RATING 3.5 STARS

A multi facet thriller with the characters that drive it and the who done it to keep you going.

Deveraux's current case on the murder of a young woman whose body is found at the cemetery, neatly wrapped in sheets brings his career, his personal life, and his past at a cross roads. This plot is all about connecting the dots. When the murder turns into a serial murders with the same MO, Deveraux and his partner must find the connections to the victim and the killer. One witness gives them a start but it ends up turning in circles until a missing piece is discovered.

What I liked about Deveraux was his ability to make the connections. He also did this in his personal life. A marriage that is on the brink unless he finds answers from his past. The lesson learned is the past can define you or refine you. That becomes the choice. It was for him and the irony it was for the victims and the killer. Not giving anything away because part of reading a good a book is discovery.

A special thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

A series of women have disappeared on ther twenty-first birthday, their bodies found wrapped as gifts. Detective Devereaux has nothing to go on. No motive, no suspects. The pressure is on to find the monster the press have dubbed the Birthday Killer.

Andrew Grand is a gifted writer, able to wring an emotional response, while keep the reader glued to the page. Recommended.

I wasn’t able to finish this book. Because of this, it is my policy not to review the book on my site or label it as DNF (did not finish) on Goodreads/Amazon.

I only discovered when I started reading this book that is was already book 3 in the series. Despite this, i feel that it read nicely as a standalone and I didn't miss too much reference from the previous book. I will however have to read books 1 and two now..... just have to!!! I just loved Andrew Grant's books and honestly can't wait for his next book. Highly recommended!!!!

This book is the third in a series, so if you have not read the first two, this one is confusion. His books need to be read in order. And I just could not get into the one. I tried.

oh my goodness... this book! so good!! great characters with an ending you won't see coming. i love the way it was written and got so caught up in this story, not knowing what was going to happen next. i will be looking out for more by this author.

Excellent and complex police procedural featuring Detective Cooper Devereaux. Set in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, this third in the series continues with a new case for Devereaux as he also continues to come to grips with his personal backstory.

Two victims, both women nabbed and murdered on subsequent nights, on their 21st birthday. Wrapped in sheets and delivered to the doorstep of a public place, the women did not know each other or have any connections. The press soon dubs this the B/DK -- the birthday killer case. Devereaux and his current partner, Tommy Garretty, begin the painstaking efforts to figure out who is doing this. There are quite a few possible suspects at first, but the list dwindles as time drags on without any progress. Then a third girl's body is found.

Meanwhile, there are some parallel stories that involve Cooper's long-dead father and some domestic drama with his girlfriend (the mother of his daughter). Because of this, I think it's very important to read these in order. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to #2, but some of the blanks were filled in with revelations in this book. I like seeing the progress that Devereaux is making toward self-acceptance and personal growth. He's quite the maverick in many ways, but his character is growing on me. As the main character, I'd say that he is the most fully developed of those in the novel. I continue to be very worried about his daughter, Nicole, and feel like his girlfriend, Alexandra, has serious blinders on and that is going to lead to a huge problem in, hopefully, the next in the series where THE ISSUE will be acknowledged and handled! NO SPOILERS.

The complicated investigation leads to a satisfying conclusion and I'm looking forward to the next in series. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the e-book ARC to read and review.

Set in Birmingham, Alabama in the present day, the story involves the murder of two young women (and, later, a third) on their twenty-first birthdays. The only thing they seemed to have had in common was that they had both had babies that were given up for adoption at birth, and that they died on their twenty-first birthdays. Cooper Devereaux is the lead detective on the case. Devereaux is dealing with his own demons as he works his way through the evidence and the witness interviews to solve his case. His father had been a known criminal who had been killed by the police when Cooper was a child himself. The trauma resulting from his traumatic learning of his father’s death, and of his criminal record, led to a troubled childhood for young Devereaux. Thankfully, he was helped by the cop who had handled his father’s case, even to the extent of sponsoring Cooper’s entry into the Birmingham Police Academy. Unfortunately, Alexandra, his girlfriend and mother of his daughter Nicole, has learned of his troubled past and left him for the second time after an eight-year separation to think things through.



