The Missing Witness is book 5 in the Quinn & Costa Thriller series by Allison Brennan.
This is a well-written, entertaining, romantic suspense novel.
It has a strong female protagonist, vividly described settings, murder, mystery, intrigue and suspense. There are many twists and surprises which keep ramping up the stakes and tension throughout the story.
A thrilling police procedural. The mystery is a nail-biting, action-packed ride that I couldn’t stop once I started. The mystery element in The Missing Witness is magnificent and totally engaging.
This was a definite page turner that I blew through.

Thank You NetGalley and MIRA for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Intrigue and corruption go hand and hand in this Quinn and Costa match up! It takes a minute to get caught back up on what's going on with Kara Quinn, but then we are quickly thrust into the heart of her past as danger lurks around every corner and who to trust isn't so clear cut anymore. I love the core cast of the Mobile Response Team and the underlying romance between Kara and Matt and the corruption coming to light in this story was unreal but super entertaining. I really hope to see more of this team soon!

Kara Quinn is a really endearing character. She's tough as nails and dishes the attitude out with the best of them, but she's learned a lot about how to rely on someone since joining Matt's team and connecting with her partner and teammates. I really like her.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who enjoys a police procedural with lots of twist and turns as they try to get to the heart of the case at hand. A great series for fans of Bosch, Criminal Minds, etc.

Detective Kara Quinn and FBI agent Matt Costa are back in the fifth book in this series. There is a lot going on in this story, both professionally and personally. Kara has been reassigned since a man involved in human trafficking, has put a large bounty on her head. There also appears to be at least one officer/agent providing information to the wrong people. The story devotes quite a bit of time to the plight of the homeless. It broke my heart to see how much money is invested with no positive results.
The ending left the door open for some forward momentum between Kara and Matt in the next book. As usual, it was an enjoyable read.

4/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance reader copy of this book. The Missing Witness is filled with twists and turns, some I didn’t even see coming. Once I hit the 60% mark I couldn’t put it down. The plot is complexe and layered. Allison Brennan did her research on the homeless crisis and the fraud and corruption going on was eye-opening.

My only complaint is that I found the number of characters to be confusing, especially when referred to by the first or last name. However, that may be because this was my first read of the series. I plan on catching up and reading the first 4 books!

It took me more than a week to finish this book, after I had to stop and start over so many times. I even read several books in between, because the book overwhelmed me. I think that it is partially because I went into this blindly. I hadn't read any of the other books, but I loved the description and went for it. I realize now that was a grave mistake on my part. I finally finished the book, but I hated that it took so long. The book was interesting, and I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns. However, it wasn't enough to make me love the book. I liked it, but I am confident that I would have liked it more if I had read the other books in the series first.

I've lived in SoCal for over 70 years, and I have to say that I absolutely believe that something like the events described in this book could really happen, especially in Los Angeles. Seeing the homeless on every block and encampments in public parks makes me a firm believer in Brennan's Homeless Industrial Complex. This book is complex, and the plot is complicated with lots of twists and turns although the baddies were known throughout the book. The suspense comes in how the good guys figure it all out.

Los Angeles Police Department Detective Kara Quinn had her life changed nine months ago when she was a part of a bust that when bad. David Chen, a human trafficker was captured but he is fighting the charges all the way. After a bounty of $1 million dollars is put on Kara's head, she is loaned to the FBI to get her out of town. She's back for a hearing in the Chen case and suddenly the case is turned upside down when Chen is murdered, and the only eyewitness, a whistleblower on her way to revel explosive information, is missing. When the DDA in charge of the case is murdered right in front of Kara, she knows that this case is about more than a human trafficker.

Matt Costa and Kara are determined to find out both the who and the why as this case reveals some deep corruption in Los Angeles government and they both know that there are some real bad actors in both the LAPD and the LA-FBI. Who do they trust, because trusting the wrong person could get them all dead.

