Malice (Karen Fenech) Books in Order

Karen Fenech's Malice series is a two-book romantic suspense story centered on FBI Special Agent Paige Carson and Special Agent in Charge Sam McKade. It is best read in order, because the second novel picks up the personal and professional fallout from the first.

At the start of Breath of Malice, Paige hopes a move to small-town South Carolina will give her a chance at a quieter life. Instead, the murder of a senator's sister brings a frightening message from Todd Thames, a suspected serial killer whose attention has already changed Paige's life. The case forces Paige to reveal what she has been holding back from Sam, her boss.

Sam is not simply a distant supervisor. He is drawn to Paige, and their growing relationship becomes part of the story's tension. Paige wants to remain capable and in control, but the danger around her makes that hard. Sam wants to protect her without taking away the independence that matters so much to her. Their connection develops alongside an investigation where the killer is always trying to set the terms.

The threat is personal.

Fear of Malice continues six months later. Paige is living with a serious physical injury and fears that it may end the field career she has worked for. Meanwhile, she and Sam investigate a murder after a fellow agent, Riley, is arrested. The new case connects to an older unsolved killing that has long weighed on Sam, bringing the whole Kirk County FBI squad under pressure.

These books balance police work and FBI procedure with a close look at what trauma does after the immediate crisis has passed. Paige is not treated as someone who simply shakes off what happened. Her recovery, her work, and her ability to trust her own future are all part of the continuing arc. Sam faces his own limits as he tries to support Paige and solve a case with consequences for people he cares about.

Expect a tense, intimate FBI thriller with a continuing romance at its center. The series has murder investigations, serial-killer danger, workplace strain, and the emotional aftereffects of violence. The South Carolina setting gives the books a smaller-community feel, even as the FBI cases reach beyond one town.

Start with Breath of Malice. It establishes Paige, Sam, the team around them, and the danger that shapes everything in Fear of Malice. The second book is not a separate starting point, since its mystery and emotional stakes land better once you know what Paige and Sam have already survived.