Fear the Darkness (Brigid Quinn Series #2)

by Becky Masterman

Overview

Finalist for the New Mexico/Arizona Book Award

It's hard to recognize the devil when his hand is on your shoulder. That's because a psychopath is just a person before he becomes a headline….Psychopaths have preferences for Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts coffee, denim or linen, Dickens or…well, you get the point.

Ex-FBI agent Brigid Quinn has seen more than her share of psychopaths. She is ready to put all that behind her, building a new life in Tucson with a husband, friends, and some nice quiet work as a private investigator. Sure, she could still kill a man half her age, but she now gets her martial arts practice by teaching self-defense at a women's shelter.

But sometimes it isn't that simple. When her sister-in-law dies, Brigid take in her seventeen-year-old niece, Gemma Kate. There has always been something unsettling about Gemma-Kate, but family is family. Which is fine, until Gemma-Kate starts taking an unhealthy interest in dissecting the local wildlife.

Meanwhile, Brigid agrees to help a local couple by investigating the death of their son—which also turns out not to be that simple. Her house isn't the sanctuary it used to be, and new dangers—including murder—seem to lurk everywhere. Brigid starts to wonder if there is anyone she can trust, or if the devil has simply moved closer to home.

Becky Masterman's Fear the Darkness is the masterful follow-up to the Edgar Award and CWA Gold Dagger finalist Rage Against the Dying.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781410479198
Publisher:	Gale Group
Publication date:	05/27/2015
Series:	Brigid Quinn Series , #2
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	574
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

BECKY MASTERMAN, who was an acquisitions editor for a press specializing in medical textbooks for forensic examiners and law enforcement, 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. Becky lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband.

Editorial Reviews

…Brigid [is] the most original new female character to anchor a crime series in years. Now she returns for a second go-round in Fear the Darkness, another strong display of [Masterman's] ingenuity…[the] book's later stages are easily its best and well worth waiting for. For anyone who fears that Brigid seems a pale shadow of the first book's powerhouse, that's exactly the effect the author is after. And she is not about to deliver a book without Brigid in true fighting form. Ms. Masterman once again shows herself to be an expert manipulator of readers' expectations. She also slyly changes the way some of her characters are perceived as the story moves along, and she's particularly good at slipping those changes past notice.

The New York Times - Janet Maslin

11/17/2014
For someone who still conducts threat assessments at functions as seemingly innocuous as a Tucson, Ariz., humane society fundraiser, retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn has gone dangerously soft in other respects—as she discovers when it’s almost too late in Edgar-finalist Masterman’s disappointingly wan follow-up to her electrifying 2013 debut, Rage Against the Dying. Then again, it’s tough for Brigid to be at the top of her game once she begins to experience increasingly alarming symptoms, including chronic nausea, anxiety, and hallucinations, after her teenage niece, Gemma-Kate, whose mother has recently died of MS, moves in with her and husband Carlo to establish in-state residency for the University of Arizona. Given the timing, as well as the girl’s glaring lack of empathy but keen interest in toxicology, Brigid starts wondering whether she’s let a psychopath into her little slice of long-overdue domestic bliss. Overly talky with too many heavy-handed efforts at misdirection, this novel lets down both Masterman’s kick-ass heroine and her many fans. Agent: Helen Heller, Helen Heller Agency. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Electrifying...another strong display of the author's ingenuity. Ms. Masterman once again shows herself to be an expert manipulator of readers' expectations.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“Idiosyncratic and engaging. . .an action-filled finale that pulls the rug out from beneath expectations.” —The Wall Street Journal

“[A] superior series. . .The strong voice that Masterman established for Brigid in Rage Against the Dying excels in this sequel.” —The Associated Press

“Brigid Quinn is a vigorous narrator. . . with an arresting voice that keeps her audience close, without shying away at vulnerable moments. . . .Resourceful, direct, and determined—especially in the face of pure, murderous evil—in her second outing, Quinn remains a fun force to be reckoned with.” —The Boston Globe

“It's refreshing to spend time with Brigid. . . .She's flawed and stubborn, but you sure would want her on your side in any kind of battle. ” —The Plain Dealer

“Tough, cunning Brigid Quinn will certainly appeal to thriller readers who favor a female perspective, but her unwavering determination to fight for even the ugliest forms of justice will also draw in fans of Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane.” —Booklist

“Pulse-quickening...scorching...invigorating.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times, on Rage Against the Dying

“When the nominations are made for the best crime-novel debut of the year, we should be hearing [Masterman's] name again.” —The Washington Post on Rage Against the Dying

“One of the most memorable FBI agents since Clarice Starling.” —Publishers Weekly (starred, Pick of the Week) on Rage Against the Dying

“Wow. An absolute pleasure. Chilling, smart...and what a voice.” —Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl, on Rage Against the Dying

“Masterman lives up to her name in this masterly combination of compelling character and plot.” —Library Journal (starred) on Rage Against the Dying

From the Publisher

12/01/2014
Retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn, who was introduced to mystery readers in the Edgar Award-nominated Rage Against the Dying is back. This is good news for those who were captivated by the tough-but-vulnerable 59-year-old protagonist, whose strategy for adapting to both retirement and married life was to follow up on old cases while trying to shield her new husband from the realities of her former career. The Brigid we encounter now is more comfortable in her marriage and further removed from the daily intrigues of law enforcement. And the case that confronts her this time arises from her own friends and family. Unfortunately, Brigid is one of the victims, and the drugs she unknowingly ingests not only hamper her abilities to track down the culprit, but they affect her personality and thus deprive the reader of the uniquely authoritative and comical voice that led us through the first tale. Instead, the reader is saddled with an unreliable and unsure narrator who gropes her way through a confusion of events, and, in the end, must rely on a teenage niece to help her solve the case. VERDICT We can only hope the old Brigid will be revived in time for the next episode. [Library marketing.]—Nancy McNicol, Hamden P.L., CT

Library Journal

Masterman's thriller continues the story of retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn. While narrator Suzanne Toren provides a convincing persona for the senior protagonist and even more so her good friend, Mallory, she seems to lack enough range to voice plausible characterizations for many of the other characters. Several teenagers feature in the plot, and all the roles blend vocally together in this production, which can be confusing. Where Quinn's niece loses the innocent tone to her speech, no such change occurs in Toren's presentation of the character. Furthermore, her overall pace is tediously slow and the climax underwhelming for a thriller, so listeners desiring plenty of action may want to pass on this audiobook. J.F. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2015 - AudioFile