My thanks to the Publisher and the Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

Kara is an LAPD cop on loan to the FBI because her cover was blown on an investigation when her case now becomes tied to that prior case. Grants for homeless housing and services come into question with implications of dirty cops and corrupt administration and politicians and people are murdered to eliminate loose ends. Loved the twists and turns of the investigation as links and secrets are discovered and love interests develop. This would make a fantastic series for streaming!,

Thank for the ARC to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing! #NetGalley #TheMissingWitness

3.5 stars

The Missing Witness by Allison Brennan is the fifth in the Detective Quinn and  FBI Agent Costa Series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Harlequin - MIRA and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background:    (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
Under Assistant Director Tony Greer,  Special Agent Mathias Costa runs the new Mobile Response Team at the FBI. The goal is to travel to locations which have minimal law enforcement and offer their assistance. The team consists of Matt, analyst Ryder Kim, former Navy SEAL Michael Harris, forensic specialist Jim Esteban, Zack Heller, a white-collar crimes expert, and Forensic Psychiatrist Catherine Howard.  LA Police Detective Kara Quinn has been an undercover cop for 12 years, and since she is cannot return to LA at the moment, she is on loan to the FBI, and assigned to Matt's team.  Kara and Matt are romantically involved. 


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Kara is back in Los Angeles to testify against a human trafficker,  the case that turned her life upside down, and where she lost her partner and sometimes lover, Colton.  But when the accused trafficker is shot in broad daylight, there are few reliable witnesses, and the one who may help has disappeared.  They will have to find her before someone else does.

Then the prosecutor is stabbed to death, and things get worse.  The corruption in government,  the LAPD and the FBI is escalating, and trust has broken down between all departments.

Kara finds she has been lied to by her old department, and  is again being made the scapegoat.  She trusts Matt and his team, but few others.


My Opinions:
I'm going to be in the minority on this one, but, not every book is for everyone... I mean, it's a good book, but...

It's another drawn out book in this series.  That and the fact that it is again about police corruption has me wondering why I am still reading these books.  The last one had elements of it too, but this one is full political and police corruption. Definitely not my genre.  It felt like full-on hatred. The cops hated the FBI, and vice-versa.  Everyone lied, kept secrets, and everything of course, pointed to Kara.  It was so predictable. This is probably one of the reasons that these books seem so long...if you aren't enjoying the topic, the book is never-ending.  Another reason for the long story is the repetitiveness.  Way too much detail repeated again and again!

The story is told from multiple characters, which is normally fine, but the information is repeated from each of those perspectives!

Now for some good.  I do like Matt and his team.  Although Kara is often so unpredictable that she's hard to like, this book showed a better side of her.  However, I really have hope for the books because of Matt. He is a really compelling character.

Also on the good side, the author definitely did her research on homelessness.  So sad.  I enjoyed the characters of both Will and Violet, and that story-line was definitely interesting.

Admittedly,  I actually set this book aside, read something else, and then came back to it.  Now, if a third book in a row even hints at corruption, I'm out of here.  But I know a number of people will really enjoy this one!

The last third of the book is what made it worth reading for me. I am the outlier in that I honestly did not enjoy most of the book. However, when I finally was able to put the pieces together, I became much more invested. There were things about the book that I did not reduce my rating for because I think that they my shortcomings rather than the author's. It has been a while since I have read police procedurals and this author in particular and I suspect that I may not be as crazy about them as I used to be.
There were a few other things that bothered me that did impact my rating: one is that there were abrupt changes in character perspectives and that made the book hard to follow. That is why it was better later on when I was more grounded. The other is that there was a bit of preachiness about homelessness and while I agree with the sentiment, I don't like to be hit over the head with it. The book was strongest in its dialogue where some of this could come out, without feeling like I was being talked at. And I would say overall, dialogue was the biggest strength.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this one because the plot was so compelling! I have never read a book by this author before this one, and now I will definitely be checking out more of Allison Brennan's work.

This book was full of drama and plot twists! Unfortunately when requesting it on Netgalley, I did not realize that it is apart of a series. I cannot fault the book for this as it was my error/lack of research, but like I said the plot just sounded so compelling that I instantly hit request! I think i would have enjoyed this one better had I read others first, but overall it was still a very fun and explosive read!

