Cover Image: Tell No Lies

Tell No Lies

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Member Reviews

Tell No Lies by Allison Brennan is the second book in the Quinn & Costa series, featuring the dynamic duo of FBI agent Matt Costa and detective Kara Quinn. In this thrilling novel, they are sent to investigate a series of mysterious deaths in the desert near Tucson, Arizona, that may be linked to a copper refinery, a drug cartel, and a human trafficking ring. Along the way, they face danger, deception, and secrets that could destroy them.

Brennan delivers a fast-paced and gripping story that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. The plot is complex and well-crafted, with multiple twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the end. The characters are realistic and engaging, with distinct personalities and backgrounds that make them relatable and likable. The chemistry between Quinn and Costa is palpable and adds a touch of romance to the suspense. The setting is vividly described and creates a contrast between the beauty and the brutality of the desert.

Tell No Lies is a must-read for fans of mystery and thriller genres, as well as for those who enjoyed the first book in the series, The Third to Die. It is a captivating and satisfying read that will leave the reader wanting more of Quinn and Costa's adventures.

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A great who done it that turns into much more than just a simple murder. I really enjoy this author and this series. The characters are so fun!

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Favorite Quotes:

Papa said that the stars were God’s glitter to make the dark not as scary.

She’d been a con artist before she was a cop, and being an undercover cop was, essentially, being a con artist, but with a badge.

Matt was certainly an alpha male trying his hardest to be a beta, but he didn’t have a sexist bone in his body. Well, maybe a couple— he was a guy, after all...


My Review:

This was a complex, multi-faceted, and intriguing tale with haunting issues and a well-crafted writing style that packed a visceral punch without being gruesome. The gripping storylines were unpredictable and needled and poked at my curiosity throughout. The characters were as interesting and complicated as the case they were working and the clever author textured them well with authentic flaws and quirks. I can’t wait to dive into the next in the series as I’m well primed for more of the same of this wily wordsmith’s work.

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this was a great third novel in the Quinn & Costa Thriller series, I enjoyed the plot of the book so much. The characters were what I remembered and I really enjoyed reading this.

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This book was Thrilling!! Allison Brennan had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end! Her books really get inside your head!

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This book had too many subplots going on with sooo many characters that it was pretty confusing. The FBI mobile team was good, but the writing was quite different on this story. I felt the suspense was diluted, and I hoped book 3 would be better.

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I have been provided with a review copy of Tell No Lies from NetGalley for an impartial review. This is the second book in the A Quinn & Costa Thriller series and I just loved getting to reenter this amazing world. Oh my gosh this story was just epic. I just couldn’t put this story down and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. The author truly outdid herself with this story. This story just had my emotions all over the place and I am so sad to see this book end. I just can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

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Kara Quinn was a no-nonsense LAPD detective who grew up in a life of schemes, scams and deceit. However, by becoming a cop, taking on many undercover assignments, Quinn put her past behind her. Her last case, which was in Tell No Lies, has made it too dangerous for Kara to continue going undercover in LA. Thus, Special Agent Mathias Costa of the FBI has pulled her into his newly formed Mobile Response Team, based in DC.

Currently Quinn is undercover as a bartender. What is going on? Well, as the story begins, a young college student, studying geology, notices several dead birds. Dragging her boyfriend along with her, she investigates the cause of the death of the birds. Sadly, this led to her murder. The FBI, which Matt is running along with his team, is soon on the scene to search for leads. Thus Quinn has her assignment, as do a couple of other agents. They infiltrate a copper company who just might be involved in toxic dumping, thus the dead birds the college student was investigating.

Along the way, Quinn and Costa find far more than toxic dumping. In fact, they find evidence of possible child trafficking, thus making things far more dangerous than either of them could have ever imagined. They have an inside source as to their investigation, but things still get quite hairy.

Danger lurks about at every corner the deeper they get into the desert in Patagonia, Arizona. The town member's are quite tight-lipped, and this does not make the investigation go easy. Then, evidence involving young children engage Quinn and Costa deep into much more than dumping. As mentioned, there is evidence of child trafficking, but also gun smuggling and drugs. Quinn desperately tries to hold onto her cover to allow Costa enough time to put all of the pieces together to stop all of the nefarious activity.

What a thrilling story! While this serves quite well as a standalone novel, the first book shows how closely Quinn and Costa became and how their chemistry plays into this second story. The danger that is before the both of them, most notably, Quinn, creates palpable tension that never once lets up. With expected twists and turns, and dangerous players, this story definitely proved to be a compelling read.

