A clever twist on a classic real-life murder case makes this book - the fourth featuring former FBI agent Brigid Quinn - a standout. I've not read any of the preceding books, but the excellent writing and tough but likable lead character have convinced me this one won't be my last.

The gruesome real-life murder of the Clutter family was chronicled in the late Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" (and for the record, I'm old enough to remember both the murders and the almost astonishing success of the book). Here, though, the author explores the possibility - discussed and mostly discounted at that time - that at least one other person was involved besides the two men who were later apprehended, found guilty and executed. Further, she posits that those two men, and whoever was with them, may have committed similar murders of a family in Florida not long before the attack on the Clutters.

It is from that premise that this book develops, beginning with the somewhat early release of long-time prisoner Jerry Beaufort from the same prison at which the Clutter murderers were housed. Now an old man, he wants to live out the rest of his life in relative anonymity - but there could be a fly in that ointment: One of the executed killers, he believes, named him in an eleventh-hour confession to the Catholic priest who was the prison chaplain at the time. Beaufort's goal is to find that priest and make sure his secret stays secret. After all, times have changed; if his actions come to light, DNA and other evidence not available 30 years ago could be used to determine his guilt.

As the plot would have it, Brigid and Carlo, her philosophy professor husband of three years, are living not far from the prison. A former Catholic priest, Carlo not incidentally spent time as an assistant chaplain there. The details I'll leave for you to read for yourself, but it's pretty clear early on that the lives of Beaufort, Brigid and Carlo will become entwined in some pretty scary ways.

It's a well-written, easy-to-read story; but aside from the unique tie-in with the real-life murders, the basic plot isn't too different from other books I've read (but for the record, I enjoyed those, as I did this one). As a senior citizen myself, reading about strong characters who aren't young whippersnappers made for a refreshing change.

One thing that struck me, though, is that I found myself more "connected" to Brigid's husband, Carlo, than to Brigid herself. That's reminiscent of J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas; I like Eve, but her hunky husband with a dark past, Roarke, is one of my all-time favorite characters (now that I think about it, Brigid shares quite a few similarities with Eve). Likewise, on one of my favorite TV shows, "Madame Secretary," I'm more drawn to Elizabeth McCord's husband, Henry - played by Tim Daly - than to Tia Leoni's title character.

As I said at the beginning, though, I'm really looking forward to the next installment, and I hope to see it soon. Meantime, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this one.

We Were Killers Once is a story by Becky Masterman and is fiction mixed with facts. I hadn't realized this book was fourth in a series until I had finished it. Definitely a stand alone story, as I hadn't any problems following along. Ms Masterman has used Truman Capote's In Cold Blood as part of her story and did an excellent job of combining his "facts" with her book. I was given an early copy to review.

It's a murder story with a lot of twist and turns . It's well worth reading . Would recommend others to read as well .

I should've paid closer attention to the fact that this is fourth in a series. I typically don't choose to start in the middle of one...especially when it contains recurring characters.

However, it isn't difficult to acclimate to the story thus far. There's enough info provided and background to keep the reader on track.

I liked this, but didn't love it. So I can't say for sure if I have any intentions of going back to the old stuff or continuing any further.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC!
I was worried I was going to be lost when I saw that this was Book 4 for Becky Masterman. But I soon realized that I didn't need to read the previous books to understand what was going on.

There is a family of 4 who were murdered two men were convicted and put to death for the crimes, but there may have been a third person involved.

The story is told from Brigid's and Jerry's point of view. It's not a on the edge of your seat book, in fact there isn't much twist and turns through out the book.

It was a quick read and it kept my interested through out the story. I just wished it packed a little more of a punch.

Becky Masterman is a very talented writer bringing us a tough retired female FBI agent in the second season of her life. Former FBI agent, Brigid, is retired and in her 60's. A couple years ago she married Carlos, a widower, who was far removed from the world of death and deprivation she came from. Carlos was an intellectual and former priest. He left the priesthood for the love of his life. Brigid constantly fights an internal battle of jealousy of a ghost. Constantly wondering how does she compare to his perfect love he once had for someone else?