The missing witness by Allison Brennan.
Quinn and Costa book 5.
When a key witness goes missing, Quinn and Costa must find her before a killer silences her for good…
Detective Kara Quinn is back in Los Angeles to testify against a notorious human trafficker, finally moving past the case that upended her life. But when the accused is shot by a masked man in broad daylight, the chaotic scene of the crime turns up few reliable bystanders. And one witness—a whistleblower who might be the key to everything—has disappeared. After the prosecuting DDA is stabbed to death, it’s clear that anyone who knows too much about the investigation is in danger, and tracking down the witness becomes a matter of life or death. With government corruption running rampant and someone on the inside trying to pin anything they can on Kara, she trusts nobody except FBI special agent Matt Costa and a handful of allies. But when explosive secrets begin to surface within the LAPD and FBI, Kara questions everything she thought she knew about the case, her colleagues and the life she left behind months ago. Now Quinn and Costa must race to find the missing witness and get to the bottom of the avalanche of conspiracies that has rocked LA to its core…before it's too late.
This was a really good read. Couldn't put it down. I didn't know who I liked or didn't like. Very twisty. I certainly didn't know who to trust. I was trying to guess who it was. I wS very surprised how far certain characters went to get what they wanted. That did surprise me. I did like Kar and Matt in the end. I loved the ending. I do hope there is more to come. 4*.

“You can’t force someone to get clean. You can’t love someone enough to change them.”

I liked this novel, but didn’t love it. I felt like it didn’t start taking a twist to the more exciting side until about 70% through. Something I did appreciate was the connectedness of all of the characters. It was written well and held my attention, I just don’t know that anything in particular stood out to make it go above and beyond a typical mystery/thriller.

This is the latest installment of the Quinn and Costa- this book answers all the questions that started the series and we become entangled in corrupt city politics and the fight for justice. This book is a very detailed, suspenseful thriller but also a great deal of research has been done to bring our countries homelessness issue into light- a shocking and sad issue.

This book had crazy twists and turns at every page and Allison Brennan did a fantastic job bringing readers along for the ride.

Allison Brennan's The Missing Witness is the Fifth installment in the authors Quinn and Costa series. Key Characters: Detective Kara Quinn; Special Agent Matt Costa; Violet Halliday, and a slew of characters from the LAPD, to the FBI, to several villains who are corrupt and dishonest. 8 months ago, Detective Kara Quinn was told to leave Los Angeles by her bosses after her uncover investigation against Chinese Businessman David Chen, who allegedly trafficked women from China, went horribly wrong and her partner and a victim lost their lives.

She was assigned to Matt Costa's Mobil Response Team where she has been involved in some pretty serious investigations. But now it is time to return to LA to testify against Chen, and hopefully get a certain FBI Agent named Bryce Thornton off her back. Chen thinks that he can get Kara's testimony tossed out because of her actions, while Bryce has been trying unsuccessfully for 10 years to put Kara in prison for anything he can come up with. But when Chen is shot by a masked man in broad daylight, the chaotic scene of the crime turns up few reliable bystanders.

And one witness—a whistleblower who might be the key to everything—has disappeared. Violet Halliday is the missing witness and whistleblower. She not only knows who the shooter is, but she works as an IT geek for City Hall. She learned that certain politicians in LA are lining their pockets with millions that is supposed to be going to help the homeless population in the city which continues to grow without any end in sight. This involves pilfering homeless grants and funding and even putting a hit out on a certain cop. Fiction becomes Reality.

When Deputy District Attorney Craig Dyson is killed, Violet becomes the hunted. Who can she turn to for help? After Dyson is stabbed to death right in front of Kara and gets away, it’s clear that anyone who knows too much about the investigation is in danger, and tracking down the witness becomes a matter of life or death. With government corruption running rampant and someone on the inside trying to pin anything they can on Kara, she trusts nobody except FBI special agent Matt Costa and a handful of allies, including Michael.

When Kara nemesis is found murdered with her gun, it appears that someone really powerful wants her dead. Kara starts to question everything she thought she knew about the case, her colleagues and the life she left behind months ago. It appears that there is a leak in the FBI, and those Kara thought she could trust in the LAPD are keeping a secret so damaging, that it could change Kara's future as a cop in LA. Now Quinn and Costa must race to find the missing witness and get to the bottom of the avalanche of conspiracies that has rocked LA to its core…before it's too late.

*Thoughts* I would definitely recommend that readers go back to the first installment in this series and refresh your memories of what actually happened to Kara 8 months ago and what has happened to her since. Kara, who is an excellent investigator, has a hard time letting people in. She doesn't trust easily, and that is actually not a bad thing considering what has happened to her, and the secrets that have been kept from her by those who she trusts. She has let Matt get close to her, but she is worried that she will lose him once her job is done in LA.

The plight of the homeless as presented by the author via Violet and Will Latimer was heartbreaking and realistic. Folks, this is not a Democrat vs Republican issue. It is something that needs to be fixed by working together. In this book, the author is telling you there is a huge problem in California because of corrupt politicians and others. It is a reality in this country that lots of homeless fall victim to drugs and alcoholism. There are thousands of military veterans, children, and families living on the streets because of mental health issues, and drugs.

It is beyond embarrassing that a large city like Los Angeles continues to allow corrupt politicians like George Gascon who take money from powerful billionaires to look the other way while the city tears itself apart and does nothing about companies who get millions to help the homeless. Gascon’s pro-criminal agenda has turned Los Angeles into a nightmare and a cesspool with San Francisco close behind. Criminals feel emboldened, residents unsafe, and victims abandoned. Gascon was recalled, but judges threw out the recount saying they didn't have enough valid signatures.

Finally, there is no excuse for homelessness in this country. If we can send billions to Ukraine and other foreign nations, we can take these people off the street and provide them with the help and assistance they need.

This was my first book in the series. I felt like the author did a good job of setting up the background of the various characters so I didn't feel like I had to read the previous books. With that said, there were so many characters and story lines that I found it difficult to follow in some areas. I liked the fast pace of the story, and the information on the homeless crisis was very interesting (and sad). I could have done without the sex scenes as I didn't think they added anything to the story, and I found them somewhat crass.
Thanks to Net Galley for the book to review.

This was my least favorite book by this author yet. I liked the stand alone books and other series I have read, I like the only other book in this series I have read. This one fell flat. It over simplified everything from homelessness to drugs to complex laws. I was a little offended by how dumbed down all of these complex issues were presented. The author tried to make up for that by over complicating the rest of the plot. Still, even as a far left liberal, I was left wanting of some real depth and understanding.

The Missing Witness is well worth the time to read it's a strong relevant to just about and family storyline with a good twisty plot that keeps you guessing who the good guys are the characters are entertaining complex and well written drawing you into their struggles.
I received a advance readers copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review

Another Allison Brennan DNF for me unfortunately. I'm always so intrigued going into these books because the premise sounds so good but then I can never get interwoven into the story enough to continue. The romance was cute, the mystery and tension was great, just not a big fan of the writing. I really wanted to continue this story but I didn't want to force myself to read it.

The only thing I love more than a detective mystery is a series where you can build on your knowledge and love for characters. The latest installment in the Quinn & Costa series offers the best of this pair as they navigate corruption, disappearing witnesses, and lots of twists and turns.
While I think you could enjoy this one as a stand-alone novel, it's definitely a much more engaging and rewarding book for those who have read the rest of the series. All-in-all, a really great novel.

I didn't realize this was part of a series when I requested to read it. I found that there were some holes in getting to know the characters and that's probably because I haven't read the previous four books. However, the story can still be enjoyed as a stand alone. The corruption, secrets, and twists made this book very enjoyable. I would say the story had a little more depth than thrillers that I usually read and at times was a bit hard to follow. Overall, a very enjoyable detective mystery.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.