Make It Out Alive

Quinn & Costa #7

by Allison Brennan

Allison Brennan returns to her bestselling series with an edge-of-your-seat thriller that thrusts Quinn and Costa into the crosshairs of a sadistic serial killer.

Three newlywed couples have disappeared from an exclusive resort in Florida, only to turn up dead soon after. With the location and the similarities between the female victims as their only leads, it’s up to the FBI Mobile Response Team to catch a serial killer before anyone else ends up dead. And they have the perfect bait—Detective Kara Quinn, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the targeted women.

Undercover as newlyweds pretending to enjoy their honeymoon, Kara and FBI Agent Matt Costa set a flawless trap. When their plan works and they arrest the predator, Matt sends the rest of the team home so he and Kara can have the weekend for some much-needed R&R. But on Monday morning, the couple doesn’t show up to work, and the MRT learns they never checked out of their hotel.

As their team tries to find them, Matt and Kara learn the truth—the killer wasn’t acting alone. He had a partner who succeeded where he failed. Kidnapped and forced into a twisted escape room, they need to find a way out, because if they don’t escape, they’ll die.

Genres: Crime, Mystery

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication January 27, 2026

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Allison Brennan believes that life is too short to be bored, so she had five children and writes three books a year.

In 2019, Allison relocated from Northern California to Arizona with her family and assorted pets. She loves baseball, hiking, family game night, and (of course) reading.

RT Book Reviews called Allison “a master of suspense” and her books “haunting,” “mesmerizing,” “pulse-pounding” and “emotionally complex.” She's been nominated for many awards, and is a three time winner of the Reviewer's Choice award winner for RT Book Reviews as well as the Daphne du Maurier award. Most recently, she was nominated for Best Paperback Original by International Thriller Writers.

With over 45 books and dozens of short stories, Allison is writing multiple series and the occasional stand alone thriller. Her most recent book out now is THE MISSING WITNESS, part of the Quinn & Costa series. In June Allison is launching a new Phoenix-set series about a family of private investigators starting with YOU'LL NEVER FIND ME.

You can reach Allison through Goodreads or her website.

Reviews

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10: 4.5⭐️’s rounded up to 5⭐️’s

The Mobile Response Team is back. This time trying to catch a serial killer of newlywed couples at a fancy Florida resort before they strike again. Kara and Matt go undercover as newlyweds. When they think they have caught the killer, everyone heads home except for Matt and Kara. They stay to enjoy resort for a night not on the job.

But when they don’t show up back in Quantico and no one can get in contact with them, the rest of the team becomes concerned. Where could Matt and Kara have gone, leaving everything behind. Did they catch the right killer?

As the team works to find them, Matt and Kara are in for the fight of their lives. Just who is the Mephistophelian (new word for me from the book!!) behind their disappearance and is it related to the newlyweds resort killer?

This might be my favorite of the series!! The rest of the team has to work without their leader because Matt is no where to be found. It’s interesting to see how that part of the story plays out. The terror and uncertainty Matt and Kara face, it’s tense. It’s a rescue mission for the MRT to find Matt and Kara. It’s a survival mission for Matt and Kara to stay alive in hopes of being rescued. Does everyone make it out alive? Is the same person responsible for all of it?

I highly recommend this entire series. While not completely necessary to have read the previous books, it is really helpful for character development and relationships, plus, they are really good!!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own. Expected release date January 27, 2026

Original review posted: 9/29/25
Original rating posted: 9/27/25

[OutlawPoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book!

While this is book 7 in a series, it works as a standalone. I hadn't read the other books and I felt like I was able to catch on to our characters quickly. In fact, I want to go back and read the other books in the series now.

The procedural portion of this book is very well done. In fact, I liked it a bit more than the thriller part. For the thriller part, there was a bit of disbelief that the character in question had the skills and knowledge to do everything they did. I just kept...not believing.

The book is intense and, as things ratchet up, the reader is absolutely on edge.

A very good book and I'd like another!

* ARC via Publisher

[Whispers From · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three newlywed couples have disappeared from a resort in Florida. FBI Mobile Response Team is sent to investigate and catch a serial killer. Detective Kara Quinn and FBI agent Matt Costa are sent in undercover as newlyweds. Kara looks a lot like the women that have disappeared. They set a trap and catch a man. They wrap it up and take a few days for themselves. When their teammates get worried when they don’t hear from them, they call the security guy that they were dealing with. They look at the cameras and see Kara pass out and Matt being shot with a tranquilizer dart. A employee from the resort, pushes a cart into the room, and Matt and Kara are gone. The team rushes back down to Florida. The man they believe is the killer, has a solid alibi, being in jail. They realize the killer has a partner but finding them becomes very difficult. Matt and Kara wake up in an old , abandoned factory that is set up with booby traps. Will they escape before everything comes crashing down on them?

Excellent story. Action. Suspense. Mystery. Lies.

* VOLUNTARILY READ AND REVIEWED FOR NETGALLEY *

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this is my favorite series by the author, I just love Quinn & Costa and how well developed they are as she adds each story. The dynamics of them working together and their love relationship really moves the story along. This book could be read as a standalone, but it is so much better if you start from the beginning of the series. We are once again solving a horrendous crime but without the leader of the Mobile Response Team. Matt and Kara are missing after deciding to spend an extra day at the resort they were working undercover. Now the team is desperately trying to find them. While they are working to find their missing members, Matt and Kara are trying to survive the game that they have been put into. Will Matt and Kara’s co-workers find them alive or will the game their playing killed them. I highly recommend this book and the series. You won’t be able to put it down. Thank you, Netgalley and Hanover Square Press, for the ARC in Exchange for an honest review.

[Likestotravel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The continuation of Allison Brennan’s Quinn and Costa series makes for some great reading! A tense, fast-paced mystery that twirls and teases, this is a quick but exhilarating story. Easy to read as a standalone.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[Anita]

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.