Loved the connections across time and circumstances but felt that the ending was a bit anticlimactic.

I thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. This author was new to me and I was not let down. It was a great story and very well written. The characters were easy to relate to and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend this to everyone!!

The focus event in this book is the murder of a family immortalized by Truman Capote in his best seller IN COLD BLOOD. This is a fictional book set in the years after the murder when many questions were raised on the investigation and solving of the crime. I've read several non fiction books about this event in history so was curious how Becky Masterson could take the story in a different, fictional direction. She did an excellent job of remaining true to the actual events while still writing a very engrossing mystery/thriller. Her characters have a well defined backstory who happen to live in this time in this area. Their involvement in the investigation of the investigatory team leads them into a tense situation that you'll never figure out how they solve the crime. This is truly a great read, especially if you've ever heard the questions raised after IN COLD BLOOD was published.

Historical fiction based off of true murder mysteries in Kansas in 1959. Although Dick Hickok and Perry Smith were sentenced to death for the murder of the Clutter family, there are many versions of the story floating around, including Capote’s In Cold blood, leaving you to wonder... what REALLY happened? It sucked me in, and I didn’t want to put it down!

I was drawn in by the title, We Were Killers Once, but I couldn't get into this one. Before I started this book by Becky Masterman, I was unaware this was the forth book in a series. I may have not chosen to pick this one up since I had not read any of the previous ones, But I went on and started this book. I struggled from page one. This book didn't do much for me. I read 45% of the book until I gave up. Too many books out there to struggle through one. If you like learning about killers and researching old crimes, this may be for you. I do enjoy the occasional who done it, but this didn't do it for me. This just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress

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An excellent read, with well developed characters and fast moving plot! I wasn't sure I would like this book, but I give it a thumbs up 5 star review!!

Becky Masterman wrote a wonderful book, We Were Killers Once. I will look forward to reading more of Ms. Masterson's novels!!

Thank you to the author, Becky Masterson, to the publishers and a special thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced digital copy of We Were Killers Once.

We Were Killers Once is an interesting take on speculative history that is dragged down by its main character.
Brigid is a retired FBI agent and married to a man whose first wife died. Brigid who is tough and strong in everything but in relations to the first wife; this is the only time Brigid questions here. While trying to deal with these emotions, a man named Jerry enters their life. Brigid is sure he is up to no good.
I can't stand Brigid. This is the first in her series I have read and it will be the last. I like that the author uses an older woman but this idea of self-doubt because of a past relationship seems better suited to a younger woman. While I am sure people this age can feel this way, this didn't jive with how confident and egotistical the woman actually is. I couldn't stand Brigid's constant judgment of everyone around her while her ignoring her own bad decisions and actions. Brigid came off as thinking she is perfect even though she had no emotiona qualms about killing anyone ever in her career. I didn't care about her though I cared about her husband and niece. Luckily, the story alters between her view and that of Jerry who was way more interesting.
The plot itself is interesting. The author lays with the difference between In Cold Blood and what actual records say about the events. Masterman creates a new story that tries to answer the differences as well as unsolved mysteries related to that case and those associated with it. Jerry is the central part of this and it is how Brigid is pulled into the case.
We Were Klelrs Once is imaginative and engaging. Too bad the main character is totally unlikeable.

If you’re a fan of Truman Capote, you will enjoy “We Were Killers Once.” If you enjoy police procedurals, then this book a must-read because author Becky Masterman takes you hook, line and sinker on the first page. And you won’t let go until you are on the last page.

Like the now classic Truman Capote’s novel “In Cold Blood,” “We Were Killers Once” gives a different perspective on the 1959 Clutter Family killings in Kansas. Richard Hickok and Perry Smith were executed for the crime.

In this alternative look at the case, Becky Masterman proposes that there was a third killer and he would do everything and anything so that he would not be caught! Told in two POVs, the story is a fast-paced slow burn thriller. You can’t turn the page fast enough, but the characters will make their next move when they are ready.

This is the fourth book in the Brigid Quinn series, but this is the first one that I have read. I did not feel lost though. Brigid and her husband Carlo were three-dimensional even to me who just met them the first time. Even Beaufort, the antagonist was fleshed out.