The story is well-told. The action is consistently fast-paced. Because of the beginning of the novel readers will be pretty certain they know who the murderer is, but this is a police procedural story, and the police have not figured it out yet. At least, readers might think they know the identity of the killer. But they can’t really be sure. The author keeps us guessing right up to the end of the story, which has a few plot twists. The plot is easily able to hold your interest as Devereaux and his partner, working with an FBI agent and more-senior police officers grind through the complex, and sometimes contradictory, evidence. Unfortunately, more innocents must die before the murders are solved, but Devereaux does everything in his power to prevent that.

I have read Andrew’s books for a while and I was pleased to get to do an early review of this book. This book is very fast paced and I read it in one sitting. I absolutely can not wait to see more books from Andrew. This is one for my collection

This book is a second in a series. That being said I did not find that out until after reading this book. If I hadn't Googled the author I wouldn't have known. You can easily read this book as a stand alone. It kept my interest and was very well written. I have added the author to my favorites list.

Many apologies, but this book did not really work out for me. I think this was largely because I felt at a loss and confused for a large portion of the book. I really tried to like it, perhaps it is just not the right book at the right time. I would like to thank the publisher for the book.

3 1/2 Stars out of 5
This is not a stand alone novel it is part of a series. I found myself a little lost in the first several chapters because I jumped in on book 3 which is my fault.
That being said there were many times a quick update instead of a long drawn out one would have been much better and simpler. Several times I wondered if the author was trying to make a number count as there was more information than was needed for several scenes. Before readers are half way though the book they know that Cooper Devereaux has an amazing apartment and the location and how rich he is and the car he drives. Which I totally want a (Porsche).
The story has way to many plot holes that might be told in the next book in the series but leaves readers a bit confused wondering if the author forgot about the details that mattered in the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine publishing for the advance copy.
#netgalley #AndrewGrant

What did the dead women have in common? Why were they murdered and wrapped up like gifts on their birthdays? Each of them had given up a child for adoption but is that the key? Hah- no spoilers here. This is a fast paced procedural for fans of the serial killer sub genre. Cooper is a smart guy but he really does have some issues, especially dealing with his personal history and with Alexandra, the mother of his daughter. I liked that he worked cooperatively as part of a team (so rare in this type of tale). Grant also has spent time researching Birmingham (am curious how natives feel about this). This is the third book in the series and while the action didn't seem dependent on the back story, some of the personal relationships (notably with Alexandra) were a tad hazy for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This exciting thriller starts off with the promising story of a young girl that is determined to get her life back on track. Fast forward a year later and we find that this young women's hopes and dreams never really got off the ground.

Cooper Devereaux is roused out of bed for a fresh homicide that has a peculiar twist to it. Devereaux and longtime partner Tommy Garretty work the case and come up with dead ends everywhere they turn. The next day another victim turns up in a similar fashion. The pressure is ramped up by the brass to get in front of this killer and stop him before the bodies begin to pile up. But the detectives continue to get the run around everywhere they turn. Strange coincidences pop up, witnesses are being be tampered with, and the brass seem quick to wrap it up before the investigative process has been completed. When a third victim turns up that is somewhat different from the killer's MO, the detectives broaden the scope to try to piece it all together. The entire plot is complex with plenty of twists that keep the detectives running down false leads. The characters are well developed. Most of them will seem suspicious and rub you the wrong way, an excellent tool that keeps you guessing throughout.

Early on in the book a subplot appears that paints a portrait of an angry person that may be seeking revenge of some sort on their friend for treating them wrong. Letters that this character has written are interspersed throughout the book to foreshadow possible clues leading to a motive and suspect.

Another subplot appears early on that deals with Devereaux's personal life. This one is a little hard to follow, but I would assume that is because this book is the third in the series. I have not read the first two books. Nevertheless, the author does a good job of giving a broad overview of what has lead up to the specifics in this book relating to Devereaux and Alexandra's personal lives. I feel like reading the first two books in the series would provide a lot of insight and background to help make the material in this book more clear.

