Brennan's New Series Starts with a Dud

The Third to Die - Allison Brennan

When you read at least fifty mystery or thriller novels a year, you can’t always depend on a half-dozen or so favorite authors to have a new release ready for you when you finish your latest. As a consequence, I read a lot of novels written by authors whose work, to be kind, I will probably not seek out again in the future. The latest in my string of one-and-dones is Allison Brennan, who released The Third to Die – Quinn & Costa Thriller Book 1 last year. Given the pace of Brennan’s work, she’s probably already finished number four. Here’s the plot in about 115 words:

LAPD cop Kara Quinn, on vacation in Washington, stumbles upon a murder victim. FBI agent Matt Costa shows up almost immediately, ‘cause this body’s number one in a triennial series of three victims of “the Triple Killer.” The perp is, naturally, a mastermind who leaves no forensic evidence and appears to kill randomly except that there’s always a nurse, teacher, and cop. 

Quinn and Costa do not, of course, immediately get along (although they do later). Given Quinn’s undercover chops and the top-notch feebie team Costa’s assembled, it’s a sure thing that they’ll catch their guy, but not before someone close to the investigation dies and the heroes are both almost dead themselves. 

Serial killer novels are themselves a trope, but this one feels like Brennan stopped by the Tropes ᴙ Us store and loaded up her cart. It sure would be nice to run across a serial killer who is just lucky instead of a genius, not to mention a couple of cops who aren’t “edgy” and “brilliant.” Then again, such a novel probably wouldn’t sell…

I found the writing style of Brennan, who’s published almost two dozen novels since 2010, to be sloppy and hackneyed. Costa, who’s written as Cuban-American, is often seen muttering to himself in Spanish with, of course, an English translation immediately following. That’s an irritant, especially when at least one of the translations is wrong (note to AB: Cuban idioms are not the same as Mexican). Brennan also needs an editor with a heavier hand to get rid of nonsense like the sentence, “If Hamilton returns, no one is going to be caught in his crossfire.” Uhhh, it takes two shooters to create a crossfire! I also defy anyone to climb down a 45-foot chain ladder while carrying three mason jars…

I dislike authors who constantly refer to events in previous book, but this one’s even worse: one minor character is distraught over a previous case in which a relative was murdered; but this is the first book of the series. Unless Catherine Jones is a character in one of Brennan’s other two series, this plot thread is nothing but distraction.

Oh, about that previously-mentioned 45-foot chain ladder: the perp had to sneak it, a dozen canning jars and three gallons of gasoline through the lobby of a hotel. Yeah, right…

Nope, with clumsy, stilted writing; a plethora of plot holes; and a whoppin’ big pile of tropes, The Third to Die does not mark an auspicious beginning to the Quinn and Costa series. Two stars.

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