What if Smith and Hickock weren't acting alone that night? What if they left the third man out  of their confessions because of some sick allegiance and Capote never uncovered it? (If you haven't read In Cold Blood this is where I tell you to do so immediately.) We Were Killers Once by Becky Masterman re-imagines that there was a third man at the Clutter Farm the night that the family was brutally murdered and that this man alone committed the atrocities at the Walker home a few weeks later. Enter Jeremiah 'Jerry' Beaufort who has recently been released from his second stint in prison on a commuted sentence. Fearing that the truth about that night at the Clutters' farm and the Walker murder (which has remained unsolved but attributed to Smith & Hickock) will come out he starts his own investigation to find out exactly what the police know. And that's when Brigid Quinn, retired detective, stumbles onto the scene through the unlikely link of her new husband, an ex-priest and philosophy professor. (Yes, this does sound like a bad joke.) With just enough facts, this fictionalized  story has enough twists and turns to keep the pages flipping while the reader wonders if Quinn will get to the truth before Beaufort gets to her. True crime lovers will love this book especially if they've had the pleasure of reading Capote's book beforehand (it really is best read back-to-back I think). And it turns out Masterman has more novels starring Quinn so if you really dig this book you can check those out as well. :-) 9/10 

What I'm Currently Reading: Caging Skies by Christine Leunens

I love a good thriller and Fear the Darkness is one of the better ones I have read in awhile. Brigid Quinn is retired FBI and now she teaches self defense at a woman's shelter. Married to an ex-priest they have a happy life in Tucson Arizona. Brigid's sister in law dies from a long illness, requesting that her daughter Gemma-Kate come live with them until she starts college.

Brigid is asked by a family to investigate the death of their son, he drowned in their pool and the mother does not believe it was suicide. Things start getting strange with Gemma-Kate, Brigid's dog is poisoned and the investigation starts taking a turn for the worse. To maintain her sanity, she spends a lot of time with a long time friend Mallory. People at a church gathering start feeling ill and Brigid also starts feeling ill, hallucinations and weakness. She starts suspecting Gemma-Kate of poisoning her. Brigid's quiet life is not as tranquil as it had been, before Gemma-Kate. Is someone trying to kill her? and why? Are things happening because of her investigation? 

Fear the Darkness is the followup to Rage Against Dying, which I need to read, I always seem to read books in the wrong order but it did not take away from the story at all. The author tells a terrific story and I loved the main character Brigid, a strong woman, I never expected the ending, totally surprised me. I totally enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.

While I didn't think this book was as good as the author's debut as it was a little slow to begin with, I did end up really liking it. While the poisoning of the do bothered me, it lived, I realized later that poisoning was the main theme of the book.

I still live the fact that this series is an older kick ass woman who had a great career and was able to still hold her own! Yeah I'm older. Ha!

I gave this 4 stars because the ending was good and one I did not see coming. I also feel the author has the ability to keep them coming and keep them interesting. It was just the first part of the book, after the first chapter, that was, I feel, below par.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for providing me a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

While I didn't think this book was as good as the author's debut as it was a little slow to begin with, I did end up really liking it. While the poisoning of the do bothered me, it lived, I realized later that poisoning was the main theme of the book.

I still live the fact that this series is an older kick ass woman who had a great career and was able to still hold her own! Yeah I'm older. Ha!

I gave this 4 stars because the ending was good and one I did not see coming. I also feel the author has the ability to keep them coming and keep them interesting. It was just the first part of the book, after the first chapter, that was, I feel, below par.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for providing me a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Even though tough as nails Brigid Quinn is retirement age now and starting to have a few health issues, she still remembers enough of her FBI martial arts training to take down a much bigger, younger, stronger man in a hand to hand scuffle so this is no cozy mystery. Brigid did a lot of undercover work when she was an FBI agent which isn’t conducive to forming close personal relationships, but she’s slowly getting the knack for human connection and in this second book of the series she’s added a best female friend and a teenage niece to the husband and dogs she acquired late in her life.

Then as soon as Brigid is asked to investigate the drowning death of a boy from her church one of her dogs gets poisoned and her health problems start to escalate, filling her with suspicions and making her doubt everything about the new life she’s built for herself. The story gives interesting insights into Brigid’s relationship with her family, and while the plot is slightly more disturbing than I prefer because I lean towards the cozy side of the genre, I love having an older main character who’s sharp, tenacious and capable.