A new wrinkle appears about halfway into the book that seems to tie the cases together. Devereaux finally puts it all together in the end, leading to a pulse-pounding conclusion as the detectives race against time to prevent another murder.

This novel is an excellent example of police procedure and good old fashioned detective work. I would highly recommend it to fans of thrillers and detective series. I received this as a free ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gifts! I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Set in Birmingham, Alabama in the present day, this novel was written by Andrew Grant and published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House – New York in 2018. The story involves the murder of two young women (and, later, a third) on their twenty-first birthdays. The only thing they seemed to have had in common was that they had both had babies that were given up for adoption at birth, and that they died on their twenty-first birthdays. Cooper Devereaux is the lead detective on the case. Devereaux is dealing with his own demons as he works his way through the evidence and the witness interviews to solve his case. His father had been a known criminal who had been killed by the police when Cooper was a child, himself. The trauma resulting from his traumatic learning of his father’s death, and of his criminal record, led to a troubled childhood for young Devereaux. Thankfully, he was helped by the cop who had handled his father’s case, even to the extent of sponsoring Cooper’s entry into the Birmingham Police Academy. Unfortunately, Alexandra, his girlfriend and mother of his daughter Nicole, has learned of his troubled past and left him for the second time after an eight-year separation in order to think things over.

Only minor inconsistencies were noted in the book. One was the consternation of the detectives over not having a photograph of a potential suspect to show to a witness. Never mind that the suspect drove vehicles in his place of work and, presumably, held a valid Alabama driver’s license. Couldn’t they get a photograph from the DMV?

The story is well-told, and well-written. The action is consistently fast-paced. Because of the beginning of the novel, readers will be pretty certain of who they believe the murderer is, but this is a police procedural story, and the police have not figured it out, yet. At least, readers might think they know the identity of the killer. But they can’t really be sure. The author keeps us guessing right up to the end of the story, which has a few plot twists. The plot is easily able to hold our interest as Devereaux and his partner, working with an FBI agent and more-senior police officers grind through the complex, and sometimes contradictory, evidence. Unfortunately, more innocents must die before the murders are solved, but Devereaux does everything in his power to prevent that.

I liked the protagonist, Cooper Devereaux, and I thought the dialogue was realistic, as were details about the environs of Birmingham, although I have never been there. This is an easy, entertaining read. It is crisp, without an excess of self-analysis and romance to make one wonder about the genre. I enjoyed reading this story and would recommend it to others. I will definitely read the next of this author’s works.

This book is part of the Cooper Devereaux series but you don’t need to read the previous books to follow this book. This book is about the murder of 3 women, two of them are murdered on their 21st birthday. An FBI profiler is also working with Devereaux and his partner on the case. They need to act fast before there is a 4th victim.

If you like police procedurals this is a good one for you. There are plenty of suspects for you to choose from and lots of plots twists. I didn’t see the final twist in the story coming. Devereaux also faces some of his own personal issues in the story. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy of this book.

Here is a police procedural with Grant’s usual additions: great use of language, interesting character development and unexpected twists.

This is the third in a series centered around Birmingham Police Detective Cooper Devereaux,and a careful reader will note references to the earlier stories. But not having read them will not affect the enjoyment of this nice quick read. Of coure, you may then want to go back and find the others … worth the effort

False Witness is rather boring. We focus on Devicheaux, the lead detective. He is a crook. He is a bully. Why would I root for him? He gives the police a bad name- rude, intimidating, willing to cut corners even to the point of breaking the law. The victims have no character development, they could be anybody. Can't root for them. I really just rooted for the end of the novel to come.

I read this book last night and didn't bother stopping because, how can I? The killer was still at large! I'm even channelling my criminal mind while reading this because I'm dying to know the serial killer. This book is a great brain exercise for me and it feeds my cravings for detective books. Andrew Grant is a genius and brilliant and amazing! I can't wait for the edited version to come cause I want it now. *ARC provided by netgalley/publisher in exchange of an honest review.*