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nglofile's review against another edition
2.0
A great idea for a protagonist (59-year-old female retired FBI agent), but the promise is ruined when said character makes stupid, stupid choices without successfully justifying them to the reader. Moments of interest, yes, but overall underwhelming and unsatisfying.
audiobook note: Judy Kaye was well-cast, and she does a solid job with what she's given.
audiobook note: Judy Kaye was well-cast, and she does a solid job with what she's given.
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
4.0
Exhilarating debut novel by Masterman, whom I had never heard of. I do hope she gets the recognition she deserves - this is seriously good. She takes all the usual ingredients of the tired old serial killer genre (FBI-loner with a bone to pick, uncomprehending higher-ups, evil killer with a penchant for distateful trophies, female murder victims) and makes something fresh and new.
Brigid Quinn is the best heroine I've met in the genre: a 59-year old retired FBI-agent, happily childfree and married to a hot ex-priest, reticent about her violent past and not so graceful exit out of the force. Unlike most retired folks in genre fiction, she behaves like a human being rather than a stereotypical Elderly Person. She is badass (taking down perverts and breaking the law is all in a day's work) but not superhuman. In fact, she makes tremendously bad decisions on a regular basis, straining credibility at times (she's supposed to be supersmart) but she is such good company you happily tag along on her rogue mission. Oh, and she's very funny, if you like caustic wit and snappy sarcasm.
Usually there is a quota for badass female characters in a novel, as if having too many smart and competent women in one book would be deemed unrealistic. These exceptional characters are then limited to interacting with male counterparts in order to have their badassery duly admired but also to be put in their place just a little bit. Relationhips between women are usually presented as either sickly sweet Ya-ya sisterhood or catty rivalry. I so loved that Masterman doesn't do that. Instead, she has Brigid work together with a brilliant younger female agent. The ladies do not bond over shared experiences or lattes. Nor do they become rivals or enemies. They just work together as two professionals. Fancy that. Brigid's relationship with a former - now dead - protegé is also nicely depicted.
All in all, an excellent thriller with great pacing, a solid plot and a good sense of humor. I hope this will turn out to be a series.
Brigid Quinn is the best heroine I've met in the genre: a 59-year old retired FBI-agent, happily childfree and married to a hot ex-priest, reticent about her violent past and not so graceful exit out of the force. Unlike most retired folks in genre fiction, she behaves like a human being rather than a stereotypical Elderly Person. She is badass (taking down perverts and breaking the law is all in a day's work) but not superhuman. In fact, she makes tremendously bad decisions on a regular basis, straining credibility at times (she's supposed to be supersmart) but she is such good company you happily tag along on her rogue mission. Oh, and she's very funny, if you like caustic wit and snappy sarcasm.
Usually there is a quota for badass female characters in a novel, as if having too many smart and competent women in one book would be deemed unrealistic. These exceptional characters are then limited to interacting with male counterparts in order to have their badassery duly admired but also to be put in their place just a little bit. Relationhips between women are usually presented as either sickly sweet Ya-ya sisterhood or catty rivalry. I so loved that Masterman doesn't do that. Instead, she has Brigid work together with a brilliant younger female agent. The ladies do not bond over shared experiences or lattes. Nor do they become rivals or enemies. They just work together as two professionals. Fancy that. Brigid's relationship with a former - now dead - protegé is also nicely depicted.
All in all, an excellent thriller with great pacing, a solid plot and a good sense of humor. I hope this will turn out to be a series.
ksm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
babblinglib's review against another edition
5.0
Brigid Quinn is unique. 59 years old, retired from the Bureau, incredibly smart and with a fascinating and dark back story. Her character would have been worth the read, even if the plot had been weak. But even "who/where is the serial killer" story was pretty good. A smart, fast paced thriller.
austenheroineinprogress's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
mojoshivers's review against another edition
4.0
“Only suckers believe in closure.”
I can see why this almost won an Edgar; there’s never been a character quite like Brigid. She’s tough, she breaks rules, and she’s down on herself moreso to beat everyone to the punch than to be humorous. She’s like the perfect noir hero.
