Loved Bella and Jamie, Jax the German Sheperd was great... and Gnocchi - you'll have to read about. A darn good read.
Wow, hot men and dogs all in one book? Count me in! I adored this book. The relationship between Jamie and Jax was so adorable and I loved the world building that the author did. There were so many moving pieces and storylines that were beautifully woven together that I never wanted to put this book down. This book had romance, it had mystery, it had mobsters, it had dogs, it had Italian food that made you want to be able to eat at Bianco’s Bistro. As an Italian myself I loved the representation (even if it was connected with mobsters lol). Admittedly, I haven’t read the other books in this world, but from what I’ve gathered there are a couple of cameos from the other characters of the other books that make me want to go and read the rest of the books in this series. This book made the dog lover in me melt at how sweet the Jax and Gnocchi were. I highly recommend this book if you want action and romance and dogs.
A bittersweet end to this series but it goes out with a bang as the last man and his K9 get their story. We have met Jamie aka Romeo aka Jimmy in this read and his K9 partner Jax. When Jamie is tasked to go undercover, he has no choice but to go through with it to save his dad. Spending months in jail to get close to a mobster to enter their inner circle when released is worth the sacrifice. Once out he is invited to meet the “godmother” he also meets Bella, the niece and owner of the restaurant where all the deals go down.
Bella is stuck, she wants out from under her aunt’s thumb and wants her restaurant back. She knows who and what her aunt and cousin are so it’s not as easy as leaving when you have ties to the mob. Now a new member has joined her aunt and all the self talks and her own rules about not dating any mobsters don’t help when Jamie shows a side of himself that she can’t resist. Now the two are at a crossroads, he’s undercover, she’s involved with the mob, and someone doesn’t like the two of them together.
A GREAT read with suspense, twists and turns, steam and amazing characters. I LOVED these two, little to no drama, and a connection you could feel while reading. The story flowed seamlessly, the descriptions were spot on and the ending…loved it. A bittersweet end to the series but the author brings all the characters together for one last read and all of their HEA.
Love love love this book! I am sad though that it is the end of the series but this story I think might be the best one yet.
I volunteered to read and review an advanced readers copy of Above and Beyond through Net Galley . This is a spectacular Suspense Romance . k9 Sargent Jamie Pataglio went undercover in prison to find his way into the Mancusco crime family . Bella Bianco wants nothing to do with her criminal family but has no choice as they use her bistro as headquarters for their illegal activity . Bella never expected to be attracted to a criminal . As Jamie and Bella grow closer so does danger . I really enjoyed reading this story . It's intriguing and suspenseful a sensational suspense romance . I highly recommend taking the time to read .
So this book is part of a series but it felt like the books could be standalone's so it wasn't hard to follow. Now the being said I had not read anything by this author so I wasn't sure what to expect. I really enjoyed this book I truly could not put it down. I feel like lately so many books in the suspense are kind of the same and this author put a spin on things and really draws you in. I like "Jimmy" he was someone who you hate to love because of the action in the books but it made it so easy to see where his heart was. I loved Bella man that girl did not hold anything back what you see is what your got with her. She wanted family so bad that she took a lot from those in her life. There is sexual content in this book so it may not be suitable for all readers. Overall this book was a fun read and well worth it in my opinion.
This book was such a page turner. I loved the police investigation mixed with the blooming romance. There was suspense involved regarding the relationship between Bella and Jimmy, and also there was suspense with the police investigation on Bella’s family. I enjoyed the main characters, O’Fallon did an excellent job portraying each of them—I felt like I knew each character’s personality. O’Fallon has a great writing style, it was easy to read and follow along with. I loved that I never found myself zoning out—I just wanted to find out what happened next. I definitely recommend giving this book a try!
this was a fun story to read! I’ve not yet read a romance/suspicion (I think this is the genre) book before and I really liked it! the characters are fun and dramatic to read, but in a suspicious way if that makes sense. The story itself isn’t fun per se— crime families, undercover police, heroine who is stuck in a crime family she does not support, falling for the daughter of the guy you’re taking down— but it was fun to read, the way it’s fun to watch crime TV shows and teen dramas :)
I don’t want to spoil anything, but the characters are fun, sweet (some of them), dramatic, and cute (some of them)…and there’s an adorable doggo being a cutie.
thanks for the arc!