Many thanks to MIRA and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

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What starts out as two young lovers picnicking in the woods ends up with a young environmental activist with her head bashed in. Authorities believe it has something to do with her reports about suspicious wildlife deaths. This brings the FBI to the small town of Patagonia, AZ and opens up a Pandora's box filled with environmental pollution, corporate fraud, drug cartels and human trafficking.

Tell No Lies reads like a dominoe effect with one dead body leading you to another. There are many threads and many characters outside the Mobile Response Team. These characters are new to this case and not a product of Tell No Lies being a sequel. In that aspect it serves well as a standalone as Brennan fills you in on Quinn and Costa's backgrounds and relationship. It is evident that Brennan spent a great deal of time researching the landscape and forensics. But the number of threads and detail take away from the momentum of the book.

There is also a romantic element to the book. Kara Quinn is very strong. She is used to fighting her own battles. Her and Costa's prior involvement is creating a lot of tension and frustration as they work this case. For me this was the right amount of romance but for true romance readers I am not sure if they would find this satisfying.

I enjoyed the fierceness of Kara's character and that she is uninhibited and feels free to say what she wants and tells it like she sees it. Although there were plenty of bad guys Brennan does give us an equal measure of good guys to cheer on. In the end all the threads come together in one delectable bow.

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Tell No Lies is the second book in the Quinn & Costa series. This time around, Kara and members of the team are undercover in a small town to try to solve the murder of an environmental activist. The investigation leads to a case that ends up being much more convoluted then they initially expected. This definitely can be read as a stand alone, so dive right in if you haven't read the first one.

I thought this was a solid follow-up to The Third to Die. I am still enjoying the characters, especially Kara and Matt. I like their relationship both professionally and personally. I can't wait to see where it ends up. One of my favorite parts of the book was the way Kara mentored her teammate on undercover work. He has a lot of doubts and she ended up being a great sounding board for him to help figure things out. The mystery was enjoyable and kept me guessing. I highly recommend this one as well as the first one.

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Allison Brennan has written a thrilling police undercover story in Tell No Lies. An environmentalist Emma is murdered and an FBI mobile unit goes undercover to find out what happened. The team discover drug running, money laundering, fake companies and more murder. Kara Quinn, LAPD cop on loan to the FBI is undercover as a barkeep and Mike de Costa is the FBI agent in Charge who had a past relationship with her. This plot corkscrews through all the criminal acts going on and throws up lots of suspects. Great read.

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Kara Quinn and Matt Costa find themselves involved in finding the murderer of a young activist. A college intern, she finds birds and wildlife in the mountains are found dead from unknown causes. Deciding to look into this herself, she winds up dead.

Local law enforcement is slow to get involved. That’s when the mobile FBI unit goes undercover to infiltrate the town and its copper refinery in search of possible leads.

As more bodies fall, Quinn and Costa find themselves looking into much more than was known. Kara goes undercover as a bar tender while Costa manages to put another of his team undercover in the refinery.

Lots of action .. lots of twists and turns. Suspects are abundant. Relationships get strained. Suspense starts on the very first page and holds steady until the final explosive conclusion. Although second in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone. I do recommend reading in order to get the backstories of Quinn and Costa.

Many thanks to the author / Harlequin - Mira / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

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Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This is the second book in the Quinn and Costa series but could easily be read as a standalone book. This author has written some of my favourite thrillers, and I really like this series. The main characters Matthias Costa and Kara Quinn are great characters and I cannot wait to see where their personal story goes in the next books.

When student Emma thinks she is on the trail of an illegal chemical dumping spot, she convinces her boyfriend to go out to the desert and search with her. When she is murdered and the FBI comes in to try to solve her murder it sets off a series of events that will take you on an investigative journey with Matt Costa and his undercover team. I enjoyed the pace of the story and the character interaction. Kara is undercover at the local bar, is she in over her head, has someone figured out who she is and will Costa’s whole team make it out okay? This book had a satisfying ending as well. This author always writes a good book.

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A great match between Kara Quinn and Matt Costa. Working on another case for the FBI regarding illegal dumping. Kara is working undercover as a bartender in the small town Arizona. Matt relies on his team and depends on Kara's instincts. The illegal dumping leads to more sinister crimes against children fleeing the border. They with their team and the town's informants must find how the illegal dumping and trafficking's are tied together. There is a murder on the lose and time is running out.

A eye opener for the border and it goes without the political noise that take away from the real problem. Children being sold by their parents to "coyotes" and guns being smuggled along with drugs. A big business and with the strong characters of Kara and Matt it gives you perspective in the dangers that are faced for our country and how children are exploited. With the chemistry between Kara and Matt it really built the suspense that much more. I am always pleased with Brennan's gift of character development and suspense.

