The Third to Die by Allison Brennan

An edgy female police detective…An ambitious FBI special agent. Together they are at the heart of the ticking-clock investigation for a psychopathic serial killer. The bond they forge in this crucible sets the stage for high-stakes suspense.

Detective Kara Quinn, on leave from the LAPD, is on an early morning jog in her hometown of Liberty Lake when she comes upon the body of a young nurse. The manner of death shows a pattern of highly controlled rage. Meanwhile in DC, FBI special agent Mathias Costa is staffing his newly minted Mobile Response Team. Word reaches Matt that the Liberty Lake murder fits the profile of the compulsive Triple Killer. It will be the first case for the MRT. This time they have a chance to stop this zealous if elusive killer before he strikes again. But only if they can figure out who he is and where he is hiding before he disappears for another three years. The stakes are higher than ever before, because if they fail, one of their own will be next…

Book 1
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
M/F FBI Thriller

This book has you on the edge of your seat from the beginning. We get to see Kara Quinn who is an amazing detective who is on mandatory leave. She's very unhappy about that, but also knows that it's a good time to visit her aunt. But when she's out running, trying to wait out her leave, she stumbles on a body dump site. What Kara doesn't know is that she has found one of the bodies that the Triple Killer leaves behind every few years.

Mathias Costa is trying very hard to choose people for a new mobile response team. But even though his boss has given him veto power, Costa realizes that he needs to start making some decisions. When he's called out to see the newest Triple Killer site, he knows that he's on the clock and racing against time.

With Kara on leave, she knows that she can help with the investigation. She's also a local, so that will help with the people who need to be questioned. Finally, with Costa needing all of the help he can get, he'll use Kara for her expertise, as well as for her doggedness to find the answers.

With time against them, it will take everyone's skills to figure out who the Triple Killer is and take them down. Kara is also having to contend with a trial back home and her boss keeping her in the dark on matters back at her station.

This was a great start to a new series. I can't wait to see what happens next and hope that it will be filled with as much action and mystery as this first story was. There are definitely some questions that are lingering, but it's in no way a cliffhanger story.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This gory suspense is properly frightening. Matt Costas leads an FBI team tracking a serial killer who will kill again within days. LAPD detective Kara Quinn might be on holiday, but when she finds the first body, she is determined to help Matt’s team find the killer.

The time pressure in this story adds to the suspense. The investigators know when the killer will strike, they have a good idea of who the next victims will be – and no idea who the killer is. The story is a mix of interdepartmental politics and careful investigating. The body count is substantial, and this is a pretty gory read.

I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to Matt and Kara’s continued partnership in future books. Anyone wanting a well plotted suspense with some great characters will enjoy this series.


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
If, like me, you are a fan of shows like Criminal Minds, The Third to Die will be right up your alley. FBI agent Matt Costa is heading up a new unit called the Mobile Response Team. Before the team is even fully formed, they are sent to the small down to Liberty Lake where LA Detective Kara Quinn has discovered a dead body while on vacation. Matt and his team are sent to investigate and the chase for the serial killer begins. Short on resources, Matt takes Kara’s help with the case. But it doesn’t take long for their relationship to become more than a professional one.

This is the first book in a new series and early on time is taken to give us some background to the characters. But not all of them and not their life story, but enough information to make us interested in them and keep turning the pages. The story is told from the point of view of various characters, including the killer – which I liked.

This is the story that starts out slowly, but the tension builds. I felt like the further I got in the faster I was turning the pages. The story takes us to a heart-pounding, action-packed climax. It is enthralling. I have to say this book would make a great movie, it was easy to see it playing out in my mind. In the aftermath, I was left wanting stories from the Mobile Response Team. I’ll be on the lookout for the next book in this series and I hope there are many more stories to come.

ALLISON BRENNAN is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels. She has been nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers and the Daphne du Maurier Award. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, Allison lives in Arizona with her husband, five kids and assorted pets.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Third to Die (Quinn & Costa Thriller #1) by Allison Brennan to read and review.