Review: Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 12, 2013)
• ISBN-10: 0312622945
• Source: Publisher

Brigid Quinn is an fifty-nine year old ex-FBI agent, forced into early retirement.  She now lives with her husband, Carlo, a former Roman Catholic priest and philosophy professor, who knows literally nothing about Brigid’s violent past. Brigid lost one love due to her obsession with hunting killers and she wasn’t going to let that happen again.

She’s called into a case by FBI Agent Laura Coleman, a young agent familiar with Brigid’s past. The case involves a serial killer that stalked Route 66, a case that Brigid was never able to close. An agent Brigid trained was abducted by this elusive killer, her body never found. They have a man in custody who has confessed to the crime but Coleman is reluctant to accept his confession. She calls in Brigid without permission from her supervisors knowing full well that Brigid’s obsession with this case will force her to get answers that Coleman is prevented from obtaining.

Rash decisions put Quinn at odds with the agency, the very behavior that put her in danger and forced her into retirement. This behavior threatens her quiet, sheltered marriage and puts it, along with her very life, at risk.

Brigid Quinn is a wholly unique character. Not many thriller authors dare to write a novel featuring an “older” protagonist yet Masterman truly exceeds expectations with this one. Brigid is a hardened former FBI agent who tries so desperately to accept a quiet, routine retired life, yet her past involvement (and guilt) surrounding this case won’t allow it. Brigid is a wholly sympathetic character, the reader understanding more than she how much of a victim she is to her own fate and behavior.  She is a feisty, cocky, and smart-witted character, one that readers can’t help but root for.  This reader can’t wait for more! Highly, highly recommended.

Click here to listen to a sample of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio.