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.

Detective story with lots of corruption among the ranks. I had a little difficulty with some of the lengthy legal issues and the changing of names to keep myself connected. For instance using Detective instead of a name, or first name and then last name of characters made some passages difficult to follow. Nteresting parts about homeless and murders and sleuthing. If you like detective mysteries this is for you.

This is a complicated thriller that will you wondering if there is anyone the characters can trust. Thankfully Quinn has worked with Costa and Michael Heller for long enough that she has total trust in them. This story will make you question whether these circumstances are actually happening now. For me, I was a little confused at the beginning as to what the homeless encampment and Violet had to do with the rest of the story. But then it became clear and there were so many twists, secrets, undercover operations, and deaths. I loved the progression of Quinn's character throughout the story and was glad to see her get her HEA, at least for now.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A really enjoyable thriller. The corrupt politics made this one hard to put down, and I am looking forward to the next book.

This book had so many crazy twists and turns! The FMC Kara Quinn had it right when she said she wasn’t sure she could trust anyone. What an exciting adventure Author Allison Brennan takes us on.

Blurb:
When a key witness goes missing, Quinn & 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 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 another person close to the case is killed, it’s clear that anyone who knows too much is in danger, and tracking down the witness becomes a matter of life-and-death. But as explosive secrets 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 with FBI special agent Matt Costa’s help, she 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 book is the 5th book in the series. I had not read the previous books prior to reading this one. However, I followed the story well and plan to read the others since this one was so good.

This is book 5 in the series and trust me this is not a stand-alone book. The missing witness will fix the plot holes ore what this review thought were plot holes and fills in the missing pieces. With the filled holes and secondary characters readers get to know better the entire time the author is bring readers into her world giving readers everything they expect from Allison Brennan. This is hands down one of the best in her Quinn & Costa series.
Thank you to Netgalley for advance copy of The Missing Witness

This feels like it's a movie. I can absolutely see it playing out. I like Kara, but she doesn't always make the smartest/safest choices... But that's the movie character in her - because in the end it'll all be okay, right?

I think this book is perfect for readers who love a clean ending, a mystery to be solved. The twists won't be completely shocking or shattering, but it will leave the reader satisfied.

I enjoyed the characters in this book, and the idea of the plot more than the book itself.
Unfortunately, I did request to read this before realizing it was a series, so more back story could have helped, but overall, it did not grab me right away and it felt rather sluggish compared to my usual reads.

Title: The Missing Witness
Author: Allison Brennan
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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.

I’ve really enjoyed the Quinn & Costa series, and I think this was my favorite so far. Kara actually showed a loot of character growth here and it was nice to see how she’s changed since the first back. Her going back to the scene of her past was interesting to watch---and seeing the ghosts from her past life as she interacted with the case that got her to the FBI Mobile Response team added a lot of depth to her character. I really enjoyed this, and stayed up until 2 a.m. binge-reading it.

Allison Brennan is a bestselling author. The Missing Witness is the newest Quinn & Costa novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 1/23).

An intricate web of high stakes undercover operations, murder and government corruption. This book was action packed. Admittedly I should have probably read the first 4 books in this series but I didn’t have trouble following along.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this book!

The Quinn & Costa series is one of the most satisfying series procedural thriller series out there. Every book in the series feels fresh and is full of shocking twists. The Missing Witness is not exception and did not disappoint.

Kara Quinn is in LA to testify in the case that has destroyed much of her life (for more on that, you will need to read the other books ;) in the series). Things don’t go as planned when the defendant is shot and one of the witnesses goes missing. Things don’t get better from there.

I absolutely love this series and this book. Allison Brennan is extraordinary master at crafting a story that makes you forget you are reading. This does not read like a procedural and rather just like a very well don’t thriller. If you haven’t read the Quinn & Costa series yet, now is a great time to dive into it before this most recent installment comes out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. I leave this review voluntarily.

In the fifth book in the Quinn and Costs series, this story is very police procedural and has the biggest web of lies and deception to sift through.

I received this ARC after not having read the other books in the series, so I was a little worried about that but this can definitely be read as a stand alone. The only thing was there were a lot of characters so at the beginning it took a lot for me to keep them all straight in my head- and this could be just because I had not read the other books.

This book was fast paced and action packed, with layer by layer of the story being revealed which I liked. What I didn’t love was all of the characters involved in the scheme itself. It was a lot to keep track of and understand all of the connections. especially between the FBI and the LA PD and the LA FBI, it was hard to manage who was involved and what their role was. Additionally the book was written from many different character perspectives which at times made it hard to follow.

Overall landing at a 3.5 rating! I enjoyed it and wanted to know what would happen. I am looking forward to trying more of Brennan’s work!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

A fast paced tale of corruption and abuse of the vulnerable homeless population. Detective Kara Quinn and FBI Special Agent Matt Costa work together in this latest installment of the series to find a whistleblower who has information on the LAPD, among other things. It helps tremendously to have read the earlier books because this builds on all of them. That said, the characters are dynamic enough to keep you going as is the subject matter. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A page turner.

All Too Real. Despite what some may claim about the problems of the Homeless Industrial Complex not existing in the real world, When We Walk By by Kevin Adler and Donald Burnes - released just 10 weeks or so before the publication of this book and so far as I can see, never read by Brennan as she was doing her research for this book - shows all too well just how much these kinds of things actually do exist.

Now, as with all *fictional* tales, Brennan has clearly taken a *few* liberties - no one is making any claims about the "real" world LA here, ultimately this is truly a fictional tale set in an alternate world very similar yet not completely identical to our own. Though the corruption in this particular version of LA and the multiple murders being investigated through the course of this book tied to that corruption... eh, I'm sure the citizens of that LA were wishing they had a particular dude styling himself after a small flying rodent whipping around their town.

Instead, they get Kara Quinn. And let's face it, with her "irregular" investigative methods and keen detective abilities... Kara Quinn may at minimum prove she could be a reliable partner for that other dude. Here, her skills are both throttled at times and allowed to bloom into their full wonder at other times, all while the other members of the team she works with - Matt Costa's FBI unit - each prove to be equally capable supporting members in their own ways.

Ultimately this is truly a fictional crime thriller, and Brennan as usual shows just how great she is at weaving tales that are clearly fictional, yet all too real. Does she get a touch preachy at times? Perhaps for some, though it was never truly heavy handed enough for me to deduct a star over or truly even mention here other than this very "your mileage may vary" kind of statement. The rest of the action is well paced, the mystery is complex with quite a few moving parts, and just when you think you may have everything figured out... well, it turns out you probably don't know quite *everything*.

It will be interesting to see where Brennan takes this series next, assuming she does, given how this particular tale ends - and I very much look forward to finding out what may be next. Very much recommended.

I am a brand new reader to Allison Brennan & now I’m a HUGE FAN! This story was a page turner. As soon as I started it I couldn’t put it down!! If you love crime fiction, psychological thrillers this is for you!!!

Each characters storyline and how they layer together to tell the whole story is one of my favorite aspects of her writing. It allows for deep character building. Which in turn allows you to understand more of the story, which deepens the plot & conclusion.

The depth of which this stories crime spilled felt true to life, as if it all was currently happening, while still being entertaining. Less like a news story & more like a full investigation being shared in a podcast! I truly loved this!

Additionally, I loved reading the acknowledgments where the discussion of depth of research, true stories that some of the fiction is derived from as well as the friends/family/support sources she uses. It truly shows in this book.

I’m officially a fan and already can’t wait to read another! This series would be fun to listen on audiobook too!

Huge thank you to Harlequin Trade & NetGalley for this copy in return for my honest review!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing & Allison Brennan for the ARC of The Missing Witness.

This book was seriously so hard to put down. It had a great storyline and everything seemed to be very realistic. I love how Allison wrote in the Acknowledgments that she researches before writing her books so she can be as authentic as possible.

Kara Quinn & Matt Costa are great characters who have each others backs 100%. They never had to question each other, only the people Kara previously worked with. As you read this book, you’re constantly questioning everyone throughout it trying to figure out who did what & why they did it.

There are a lot of characters in this book and in the beginning it’s hard to keep track of who is who. I found myself having to go back to look at a few of them to figure out who they were & where they fit in.

This is a good mystery/thriller novel and I would recommend it!

I was invited to the Book Tour for this Title. The Excerpt has been shared on my blog.

https://wendyreadsandwrites.blogspot.com/2024/01/blog-tour-missing-witness-queen-costa.html

A terrific book! There are lots of subplots and with lots of twists and turns that make it hard to put down. I enjoyed Kara Quinn and look forward to more of her stories

A great book to tie up the series by Allison Brennan. The Missing Witness is the 5 book in the series and has Detective Quinn testifying in a human trafficking case.

The Missing Witness by Allison Brennan is a complex procedural which leads readers through an intricate labyrinth of information to a very satisfying final denouement. It is very highly recommended and the fifth book featuring Kara Quinn.

Detective Kara Quinn and FBI agent Matt Costa have returned to Los Angeles where Kara is going to testify against human trafficker David Chen. Then Chen is shot on his way to court and a witness to the crime disappears. The witness also happens to be an important whistleblower to an even bigger case of corruption involving city leaders, the police and the FBI that is also tied to the case against Chen. There are many hidden secrets and knowledge about the corruption and who is involved is dangerous.

The pace is fast, there are numerous details to recall, and there are also a large number of characters to follow which all work together in this complex intricate labyrinth of a novel. An important aspect of the story involves the homeless population and secrets, schemes and corruption involving solutions to the issue. While the tension is high, it's essential to keep track of all the clues and details to appreciate the complicated puzzle the case presents and follow everything to the conclusion.

As I have been following this series, it was easy to recognize known characters and pick up where we left off. Readers may benefit from following the series in order, but you can also jump into it with The Missing Witness. Kara Quinn is a wonderful character. She is intelligent, determined, and fearless. Matt Costa is equally intelligent, tenacious, and compliments her character nicely. There are a whole lot of characters that are also written as realistic individuals.

This is a must read for anyone following the series, as well as those who enjoy procedurals and novels of suspense. I was actually going to rate the novel down a star until late in the novel where Brennan pulled out all the stops. At this point the action was incredible intense and there were several shocking surprises and twists. The order of the series is The Third to Die, Tell No Lies, The Wrong Victim, Seven Girls Gone, and The Missing Witness. Disclosure: My advanced reading copy (ARC) was courtesy of MIRA Books via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, X, and Amazon.