Becky Masterman

"Keeping secrets, telling lies, they require the same skill. Both become a habit, almost an addiction, that's hard to break even with the people closest to you, out of the business. For example, they say never trust a woman who tells you her age; if she can't keep that secret, she can't keep yours. I'm fifty-nine." Brigid Quinn's experiences in hunting sexual predators for the FBI have left her with memories she wishes she didn't have and lethal skills she hopes never to need again. Having been pushed into early retirement by events she thinks she's put firmly behind her, Brigid keeps telling herself she is settling down nicely in Tucson with a wonderful new husband, Carlo, and their dogs. But the past intervenes when a man named Floyd Lynch confesses to the worst unsolved case of Brigid's career--the disappearance and presumed murder of her young protgee, Jessica. Floyd knows things about that terrible night that were never made public, and offers to lead the cops to Jessica's body in return for a plea bargain. It should finally be the end of a dark chapter in Brigid's life. Except...the new FBI agent on the case, Laura Coleman, thinks the confession is fake, and Brigid finds she cannot walk away from violence and retribution after all, no matter what the cost. With a fiercely original and compelling voice, Becky Masterman's Rage Against the Dying marks the heart-stopping debut of a brilliant new thriller writer"--

Rage Against the Dying

"Former FBI agent Brigid Quinn, with her trademark toughness, raw humor, and human frailty, is back and better than ever in Masterman’s latest novel. As Quinn is drawn into an infamous cold case with a possible link to the two killers immortalized by Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, she finds danger closing in. A gripping premise, brilliantly executed—you won’t be able to put this one down!"—Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door In 1959, a family of four were brutally murdered in Holcomb, Kansas. Perry Smith and Dick Hickok were convicted and executed for the crime, and the murders and their investigation and solution became the subject of Truman Capote's masterpiece, In Cold Blood. But what if there was a third killer, who remained unknown? What if there was another family, also murdered, who crossed paths with this band of killers, though their murder remains unsolved? And what if Dick Hickok left a written confession, explaining everything? Retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn and her husband Carlo, a former priest and university professor, are trying to enjoy each other in this new stage in their lives. But a memento from Carlo's days as a prison chaplain--a handwritten document hidden away undetected in a box of Carlo's old things--has become a target for a man on the run from his past. Jerry Beaufort has just been released from prison after decades behind bars, and though he'd like to get on with living the rest of his life, he knows that somewhere there is a written record of the time he spent with two killers in 1959. Following the path of this letter will bring Jerry into contact with the last person he'll see as a threat: Brigid Quinn. Becky Masterman's unputdownable thrillers featuring unique heroine Brigid Quinn continue with this fascinating alternative look at one of America's most famous crimes.

A Thriller

We Were Killers Once

Traveling back to her Florida hometown when her former partner asks for her help with a case that is not going well, ex-FBI agent Brigid Quinn turns skeptical when she learns that her former colleague would save an innocent man on death row.

A Novel

A Twist of the Knife

A follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated Rage Against the Dying finds retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn taking in her college-aged niece while investigating the death of a local youth and uncovering disturbing truths about the people closest to her.

Fear the Darkness

"Hardbitten former FBI agent Brigid Quinn is back--and this time, she's on home turf. Brigid has been forced to return to her Florida hometown to answer two very different calls for help. One is from her mother, summoning her to her ill father's hospital bed; the other is from Laura Coleman, the protegé/colleague who helped her catch the Highway 66 serial killer. Still mentally recovering from their ordeal, Coleman is tirelessly pursuing the acquittal of Marcus Creighton, a death row inmate convicted of murdering his wife and three children. Initially convinced of Creighton's guilt, Brigid starts to reconsider as new evidence comes to light. But the clock is ticking; Creighton's execution is due to happen in a few days. If Creighton is indeed innocent, can they really save him--and draw out the real killer? As if this weren't enough, Brigid must also re-examine childhood truths to which she's clung for years. Just how sick is her father? Will she and her brother Todd ever see eye-to-eye, especially after her revelations about his daughter? And what long-held secret is her mother finally poised to reveal? With so much at stake, Brigid has to draw on every bit of skill, craft, and grit she possesses--especially when danger may be closer to home than she realizes..."--

Bis du tot bist

Als Brigid Quinn an den Leichenfundort in der Wüste Arizonas gerufen wird, erkennt die ehemalige FBI-Agentin sofort die Handschrift des Route-66-Killers: Floyd Lynch, der die Polizei zu den beiden Toten geführt hat, scheint jener Serienkiller zu sein, den Brigid viele Jahre vergeblich gejagt hat. Doch irgendetwas stimmt nicht, das spürt auch Laura Coleman, die nun die Ermittlungen im Fall Lynch leitet. Verzweifelt, weil niemand ihre Bedenken teilt, vertraut sie sich Brigid an - und ist kurz darauf spurlos verschwunden ...

