The Third to Die

At the start of this tense series launch from bestseller Brennan (the Lucy Kincaid series), Det. Kara Quinn, who’s on leave from the LAPD, is jogging on a trail in her hometown of Liberty Lake, Wash., when she comes across the mutilated body of a young woman. The victim is evidently a nurse, based on the green scrubs she’s wearing and the stethoscope wrapped around her neck. When FBI special agent Mathias Costa, the head of the agency’s new Mobile Response Team in Washington, D.C., learns that the Liberty Lake murder fits the profile of the serial killer known as the Triple Killer, he and his team travel to Washington State to join those, including Kara, investigating the murder. Since the Triple Killer strikes once every three years, Matthias and Kara must act fast to stop the unidentified fiend before he vanishes for another three years. The relationship between Matthias and Kara adds some romantic heat. Fans of Jeff Abbott and Karin Slaughter will find this crime novel hard to put down. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writers House. (Feb.)