The Third to Die by Allison Brennan

Good Day! I want to share some titles that will be coming out over the next few weeks. Mercy House by Alena Dillon and The Long Bridge Home by Kelly Irvin will be released on February 11.  Dead to the Last Drop by Tonya Kappes comes out on February 21.  It is the latest novel in The Killer Coffee Mystery series.  Eternity Springs:  The McBrides of Texas by Emily March will be out on February 25 along with Egg Drop Dead by Vivien Chen.  Is there an upcoming release you are looking forward to reading?  I am eager to read Lavender Blue Murder by Laura Childs.

Liberty Lake, Washington

The Third to Die by Allison Brennan has Kara Quinn out on paid administrative leave from her job as an undercover detective with Los Angeles Police Department Special Operations.  Kara has traveled to Liberty Lake, Washington to check up on her grandmother.  Kara is enjoying an early morning jog around Liberty Lake Loop Trail when she spots ATV tracks and then a bright spot of pink.  Kara ventures down and finds a woman viciously killed.  Special Agent in Charge Mathias Costa is in Washington, D.C. staffing the new Mobile Response Team when he receives word that the Triple Killer has struck again.  This will be the first case for the MRT and a chance to stop the Triple Killer before he goes to ground for another three years.  Once Matt and his team arrive in Liberty Lake, they will have less than forty-eight hours before this deadly murderer strikes again.  It turns out that Kara has a keen eye and good deductive skills which are needed to catch this elusive killer.  Can they discover the identity of the Triple Killer and where he is hiding before he kills again?  

Trail Kara was jogging when she found victim

The Third to Die by Allison Brennan is the first book in the Mobile Response Team series.  I like how the story begins from the point-of-view of the killer.  The POV switches throughout the book between the killer, Matt Costa, Kara Quinn and Catherine Jones. There is an extensive cast of characters in this mystery.  We get introduced to Matt’s team, officers involved in Liberty Lake, Kara’s boss, Matt’s boss, town citizens and officers in Spokane.  It was a little overwhelming at times.  I like that we are given background on the main characters who have their foibles and troubles just like real people.  Kara is a strong, intelligent female who has been working undercover in Los Angeles since she became a detective.  She is aware of her surroundings and notices details that others miss.  She is frustrated on administrative leave (bored) and happy to help the Mobile Response Team.  The Mobile Response Team is a newly formed unit of the FBI with Matt Costa in charge.  He is still assembling the team when the Triple Killer strikes in Liberty Lake, Washington. The Third to Die is an intriguing mystery with this mysterious killer who strikes three times every three years (has a thing for threes).  There is plenty of action as they search for the murderer.  It is a police procedural type of story with forensic details and a psychological profile (red tape too).  There is also small town politics and jurisdictional problems included (police seem to dislike the FBI swooping in and taking over a case).  The one downside of the switching POV is the repetition of case details as well as information on various characters.  The author is a descriptive writer who includes the tiniest of details (did we really need to know what Kara was wearing while jogging down to the color of the stripe on her pants).  I do want to let you know there an extensive amount of foul language.  The gore and violence is to be expected with this type of book.  With a little tweaking, The Third to Die would have been a home run for me.  There is some romance (and intimate relations) as Kara and Matt work closely together to catch the Triple Killer (I wish the author had not ventured into this territory).  The ending has us wondering what Kara will do next after an unexpected turn of events when she returns to Los Angeles.  We will have to wait for the next Mobile Response Team novel to find out.  The Third to Die is perfect for those readers who enjoy traditional suspenseful action mysteries.  The Third to Die has a conniving killer, alert agents, petty politics, frustrating fatalities, a puzzled profiler, and a perceptive detective.

The Third to Die is available from Amazon* (as well as iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and Harlequin).  Thank you for reading my review.  On Saturday, I will be sharing Forever Hidden by Tracie Peterson.  It is the first book in Treasures of Nome series.  I hope that you have a positive day (think positive thoughts--it makes a difference).  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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