RAGE AGAINST THE DYING (2013)

Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The disturbing prologue of Becky Masterman's debut thriller, Rage Against the Dying, almost convinced me to stop reading right then and there. I am not crazy about serial killers and helpless women. And when chapter one began “Ten days earlier. . .” I was not reassured. I skipped ahead checking the beginning of each chapter until I found out what was going to happen. After that I relaxed and devoured the rest of the story in a day and a half.

Bottom Line: Becky Masterman is a worthy new voice in the genre. The hard part will be waiting for her next book. Highly recommended.

This is a great thriller and for a change the retired FBI agent is a fifty-nine-year-old woman. Brigid Quinn’s job was hunting sexual predators and she carries dreadful memories that continue to haunt her. Trying to create a new life she has recently married and attempted to settle down in Tucson, Arizona with her philosophy professor husband Carlo; but when a man is arrested, who admits to being responsible for a series of killings in one of Brigid’s unsolved cases, she can’t help but get involved. The web of lies involved threaten to take Brigid’s new life away from her.

Here’s an excerpt from a conversation between Brigid and Carlo:

            “Trying to derive meaning from hardship isn’t exclusively Christian. There’s Viktor Frankl. And I like what someone once said: “there’s a crack in everything, and that’s how the light gets in.’”

            I pointed to his book. “Wittgenstein?”

            He shook his head. “Leonard Cohen.”

How can you NOT love dialogue like that?

Then I read somewhere that the working title had been One Tough Broad. That would have been so wrong and wouldn't have appealed to the older female readers who are going to want to see some part of themselves in Brigid.

Disclaimer: I got my copy of Rage Against the Dying from my local library after seeing a number of mentions and reviews.

Title: Rage Against the Dying ~ A Thriller

Author: Becky Masterman

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Publisher: Minotaur

No. of Pages: 320 pages

Copyright: March 12, 2013

ISBN: 0312622945

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: Jackson District Library

An acquisitions editor for a press that specializes in medical textbooks (forensic examiners and law enforcement!), Becky Masterman grew up in Florida and received her M.A. in creative writing from Florida Atlantic University. She and her husband actually live in Tucson, Arizona. This is her first thriller.

 

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FEAR THE DARKNESS (2015)

Fear the Darkness: A Thriller by Becky Masterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was excited to read Becky Masterman's second thriller in a series featuring Brigid Quinn, a retired FBI agent pushing 60. And yes, finishing Fear the Darkness kept me up past my bedtime. Written in the first person, the reader is drawn into Brigid's world.

Married late in life, Brigid is working hard to build a different kind of world for herself in Tucson, Arizona where she has married for the first time in her life. Her husband Carlo, an ex-priest, is now a professor of philosophy and a good balance for Brigid. With her beloved pugs and friend Mallory, life seems pretty good.

Then her sister-in-law dies and Brigid makes good on her promise to help by allowing her niece Gemma-Kate, to move in. It doesn't take long before it appears that something isn't quite right about the 17 year old.

What a delight it is to have a heroine who is older but still strong and capable!

During the time I was reading the book, I began taking blood pressure medicine and started exhibiting many side effects. It made the story even more personal as Brigid tried to function while unwell.

Like many series, reading the books in order will enrich the experience.

Bottom Line:
Interesting characters, setting, and Brigid herself all make this a worthy second entry in the series which establishes Becky Masterman as a writer to watch. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Title: Fear the Darkness

Author: Becky Masterman

Series: Brigid Quinn Series (Book 2)

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Minotaur Books

No. of Pages: 336 pages

Copyright: January 20, 2015

ISBN-10: 0312622953

ISBN-13: 978-0312622954

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Source: NetGalley

Disclaimer: An advanced copy of Fear the Darkness was provided to me by Minotaur/Net Galley for review purposes.

An acquisitions editor for a press that specializes in medical textbooks (forensic examiners and law enforcement!), Becky Masterman grew up in Florida and received her M.A. in creative writing from Florida Atlantic University. Her debut thriller, Rage Against the Dying, was a finalist for the Edgar Award  for Best First Novel, the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of 2013, the ITV Thriller Award, as well as the Macavity, Barry, and Anthony awards. She and her husband actually live in Tucson, Arizona. This is her second thriller.

WE WERE KILLERS ONCE (2019)

After seeing a number of mentions and reviews of Becky Masterman's first thriller Rage Against the Dying (2013), I got a copy from my local library and devoured it. Now I watch for each new title as it is released.This is the 4th book in the series but can be read as a stand alone.

Other titles in the series are Fear the Darkness (2015) and Twist of the Knife (2017).

FIRST SENTENCE: "Little Brigid Theresa Quinn, with a band-Aid on my knobby knee from jumping of a banyan tree o a dare, and a ponytail of red hair that should have been washed four days ago--I'm only six years old when I first hear about the murder of the Walker Family on December 19, 1959."

THE STORY: Inspired by Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD, Becky Masterman has created a modern crime thriller on the Clutter family murders in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959. The story alternates between the past and today.

Brigid Quinn, a 60 year old retired FBI agent, has recently married and started a new life in Tucson, Arizona. Her husband Carlo, an ex-priest, is now a professor of philosophy and a good balance for Brigid.

Jerry Beaufort, out of prison after years behind bars, worries that somewhere there is a written record of the time he spent with two killers in 1959. His attempts to find the document that could implicate him will pit Jerry against the last person he'll see as a threat: Brigid Quinn.

QUOTES: 

"Cold cases, they call them, as if they're frozen harmlessly in the past without any power to wreak new havoc."

"That I hadn't killed anybody in about a year didn't feel like a huge point in my favor."

WHAT I THOUGHT: A most fascinating story whether you are knowledgeable about the Clutter Murders or are just hearing about them for the first time. And the author gets inside Jerry's head and lets us see the twisted thinking that the reader couldn't imagine.

BOTTOM LINE: Highly Recommended - just keep the lights on. 

DISCLAIMER: An advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book was provided to me by Minotaur and Net Galley for an honest review.

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher:  Minotaur Books (June 4, 2019)
ISBN-10: 1250074525
ISBN-13:  978-1250074522

An acquisitions editor for a press that specializes in medical textbooks (forensic examiners and law enforcement!), Becky Masterman grew up in Florida and received her M.A. in creative writing from Florida Atlantic University. She and her husband actually live in Tucson, Arizona. This is her first thriller.

My Favorite Reads of 2015

In no particular order, these are the books I enjoyed the most during the year:

NON-FICTION
My Life on the Road (Gloria Steinem) 2015
Being Mortal - Medicine and What Matters in the End (Atul Gawande) 2014
How to Succeed in Hollywood Without Really Acting (Peter Skagen) 2015

MYSTERIES, THRILLERS, SUSPENSE
Dark Corners (Ruth Rendell) 2015
Descent (Tim Johnson) 2015
Fear the Darkness (Becky Masterman) 2015
The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins) 2015

WOMEN'S FICTION
The Color of Water in July (Nora Carroll) 2011
The Sound of Glass (Karen White) 2015
The Truth According to Us (Annie Barrows) 2015

LITERARY FICTION
All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr) 2014

MAGICAL REALISM
The Alexandrite (Rick Lenz) 2015

BUZZ BOOKS 2014 FALL/WINTER

Buzz Books 2014: Fall/Winter by Publishers Lunch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First introduced for the 2012 Book Expo America, the FREE digital Publishers Lunch Buzz Books has become the place for both industry professionals and book lovers in general to discover and read about the books expected to spark high demand BEFORE they are published!

There are 32 fall and winter books for adults in the fifth edition of Buzz Books. A second volume handling the burgeoning young adult titles is available with 20 excerpts.

The Introduction gives a nice overview of the upcoming publishing season broken down by literary fiction, debut fiction, commercial fiction, and followed by non-fiction conversation starters, memoir & biography.

What's really great is that after many selections, you have the option to follow a link and request the complete galley copy from Net Galley if you qualify as a 'professional' reader.

The fiction titles that caught my eye included Stewart O'Nan's West of Sunset (Viking, January), Louise Penny's The Long Way Home (Minotaur, August), Tana French's The Secret Place, and Becky Masterman's Fear of Darkness (Minotaur, February). These are all authors I have read and loved in the past.

In non-fiction, I'll be adding Marilyn Johnson's Lives in Ruins (Harper, November) to my list and I'm curious about Letty Cottin Pogrebin's How to Be a Friend to a Friend Who's Sick (Public Affairs, September). For memoirs, the following sound like they could be great fun: John Cleese's So Anyway (Crown, November); Neil Patrick Harris's (is there anything he can't do?) Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography (Crown Archetype, October);  and Anjelica Huston's A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in London, Ireland and New York (Scribner, October).

Only two of these books were included in the selections: Tara French's  latest mystery and the Neil Patrick Harris autobiography.

Check out Buzz Books on Amazon. Did I mention it's FREE!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR AVID BOOK READERS EVERYWHERE!

My Top 15 Reads for 2013

My original post has disappeared. I was inspired to create this list after seeing all the ones that asked how many of these books have you read. Since I didn't fare as well as I would like, I decided to create my own.

So here is how I remember my list in no particular order. I should mention again that Kate Atkinson's book was the highlight of 2013. I actually read it twice. And of course, the whole point of this list was to say that I had read 100% of them.

1. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
2. How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
3. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
4. Annie's Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg
5. After Visiting Friends by Michael Hainey
6. Someday, Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
7. The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Stout
8. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
9. Night Film by Marisha Pessl
10. My Antonia by Willa Cather
11. Replay by Ken Grimwood
12. Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
13. The Dinner by Herman Koch
14. The Black House by Peter May
15. Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman

Introduction Armchair Book Expo 2017

 Celebrating 10 years of random blogging!

According to my Twitter description I am an actor, director, singer, reader, reviewer, and genealogist not necessarily in that order.

 

Currently I have been on dialysis for almost a year while waiting for a kidney transplant. It has made it difficult to concentrate and enjoy reading. A huge truck delivers my medical supplies once a month.

I love literate mysteries and getting my picture taken with my favorite authors. Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series is a must read. Start at the beginning with STILL LIFE.

My favorite thing to do is attend and review productions at the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan. It was started twenty-five years ago by actor Jeff Daniels and the quality of the productions is amazing.

My current read is Becky Masterman's A TWIST OF THE KNIFE. It's her third book in the Brigid Quinn series.

My summer plans are to spend time at the lake while reading although I am also committed to directing a show about women's views of their bodies. It's a comedy.

These are some of the lovely women in my book group called IN GOOD COMPANY. We're about eating, drinking, and passionately discussing what we read.

I started my blog, Book Keeping back in 2007 when I was retiring from a career in the library world. I spend time on Face Book, Twitter, and Instagram although my thoughts range beyond books and reading. Lots of my reviews come courtesy of NetGalley.

A TWIST OF THE KNIFE (2017)

A Twist of the Knife by Becky Masterman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the third Brigid Quinn thriller. It's hard for me to tell why I had so much trouble getting into the story. The writing is fine and some of the situations that are described are compelling, but it's taken me months to get through the book. Of course, I haven't been reading anything else. Since being diagnosed with end stage renal failure and starting on dialysis, my attention and interest in reading has waned.

I'd still recommend reading the first book in the series, RAGE AGAINST THE DYING. Brigid is a retired FBI agent now recently married and living in Tucson. Don't underestimate her. She is an amazing and original voice.

My Top Ten Summer Reads 2013

Everyone seems to be making lists these days; and since I feel I have been lucky in my reading choices so far this year, I have made my own. Being an enthusiastic reader, I might have made a longer list but here are reads I consider 'sure things' in no particular order.

Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walter
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Banks of Certain Rivers - Jon Harrison (e-book only)
The Dinner - Herman Koch
Life After Life - Kate Atkinson
Rage Against the Dying - Becky Masterman
Reconstructing Amelia - Kimberly McCreight
Someday, Someday Maybe - Lauren Graham
Foal Play - Kathryn O'Sullivan

Some are thrillers, some are mysteries, and some are love stories.

2014 Edgar Nominees Announced

Aunt Agatha's in Ann Arbor, Michigan

The Mystery Writers of America awards will be made in May 2014 at their annual meeting.

In the meantime we can amuse ourselves with the nominees worthy of their consideration. The whole list can be found HERE or visit the Edgars site for more information.

Of the nominees, the ones I have read are:

Best Novel - How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)

Best First Novel - Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman (Minotaur Books)

Best First Novel - Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight (HarperCollins Publishers)

Grand Master - Carolyn Hart (who writes delightfully intelligent cozyies)

Raven - Aunt Agatha's Bookstore, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Short Takes 9/15/2016

Becky Masterman has a new thriller featuring Brigid Quinn, a retired FBI agent pushing 60. coming out March 21, 2017. You can read what I had to say about her earlier books HERE.

I am currently reading Elinor Lipman's On Turpentine Lane. It lays down on February 14, 2017. I've read and enjoyed many of her chic-lit novels. You can read my comments on earlier titles HERE.

Love cozy mysteries? Have you discovered Wendy Sand Eckel yet? Her series features Rosalie Hart, who escapes to Maryland's Eastern Shore to build a new life when she discovers her husband wants a divorce. Small-town charm and charming recipes make this series irresistible. My reviews HERE.