The Third To Die by Allison Brennan (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"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…"

My Thoughts:

The Third to Die was a suspenseful read that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could.  This book is the 1st in a new series featuring a newly formed FBI response team.  They get called out to the newest murder in a suspected serial killer case where the killer kills three people every three years but then seemingly goes dormant in between killings.  It's a highly unusual type of serial killer and FBI special agent Matt has a limited timeframe if he is going to be able to help stop the new two killings before the killer strikes again.  I really enjoy police procedurals and books featuring FBI agents as the lead characters.  I always enjoy following along with the investigation in the hopes that they will be able to stop the killer in time.  In this book that feeling of suspense was heightened because they knew that their killer always killed the three victims in a short amount of time.  They didn't have much time to figure it out and on top of that this is a newly formed team where they were adding members as they went.  I really enjoyed the suspense and mystery aspects of this book.  I was kept guessing until the author was ready to reveal.  And on top of it, it was just such a page turner!  I really did whip through this book as fast as I could because I wanted to see how it was all going to turn out.  My one issue with this book was that there were times where it felt like I was missing backstory.  This book is the 1st in a new series but I'm kind of left wondering if these characters came from a previous series or book by this author.  It didn't happen the entire book but there were a couple of times where a past case was referenced that we were never given the full details behind.  Maybe we will learn more about that case and everything that happened in a future book?  Or maybe I missed the fact that this series is connected loosely to another book or series of this authors?  I haven't yet figured it out.  Despite that complaint, I really did enjoy this book overall.  The author wasn't afraid to take chances or make surprising choices with the story line.  It kept me on my toes the entire time!

Overall, I enjoyed this book and am excited to continue on with this series!  I've previously enjoyed a couple of this author's books - I really need to get working on her backlist more!  She has quite the backlist so at least I have lots more to look forward to while I wait for the next book in this series.  I'm especially intrigued by the way the author chose to end this book.  The case was wrapped up but she left some major questions open for one of the characters that is going to have me jumping on that second book whenever it comes out.  I would recommend this book to fans of mysteries and romantic suspense - this isn't a romantic suspense by any means but there are hints at a possible developing relationship that I think those types of readers will enjoy.  This is an easy book for me to recommend!

Bottom Line:  A mystery that kept me reading as fast as I could just so I could see how it would all turn out!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley as part of a publisher led blog tour.  Honest thoughts are my own.