Beaufort, has just been released from 30 years in prison. Caught for the third time on drug charges he's in for life. However, the three strike law is amended and the ones with non violent convictions are set free. What they don't know is that Beaufort has a far more sinister past that he was never caught for. Worried from hearing a prison rumor about another killers death bed confession just before being executed he immediately sets out to make sure if it exists he destroys it.

He finds out that in Carlos past he was a prison Chaplin and could be holding this death bed confession. Beaufort needs to make sure if it exists it doesn't surface, and he will do anything to ensure it. He sets out to make Carlos his friend and see if he can get the damning evidence. Brigid's honed FBI skills senses BS, when suddenly by happenstance an innocent meeting over their back fence brings Jerry Beaufort into their lives. Something is off about him. Brigid Quinn is a tough ex FBI agent that Beaufort doesn't expect. What she suspects is way off from what starts to unfold and both their lives are in extreme danger.

I recommend this book if you like mystery, true crime and romance of seasoned people. Thank you NetGalley and Becky Masterman for the opportunity to read and review this book. I'm a great fan of cold cases and true crime and love that you embellished to make it such an interesting read. This is my true unbiased review.

I didn't know when I started this book that it was based on fact with authors right to embellish and add fiction to enhance the readers experience. I learned the second family murdered happened an hours drive from where I live. Two killers were put to death for the Walker family of four massacre in Kansas but did they get them all? And another whole family of four was murdered and in Florida very similar to the Walkers killing in the same time frame and that case remains unsolved. Truman Capote wrote about this Walker case after interviewing the two killers before their execution. It made the case famous it was called In Cold Blood. Could the same killers have done both? And was there a third member? The Florida case remains unsolved to this day.

This one was classic Brigid. Things start out so normal, but as they go on Brigid's instinct's start pinging, she looks further into things. Carlo, like always seems to be the voice of reason, pulling Brigid back in, telling her how paranoid she is being. By the time the book end Carlo seems to be having a crisis of faith, while Brigid is going along like normal, because in her world crap like this happens.

I liked that while all of this was going on we had the back story of the events of In Cold Blood happening. I do find myself wondering about Gemma Kate, could she go the same route as one of the characters from this book?

Thank you to NetGalley, Becky Masterman and St. Martins Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

In 1959, a family was brutally murdered and two men were convicted and executed for the crime. The crime and the investigation became the subject of Truman Capote’s masterpiece In Cold Blood. But what if there was a third unknown perpetrator? Brigid Quinn, a retired FBI agent is trying to enjoy her husband Carlo in this new chapter of their lives. Carlo was a priest in this younger days and mementos from his previous life causes him to become a target with a newly released prisoner who wants to make sure there is no evidence to link him to his crimes.

I had read the first two books in this series years ago and really enjoyed them and I was quite excited to see a new one coming out! I liked how this novel had a completely different premise from most other mystery novels and thoroughly enjoyed the alternating chapters between Brigid and the killer. It was also nice to see more of Brigid’s home life and more of her totally different family than we had previously. I actually really enjoyed how clever the killer was and how he is was trying to learn about how to erase himself from his previous crimes. It was an easy and interesting read!

Out June 4th!

This book had my attention from the beginning. It was hard to put it down. It was a great read! I look forward to reading more from this author.

Yes and no on Becky Masterson’s “We Were Killers Once.” The plus side for me was an original concept that placed a third killer with the notorious murderers of the Clutter family in Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.” Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were both executed for the horrendous crimes long ago but Masterson imagineered a third person being involved, still very much alive, and, at about seventy years old, determined to keep his name out of it and prepared to kill to do so. My minus impression has to do with the writing of the story and an inability to promote interest in a story, often recounted, but musty with time.

The characters are suspect in their ineptness and, sometimes, stupidity. Ex-FBI agent, Brigid Quinn, at about sixty years of age, is the author’s lead character and, although tough and always spoiling for a fight, comes across as revenge-filled and rather aimless. Her ex-priest husband, Carlo, seems just plain dense with no idea of his place in the story, although he probably holds a confession by Hickok that might implicate the old geezer who, at this late date, is probably immune to harm because of the dust on the story. His fanaticism about killing someone to protect himself is implausible and hard to follow. His violent nature creaks with the ravages of time. I doubt he even knows where he keeps his underwear.