What gives it a nice twist is that she’s nearing sixty and really should be enjoying retirement. Instead, she’s killing serial rapists in vans on this side of the road—which, again, happens not even eight pages in. Not lying to the cops and FBI repeatedly. And certainly not confronting serial killers alone while wanted for murder herself.
It’s like if Murder, She Wrote starred an elderly Lisbeth Salander instead of Jessica Fletcher. Yes, it’s a mystery (and a real devious one too). But it’s also a textbook on how you can do a kickass FBI Agent without making them a young hotshot. It’s fascinating to see what becomes of a brash rulebreaker when they’ve got decades of flaunting the system under their belt and something akin to a death wish since they’re technically on the back 9 of their life anyway.
I can see why this almost won an Edgar; there’s never been a character quite like Brigid. She’s tough, she breaks rules, and she’s down on herself moreso to beat everyone to the punch than to be humorous. She’s like the perfect noir hero.
What gives it a nice twist is that she’s nearing sixty and really should be enjoying retirement. Instead, she’s killing serial rapists in vans on this side of the road—which, again, happens not even eight pages in. Not lying to the cops and FBI repeatedly. And certainly not confronting serial killers alone while wanted for murder herself.
It’s like if Murder, She Wrote starred an elderly Lisbeth Salander instead of Jessica Fletcher. Yes, it’s a mystery (and a real devious one too). But it’s also a textbook on how you can do a kickass FBI Agent without making them a young hotshot. It’s fascinating to see what becomes of a brash rulebreaker when they’ve got decades of flaunting the system under their belt and something akin to a death wish since they’re technically on the back 9 of their life anyway.
jmatkinson1's review
4.0
Brigid Quinn has recently retired from the FBI and is living a quiet life in Tuscon with her new husband Carlo. Carlo doesn't know the details of Brigid's federal past and she is reluctant to share these with him. Brigid was a top agent working on high profile cases but she is haunted by the Route 66 killer, the one she did not catch and the one who killed her protege. After killing a suspect in another case Brigid was sidelined and shunted into retirement.
One day she gets a call from the FBI, they have a man who has confessed to being the Route 66 killer and he leads the FBI to the body of the agent Brigid was so close to. However something about his confession does not ring true and when Brigid is targeted by another killer, and when another agent goes missing, Brigid is in a race to find the real killer before others die.
This is a novel premise in that the heroine is a retired female with grey hair and health problems, yet is still mentally functional. This type of central character is not written about unless in the 'Miss Marple' vein and it is refreshing. The plot is convoluted but clever and moves along at a decent pace - not so fast that detail is lost, but not so slow that it drags. Brigid is a prickly character and other characters are not drawn as well. Overall this is a really entertaining book for a short term fix of thrills.
One day she gets a call from the FBI, they have a man who has confessed to being the Route 66 killer and he leads the FBI to the body of the agent Brigid was so close to. However something about his confession does not ring true and when Brigid is targeted by another killer, and when another agent goes missing, Brigid is in a race to find the real killer before others die.
This is a novel premise in that the heroine is a retired female with grey hair and health problems, yet is still mentally functional. This type of central character is not written about unless in the 'Miss Marple' vein and it is refreshing. The plot is convoluted but clever and moves along at a decent pace - not so fast that detail is lost, but not so slow that it drags. Brigid is a prickly character and other characters are not drawn as well. Overall this is a really entertaining book for a short term fix of thrills.
jammasterjamie's review against another edition
5.0
You know that first breath of cool fresh air immediately following a hard thunderstorm on the most humid of summer's days? That is what "Rage Against the Dying" made me feel like.
I stopped reading mystery/procedurals/whodunit books about twenty years ago because I burned out on the genre and found that I was always able to pick out the murderer about a 1/4 of the way through the book, and after a while, even the satisfaction of always being right can wear a little thin. I've picked up a random one here and there over the years, and found that the problem persisted, so I basically gave up the genre for an extended period of literary Lent, if there is such a thing and if Jews are allowed to observe it.