I liked the title of the book and how it played with the plot. Criminals and law enforcement use lies to get to the truth.

A special thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest reiew.

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Fast-paced, gripping and unputdownable, Allison Brennan’s latest Quinn and Costa thriller Tell No Lies is a nail-biting chiller packed with twists and turns readers simply won’t see coming.

There is something sinister going on in the mountains just south of Tucson that is killing wildlife. A matter which is of huge concern to local activists who vow to get to the bottom of what is causing this heart-breaking tragedy, a college intern turned activist decides to collect her own evidence and try to put a stop to this senseless killing. Only it turns out that there are people high up in the mountains willing to do whatever it takes to keep their secrets hidden. They are not exactly overjoyed to have a do-gooding activist sniffing round their patch threatening to expose them, so they choose the only option open to them: cold-blooded murder…

With the local law enforcement ill-equipped to cope with this case, a mobile FBI unit is tasked with going undercover to infiltrate the town and the copper refinery to find any clues and leads that might just help them get some answers. Kara Quinn and Matt Costa will leave no stone unturned in their quest for justice, but as they begin to investigate in earnest, they quickly realize that in this stark landscape, nothing is what it initially seems. As they uncover one shocking secret after another, the body count keeps rising and Quinn and Costa realize that it’s not just a crazed killer that they’ve got on their hands, but something far darker and more insidious than they previously imagined. Will Quinn and Costa manage to ensure that justice is served before more lives are lost? Or will the dangerous criminal they are chasing manage to dodge the long arm of the law?

Allison Brennan’s Tell No Lies is a dark, shocking and sinister thriller that will send chill after chill racing down readers’ spine. A superb storyteller who grabs her readers from the very first page, in Quinn and Costa, Allison Brennan has created two fascinating and flawed detectives who will have readers eating out of the palm of their hands. Tell No Lies is a high stakes thriller that is taut, tense and so superbly written putting it down is next to impossible.

Allison Brennan’s Tell No Lies is a must-read for thriller fans. Smart, satisfying and so brilliantly compulsive, it will keep readers engrossed and entertained all through the night.

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Tell No Lies is Brennan’s second book in her Quinn and Costa series and where the first book in the series followed a serial killer, this book tackles a far more complex case involving environmental issues, drug and human trafficking among other legal issues. This book is very detailed and thorough which can make the story dense but I really enjoyed it because it felt like I was solving an authentic case with Matt Costa and his team.

Speaking of Costa and his team, I think this second book did a great job of incorporating more of the team and letting the reader get to know them better. Since the series is named after Kate Quinn and Matt Costa we know that they are going to be our primary focus but this book actually did a great job of spreading the story around to all the different team members. Both Detective Quinn and Agent Harris are working undercover for this case and that element was another brilliant choice by Brennan because we could authentically “see” what was happening from all aspects of the case.

Tell No Lies is like watching a movie or tv show come to life before your eyes which is a real testament to Brennan’s impeccable writing. Her attention to all the minute details is truly impressive and I admire her dedication to getting it all right. This book deals with some relevant and tough topics and some of it can be difficult to read, especially when it comes to the human trafficking aspect.

If you love crime procedurals then you will absolutely love this book. If you enjoy true crime then I also think this would be a great book to pick up because of how authentic it feels.

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Tell No Lies Allison Brennan

You can always be assured of excellent writing from this author; but this plot requires you hold 2 thoughts at the same time to appreciate the full beauty of this intricate storyline. Masterfully woven plot kicks in after the introduction to hold you spellbound until the end. Can’t wait for more from Quinn and Costa.

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Kara and Matt are back with their new team and this time it's very complicated. There are three cases going and a host of suspects. There is some more development of the characters. I really liked Michael this book. Matt and Kara have a slow burn romance building and you can't help but be invested. This author weaves a complex plot in a way that grips you. Dark and gritty, there are surprises at every turn. I can't wait for the next one!

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It's the second book from Quinn & Costa Thriller! Enough said. I was super excited and totally enjoyed it.

I lovee the story. I loveee the mystery it's dark and twisted. The journey to find the truth was superb. It keeps me turning page after page. As always the details of the murder was superb. It was start with a bang but in the middle it's kinda missing something and I felt too much going on, although not as exciteing as the first book but it still entertaining and I enjoyed it nonetheless.
My fav is Quinn and Costa duet. They're such a great team and I wish the attraction between them growing more and more. I'm expecting a love relationship here, but I guess I have to wait for the next book and I get to know Quinn and Costa more, love the touch of their personal life, so yes I'm a happy girl.

If you love mystery read, you must try this series.

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Another page turner from Allison Brennan. The suspense was good and I enjoyed the intertwining storytlines.

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