I did read the book; although there were times I looked for something else to delve into. I give the author credit for creating just enough interest to keep me in the game, although at the end I was almost embarrassed. I wouldn’t recommend that you NOT read the book. It’s better than that, but barely.

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I was skeptical about the basic premise of this book. I was very pleasantly surprised by how well the author manipulated all the pieces of the plot and the characters to create a new twist with great characters. I will definitely watch for more. Well worth the investment of your time.

We Were Killers Once is Book 4 in the Brigid Quinn Series.
This book was just "okay" for me. The plot was okay and the story was good, but the characters
seemed to have a life of their own, and not in the best way. I felt like I had missed something.

Having said that, I am aware that this is Book 4 in the series and I may of benefitted from reading
the first 3 books first. This wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't my favorite.

We Were Killers Once (Brigid Quinn #4) by Becky Masterman, is the first book I’ve read from this author. The book was well written and researched, but sadly it left no impression on me. I’ve been thinking for 5 days now wondering why and all I can think is it read more like a documentary or a biography. There wasn't enough suspense, edginess or surprise in the story for me. The primary characters ( Brigid, Gemma Kate, Carlo & Beaufort) were well developed with backgrounds but still seemed flat to me. The search for the confession and the info it yielded about Beaufort was interesting but not enough to save the book for me.

I wish to that the Author, the publisher - Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Expected publication date is June 4th, 2019. The book is expected to be released in multiple formats.

For me, this was a 2 out of 5-star read.

This was my first introduction to this author, so I had no expectations going in. I ended up really enjoying this book, and even though it was clearly part of a series (references were made throughout to events in the first few books) it's not necessary to read the first few books to follow the story. I am definitely going to seek out the first three books in this series.

It was a fun, quick-moving book with an interesting premise. In addition, I really appreciated the heroine; not many books are written about "women of a certain age" who also happen to be bad-asses.

* I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for this book, however it just wasn't the right one for me. I am not sure if it's because my reading tastes have fluctuated, or because I myself was going through a hard time while trying to read this book. But I don't feel like I was the right reader for it.

I do want to say that the Author has a very rich, detailed, and creative mind. It is very apparent whilst reading this book. I do know a lot of my fellow bloggers are going to devour this book.

This is another terrific murder mystery featuring retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn. This time the story is actually based on true crime events in Florida, featured in the Truman Capote book 'In Cold Blood'. I really love this series, particularly the fantastic main character. The first book of the series 'Rage Against the Dying' is still my favourite but this one is another worthy story in a fantastic series

This book wasn’t my favorite. It did have some suspense but I thought it was a bit far fetched. This was my first book by this author and I will try another one. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

What if Perry Smith and Dick Hickok had an accomplice? What if they weren’t the only ones who murdered the Clutter family on that cold November night in 1959? What if another family was murdered in the same style just months later in Florida? This the scenario that Becky Masterman explores in her new work of fiction, We Were Killers Once.

It’s an interesting theory. And even if the book is fiction, the murder of The Walker Family in December 1959 in Florida, is in fact, very true. Which is eerie. And Smith and Hickok were suspects in that case, although it was never solved.

Masterman takes all these details and spins a new story, a different take that offers a “what if” scenario to the horrifying murders. This part of the story is executed very effectively, in my opinion. I enjoyed the backstory about how Perry, Dick and Jerry met and how everything played out.

I haven’t read the rest of the Brigid Quinn series, but for me it was really random having such an interesting back story with real historical significance at the center of a fourth book in a running series. If the whole series was built around fictionalizing famous true crimes it would be one thing, but it appears this is the only such book in the series.

I just wasn’t as interested in Brigid and Carlo and all the everyday workings of their lives. Because I was interested specifically in this story and not in the series.

Anyhow, I’m sure that current fans of the series will love this one, but overall it fell slightly flat for me. Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out June 4!

Although I never read any books by this author I found there writing style entertaining. This an excellent book I look forward to reading more by this author..

This was an interesting book and was well written with strong characters. Since I didn't have the same fascination with Ain Cold Blood as the author did, I wasn't sucked into the story as much as I could have been. But it was worth the read and I would be curious about reading more by this author.