3.5 stars (rounded up)
I had no idea this was part of a series, but it can be read as a standalone, which I liked.

This was kind of like watching an episode of CSI. It was good and kept me wanting to know what happens, but there were also things that didn't quite work for me.

What didn't work:

-While the story is told in multiple POV's, the chapters aren't labelled, which caused some confusion as to who was narrating. At one point, the narrative switched from first to third person in the same chapter.
-I felt like Brigid's thoughts on her marriage and jealousy of Carlo's first wife, detracted from the story a bit.
- It also annoyed me a little that information was given up so easily by some of the characters.

What I enjoyed:

- I actually liked all the characters. Even though Brigid was much older and retired, she was still pretty badass.

I think I enjoyed Jerry the most. He was a great villain.

I had never heard of Truman Capote and his book In Cold Blood. So for those like me and in the dark, it's a non-fiction novel about a true crime. As a lover of fictional work based on true stories, this was an added bonus.

I may not have loved this one, but I did enjoy it!

The 4th and latest instalment in Masterman’s Brigid Quinn series. The 4th book in my 20 Books of Summer Challenge (3rd finished, East of Eden is going to take more time than any book in this challenge to finish – should I continue with the audio – but I don’t see how I wouldn’t since it’s really great in audio!)
And excuse me while I’m off on another ramble here….the Brigid Quinn series is just another new series I’ve started reading, and another where I am not starting with the first in the series. The majority of my absolutely beloved mystery series are by Elizabeth George and Louise Penny, and I started both far into their series, but once started have read every one in order (George is now at #20 in the Inspector Lynley series and I started at #8 and Penny at #15 in the Gamache series and I started at #7). Here, in the Brigid Quinn series, I didn’t feel like I’ve missed out on too much since I started with the 4th, because I feel like Masterman fills in enough of Brigid’s past to catch onto what is going on now. (And another series I started at with #4 was Iona Whishaw’s fantastic Lane Winslow series! I fell in love with that series beginning with #4 so don’t feel like I’m doing any damage starting any of these series later in their games.)
I was quickly drawn into this one, and it really didn’t take too long to zip through it. It comes with an interesting premise weaving together the story in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood with an additional theory of “what if there was a 3rd person” and this person was involved in the infamous murders in Kansas, but also a second family whose murders remain unsolved and might have included this same group of killers?
In Cold Blood is a book I have owned for years, but haven’t read it yet (are you surprised by this?) Masterman writing for Crime Reads discusses this possibility of a third person and a second murder case, “What Capote was not obsessing over was the near-identical murder of the Walker family. ” We Were Killers Once explores this possibility and pits Brigid up against a potentially dangerous killer.
Like in the other mystery series, these books also have plenty of ongoing background development of its characters, their personal lives, and idiosyncrasies. I enjoyed Brigid and in We Were Killers Once, we learn of Brigid’s insecurities with her husband Carlo and his first (now deceased) wife. Brigid is an interesting character for sure and a pleasure to read about – a former FBI agent, in her 60s and married for the first time. I look forward to reading more about Brigid and the cases she becomes involved in! While reading We Were Killers Once, I did have some questions about plausibility – but it is actually addressed in the end because they show up as Brigid’s concerns as well!
The other books in this series are all available from my library, so I will more than likely go back and read those too. Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Random House Canada and my library for allowing me to read We Were Killers Once. Another excellent series I get to follow along with!

Freshly released from prison after more than 30 years, Jerry Beaufort is on a mission to prevent his involvement in two famous murder cases from ever coming to light thanks to advances in forensic science. His path crosses that of Brigid Quinn, a former FBI agent turned private investigator whose husband Carlo, in his previous career as a priest, may have come into possession of a piece of crucial evidence regarding these crimes.

This is a novel of multiple obsessions: Jerry's unreasonable preoccupation with clues that may not even exist and his zeroing in on Brigid as the enemy that must be eliminated at all costs; Brigid's life-long fixation on Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and her hang-ups about Carlo's first wife; and, more crucially, the destructive obsession that these two warped, self-involved individuals develop for each other.

I found this novel tedious for two main reasons. Firstly, its descriptions of obsessive — and thus repetitive — behaviour failed to hold my interest. Secondly, there's only so long my disbelief could remain suspended as, over and over again, every single piece of information or material resource Jerry needed practically fell into his lap. Add to this stilted conversations, doubtful leaps in logic, and one of the most contrived intrigues I've ever read, and you'll understand my relief at this book being so short.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

I seem to be having a bit of a two star type of week that might give the illusion that it's the only type of rating I give out. Coming in as my 188th read of the year, We Were Killers Once is the twenty eighth 2 star of my 2019 reading year. Some of my most eagerly anticipated books have already hit the market and they have left me very satisfied . The book synopsis is elaborate in detail and I don't want to rehash it all here.

But I was lured in by the connection to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and was hoping for a solid thriller. Unfortunately, the story was just way too slow in beginning and as I am not familiar with the first three books in the series, Brigid Quinn's side focus on her husband's first wife didn't seem that relevant.

However, I like that Brigid Quinn is an older protagonist and the what if premise that Perry Smith and Hickock didn't act alone and may be connected to another murder in Florida was intriguing. In fact, the author's note was extremely interesting and I wish the story had lived up to it.


Goodreads review 30/05/19
Publication Date 04/06/19