Now, full disclosure here, I know the author of this book and am quite fond of her as a person, an ex-colleague, as a mentor, and as a friend. I worked with Becky in my first 'grown-up job' after university, and she was always a big help to me prefessionally, and a good kind person to be around with a shoulder to cry on if one was ever needed. That said, I have not seen Becky in just under a decade, so any friendship we may have will have no bias on this review. Besides, I wouldn't be a good friend back to her if I lied or buttered things up - good thing she made it very easy for me to not have to do that as she has written an excellent book here.
No spoilers, but I will tell you that I truly had no idea who the 'bad guy' was until the final quarter of the book, but upon the reveal, it made perfect sense who it was and completely worked within the realm of the story. Plot twists and turns, a grand mystery that kept my head scratched, action, adventure, scrapes with death, and an incredibly strong and believable narrative voice - I know it's only April, but this one is already on the short-list for my Best Reads of the Year, and it is for none of the great reasons I just mentioned.
What really made Rage Against the Dying stand out for me was the human aspect of it - the relationship between Brigid and her husband Carlo was so wonderful and real to me, that it took this book from being a genre-novel, and moved it into new and refreshing territory. Again, no spoilers, but this was one of the most realistic portrayals of a relationship suffering from outside stress that I've ever read, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring a tear or two to my eyes at one point.
In short, I love this book, and I think you will too. It reads so smoothly and easiliy that I was visualizing the (hopefully future) movie in my head as I cbriskly strolled along the prose. Even if you're not a mystery fan, this book has the right amount of emotional depth and gravitas to keep you interested. My only complaint at all is that Becky Masterman only has this one book published so far, because I already want to read more of her beautiful mind.
I stopped reading mystery/procedurals/whodunit books about twenty years ago because I burned out on the genre and found that I was always able to pick out the murderer about a 1/4 of the way through the book, and after a while, even the satisfaction of always being right can wear a little thin. I've picked up a random one here and there over the years, and found that the problem persisted, so I basically gave up the genre for an extended period of literary Lent, if there is such a thing and if Jews are allowed to observe it.
Now, full disclosure here, I know the author of this book and am quite fond of her as a person, an ex-colleague, as a mentor, and as a friend. I worked with Becky in my first 'grown-up job' after university, and she was always a big help to me prefessionally, and a good kind person to be around with a shoulder to cry on if one was ever needed. That said, I have not seen Becky in just under a decade, so any friendship we may have will have no bias on this review. Besides, I wouldn't be a good friend back to her if I lied or buttered things up - good thing she made it very easy for me to not have to do that as she has written an excellent book here.
No spoilers, but I will tell you that I truly had no idea who the 'bad guy' was until the final quarter of the book, but upon the reveal, it made perfect sense who it was and completely worked within the realm of the story. Plot twists and turns, a grand mystery that kept my head scratched, action, adventure, scrapes with death, and an incredibly strong and believable narrative voice - I know it's only April, but this one is already on the short-list for my Best Reads of the Year, and it is for none of the great reasons I just mentioned.
What really made Rage Against the Dying stand out for me was the human aspect of it - the relationship between Brigid and her husband Carlo was so wonderful and real to me, that it took this book from being a genre-novel, and moved it into new and refreshing territory. Again, no spoilers, but this was one of the most realistic portrayals of a relationship suffering from outside stress that I've ever read, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring a tear or two to my eyes at one point.
In short, I love this book, and I think you will too. It reads so smoothly and easiliy that I was visualizing the (hopefully future) movie in my head as I cbriskly strolled along the prose. Even if you're not a mystery fan, this book has the right amount of emotional depth and gravitas to keep you interested. My only complaint at all is that Becky Masterman only has this one book published so far, because I already want to read more of her beautiful mind.
caltekas's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
daniellesalwaysreading's review
4.0
Very enjoyable book about a retired female FBI agent searching for a serial killer. I kept thinking about the book even when I wasn't reading it. None of the men in her life support her either because they don't believe her or she doesn't let her. I would like to see a book about crime that isn't all about women getting raped and killed, but at least in this one the woman was strong, smart, and in control even without the help of anyone around her. I am looking forward to the next installment.