In Above 'N' Beyond, K9 agent Jamie /Jimmy Pataglio goes deep undercover in prison to take down the Mancuso crime family. He's at great risk, but he's doing it for really good reasons. What he doesn't expect is falling for one of the crime family members.
Bella Bianco has been trying to break away from her family for years, but she isn't making any progress. She's smart and snarky and innocent of the crimes her family has committed. When Jimmy/Jamie starts developing feelings for her, things get all sorts of complicated.
There's plenty of action, angst and steam in this romantic suspense. Better yet, there's dogs! I just love how this series incorporates the working dogs into the story and in this case there's even another rescue dog involved. There's also some appearances of the previous officers in this series and their dogs, so it's all good. Love this series!
Suspenseful, tension-filled ending…
This was such a great read, made bittersweet knowing it was the last in this series. Each character has been so memorable, with their trusty canines by their sides, that I was reluctant to start Jamie and Bella’s story. I did not want this to end…
But, as always, once I started I was lost in a complicated story where honesty and trust were hard to come by. Jamie’s motives were selfless and seeing him face life-threatening danger every day was hard. Reuniting with his Jax was a heart-warming moment, one of so many to follow. Bella was stuck in a family of criminals, seeing no way out. The problem was, her head knew they were bad but some did have redeeming qualities. Especially this newcomer to their ranks who somehow, despite knowing who she thought he was, was irresistible. And the feeling was mutual…
Their story was full of blood-pounding action and tension. Seriously, no page went unturned when I wasn’t fearing for someone being outed and/or killed. Like real life, the ups and downs were crazy at times yet all worth it in the end. I relished the reunions and glimpses into already loved character’s lives.
A fabulous, and I’ll say it again, bittersweet, read – it’s hard to let go of people you feel you know… Thank goodness they will be here to re-read (again) whenever I want!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
I just LOVE this series. The alpha K-9 men along with their dogs are federal agents. The series follows the group as they meet their significant others. The stories are just filled with suspense and intrigue while we watch the characters also fall in love.
This is written in a dual POV format. Getting both main characters really help me to better understand and connect to them. It makes for a more enjoyable read for me.
Take one undercover federal officer (Jaime a/k/a Jimmy) to infiltrate the mob. Then add in a heroine (Bella) determined to wrestle the controlling interest of her bistro away from her awful aunt who just happens to be the “Godmother” of the local mob!
Can Jaime figure out who all of the parts are to the mob? What is the “big job”? Is the sexy restaurateur a member or just a casualty do to being a family member? Can Bella finally get her restaurant away from her aunt? Can Jaime and Bella trust in each other to take down the evil?
I adored reading this book. It is written in my favorite dual POV format. Seeing into the characters' thoughts really humanized them and drew me closer to them. The plot was very well written. I could picture the scenes as if I was watching a movie.
This is a sexy book so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 18.
Going undercover was only the start
As Seargeant Janie Pataglio has to play a part.
In prison he has to convince a mobster boss
That ignoring him would be a real loss.
Infiltrating the crime family is his aim
So help for his ill father he can claim.
However, what he really hadn't anticipated
Is falling in love with someone who to the crime family is related!
How can romance blossom when you can't trust, too?
Will secrets tear them apart or revelations pull them through?
With K-9 assistance, can they help each other
But what happens when the truth they discover?
Another great read in this fascinating series so
I really hope you'll also give it a go!
A story bringing this suspense filled set to the end
As colleagues and K-9s prove to be the best of friends!
For my complementary copy of this book and the series, too,
I say thank you, and share this my honest review.
Above ‘N’ Beyond describes the actions of K-9 Sergeant Jamie Pataglio in this delicious tale of undercover sleuthing. Jamie has agreed to go undercover for the feds in return his jailed father will get paroled so he can get cancer treatment unavailable where he is. This is a fast-paced mob story that will keep you enthralled. Jamie and Bella are magical together and Jax is just the best boy ever,
This is a fantastic finale to a fabulous series.