Tell No Lies

Bestseller Brennan’s intriguing sequel to 2020’s The Third to Die takes Matt Costa, the head of the FBI’s D.C.-based mobile response team, and his team, including Kara Quinn, an LAPD detective on permanent loan to the MRT, to Tucson, Ariz., to investigate two potentially connected cases: the murder of an environmental activist college student and the possible illegal dumping of toxic waste by a nearby copper refinery. The refinery owner’s son provides assistance by becoming an informant for Matt. Meanwhile, Kara goes undercover as a bartender at a hangout for refinery workers, and her colleague Michael Harris, a former Navy SEAL, takes a job at the refinery. More deaths occur, and the team gets on the trail of a vicious criminal gang. Amid the fast-paced action, Matt, Kara, and Michael each take time to ruminate on their dysfunctional love lives. These bumps in the narrative may frustrate readers eager to get on with unraveling the well-constructed mystery plot. Fans of romantic thrillers will best appreciate this one. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writers House. (Mar.)