Thriller

Der stille Sammler

Brigid Quinn, ancien agent spécial, replonge dans son pire cauchemar : l’ignoble tueur de jeunes femmes est-il de retour en Arizona ? Brigid, spécialisée dans les crimes sexuels, est chargée de l’enquête sur le meurtrier de la route 66, qui assassine des jeunes femmes selon un rituel atroce. Jusqu’au jour où Jessica, une jeune recrue, sert d’appât... et disparaît. Sous le choc, Brigid interrompt sa carrière. Des années plus tard, alors qu’elle mène une vie paisible à Tucson avec son nouveau mari, le passé la rattrape : un routier passe aux aveux et propose de conduire la police à la dépouille de Jessica. Apres des années de traque, a-t-on enfin arrêté le monstrueux criminel ? Brigid en doute. La spirale de violence et de mort va reprendre de plus belle, entraînant l’enquêtrice dans l’angoisse absolue... Traduit de l'anglais par Maryvonne Ssossé

Rage blanche

"Keeping secrets, telling lies, they require the same skill. Both become a habit, almost an addiction, that's hard to break even with the people closest to you, out of the business. For example, they say never trust a woman who tells you her age; if she can't keep that secret, she can't keep yours. I'm fifty-nine." Brigid Quinn's experiences in hunting sexual predators for the FBI have left her with memories she wishes she didn't have and lethal skills she hopes never to need again. Having been pushed into early retirement by events she thinks she's put firmly behind her, Brigid keeps telling herself she is settling down nicely in Tucson with a wonderful new husband, Carlo, and their dogs. But the past intervenes when a man named Floyd Lynch confesses to the worst unsolved case of Brigid's career--the disappearance and presumed murder of her young protgee, Jessica. Floyd knows things about that terrible night that were never made public, and offers to lead the cops to Jessica's body in return for a plea bargain. It should finally be the end of a dark chapter in Brigid's life. Except ... the new FBI agent on the case, Laura Coleman, thinks the confession is fake, and Brigid finds she cannot walk away from violence and retribution after all, no matter what the cost. --

Rage against the dying

Inspired by mysteries that still surround the case explored by Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, We Were Killers Once pits Brigid Quinn against a man who has gotten away with evil for nearly fifty years--and now has his sights on her family. Jeremiah Beaufort has just been released from prison after a very long time and the world has changed. Most importantly, scientific advances have allowed for DNA testing--and the internet has spread the news that there may exist a long-hidden document that will change what is known about not one but two horrific murders. His determination to erase any clue that could put him on death row brings him to Tucson, Arizona, intent on finding a document he believes is in the possession of Carlo Di Forenza, ex-priest, retired professor, and husband of Brigid Quinn. Beaufort's odd behaviour immediately sets off alarms for Brigid, who assumes he is after her for something she did while in the FBI. Brigid's quest to find out what he is after takes her to Florida--only to discover the truth too late to stop Beaufort taking her beloved gentle husband hostage. A high-stakes, incredibly tense stand-off ensues, as Brigid takes extreme measures to return and, she hopes, neutralize Beaufort before he kills Carlo--and without ending up dead herself. Woven into the suspensful plot is Beaufort's own voice, unforgettably unfolding a story of tragedy and evil that imagines a story-behind-the story of the horrific murders that inspired In Cold Blood, a book and a case that continues to fascinate more than fifty years after the event.

Bývalá agentka FBI Brigid Quinnová zažila psychopatů víc než dost. Chce nechat vše za sebou a vybudovat si v Tucsonu nový život s manželem, přáteli a klidnou prací soukromého očka. Po smrti švagrové se ujme sedmnáctileté neteře, která však začne projevovat nezdravý zájem o pitvání různorodé zvířeny. Brigid mezitím slíbí místnímu páru pomoc s vyšetřováním smrti jejich syna – ani to nakonec není tak snadné. Její dům přestává být útočištěm a všude jako by číhaly nové hrozby. Brigid neví, jestli může vůbec někomu věřit. Nebo je to jen tím, že se ďábel nastěhoval blíž?

Becky Masterman

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