Reading mysteries and thrillers is addictive. In addition to solving puzzles, we love the opportunity to delve into the reasons for people's actions. Authors often share not just the motivations of the criminals or perpetrators of the crimes, but also the emotions and thought processes behind those who are trying to solve them. So it is with Allison Brennan’s Quinn & Costa novels.

In THE WRONG VICTIM, the third installment in the series, we continue to gain insight into LAPD detective Kara Quinn. While these books are named for both Quinn and FBI agent Matt Costa, who is now her boss, this latest entry is much more about Quinn. She's a fascinating character --- from her childhood being raised by con artists to her betrayal when she was an LAPD detective, resulting in murderous threats so dire that she can't return to her life in L.A.

"[I]f you enjoy thrillers, flawed yet admirable characters, and a twisty plot that makes sense at the end, you will want to read THE THIRD TO DIE and TELL NO LIES before sinking your teeth into this one."

As with the previous books in the series, which took place in the Tucson desert, the setting is an important part of THE WRONG VICTIM. The San Juan Islands are in the middle of a waterway that sits between Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, and Seattle, Washington. The largest island is San Juan Island, and Friday Harbor, its biggest town, is where much of the action is set. Costa takes his Mobile Response Team, a new FBI endeavor, to the islands after a bomb kills nine people on a charter boat. Local law enforcement helps the team significantly, and the descriptions of the setting will make those who love water want to plan a trip to this idyllic location.

The FBI team works to figure out who is responsible for the bombing. The most important part of determining the culprit and motive is trying to ascertain who of the nine victims was the intended target and why. On the surface, a grieving widow might seem the obvious perpetrator because of the multiple millions she inherits, but Quinn's gut instincts tell her that this theory is not accurate.

The novel has multiple facets. On one level, we see the criminal investigation of the bombing, which leads us to another criminal investigation that retired FBI agent Neil Devereaux, who is also one of the victims of the bombing, had been working on for years. The deaths he was looking into seemed unrelated and had been determined to be accidental, but he was convinced that all five victims were murdered. Was he killed to stop that investigation? There is also the fact that a local environmental group, Island Protectors, believes that the West End Charter company was evil and a habitual environment polluter. Was the bombing an overzealous member trying to harm the company?

During the course of the eight days that are meticulously detailed here, we see how the FBI team works. Each member brings something to the table, and because of the omniscient third person narrative, we are privy to many of their personal quirks and emotions. The three characters who are the most flawed are also central to the story. Costa, the leader of the team, is involved with Kara. Their relationship is secret, for obvious reasons; they are aware that if it did become known, there would be repercussions that would impact Kara the most. Costa's good friend and teammate, Dr. Catherine Jones, one of the FBI's top forensic psychiatrists, has her own demons, which affect her relationship with Quinn and Costa.

Each team member ends up in danger at some point, and the action is virtually nonstop. A second bombing changes the order of who they think is guilty. But when there are leaks coming from inside the investigation, they must decide who is talking out of turn and whether or not it's intentional.

As is often the case with a series, readers will understand more of the interactions between the characters if they've read the previous books. The first installment, especially, is referenced in this one. That's not to say that THE WRONG VICTIM doesn't work as a stand-alone; it does. But if you enjoy thrillers, flawed yet admirable characters, and a twisty plot that makes sense at the end, you will want to read THE THIRD TO DIE and TELL NO LIES before sinking your teeth into this one.