A good read, “We Were Killers” should be in your summer reading list. The book is Rated T for Teens. Parental guidance strongly advised due to the subject matter.

I didn't realize when I requested this one that it was a later book in a series. I've jumped in mid-series before and enjoyed the book, so I wasn't too worried about that. I really did try to get into this story and just couldn't. I took a break and read something else to see if that would help and just never went back. I think I'm just not the right audience for this book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honesty review.

Because the storyline was so gruff, it was a slow start for me as I don't normally read this this type of genre. After a few chapters, Brigid and Carlo had fully reeled me in though. The murders took place before I was born and I had never heard of them, so I was quite surprised to read the author's notes at the end and found out this was based around true life events! I was thoroughly surprised by this novel and enjoyed Masterman's writing style. I look forward to reading more of Masterman's work!

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in return for my honest review. This book was so good. It kept my attention and really kept me guessing!!!! I never knew what was going to happen next!!!! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery!!

In 1959 the Clutter Family killings in Kansas were all over the news and eventually immortalized by Truman Capote’s infamous book, In Cold Blood. Two killers, Hickok and Perry were executed for the crime. 

Becky Masterman, in her new and fourth Brigit Quinn novel, asks: what if there was a third killer there that night? What if the authorities never apprehended him? What if he were afraid someone would discover his DNA or match his fingerprints if he left any at the scene? What would he be capable of? 

We Were Killers Once explores one man’s desperation. Jerry Beaufort is out of prison for an unrelated crime and is out to find a confession one of the two killers left behind. 

In previous “Quinn” novels that I’ve read, I don’t recall hearing a lot about Carlo, Brigit’s husband. He came across to me in those reads as a steadying force in her tumultuous life, but here we learn a lot more. He is not the steady rock I imagined at all, but a naïve and somewhat bumbling but honest and ethical man who gets taken for a ride. No spoilers but just to say that there are victims in this world and one Jerry Beaufort, a man with nothing to lose, can sense that weakness, or need,  a mile away and use it against them.    

We Were Killers Once is a well-written novel that elaborates the true story of two sets of killings that shocked America. Like her other novels, she has created plenty of real-life characters to keep you flipping pages past your bedtime.

3.5 stars!

We Were Killers Once is an enjoyable and quick read, that reimagined an old crime and created new ones, While it is the fourth in the Brigid Quinn series, it read well as a standalone.novel.

Becky Masterman writes well fleshed-out characters that are (mostly) likable and definitely believable and I seriously loved that our protagonist, Brigid, is an older woman! While it starts out a little slow, the pace quickly picks up and the dialogue, both internal and external, is witty and sharp.

While I did find the reimagining of the famous Clutter murders a strange subject, Ms. Masterman gives us enough details of the original crime and weaves the theory of a third killer extremely well.

Definitely a good read!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to review :)

We Were Killers Once
by Becky Masterman
This is my 1st by this author and I have got to say I was not disappointed! It is a quick good read and the author does a phenomenal job of weaving this story in with Capote's In Cold Blood which I read many years ago, very interesting premise! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for this book and leaving my review!

What a great book, and a page turner. It was really awesome how the author incorporated the story of In Cold Blood into your story. I have never read this author before but I’m sure I will be reading her again. Thanks for the great book!

I have never read In Cold Blood, but I think I might want to now. I like this take and addition of a third man Becky Masterman has added to the story. My interest is piqued to read Capote’s story to find out what really happened according to his telling.

The story could have flowed a little more smoothly but the overall telling was pretty good. It definitely holds the interest and makes you want to keep reading.

I wasn’t fond of Brigid Quinn as she seemed a bit self absorbed and full of herself, but very insecure. I will read more of Masterman’s works, but probably not a Brigid Quinn novel.

Book Review: We Were Killers Once (Brigid Quinn, #4) by Becky Masterman

Juxtaposed against a literary classic, Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood", Becky Masterman's 4th book in her Brigid Quinn series is beset with palpable challenges from both a literary and a plausibility perspective - even before a single page is read.

Lofty expectations spout. Does she rise to the task and pen a worthy addendum to the classic?

In writing his book, Capote did 8,000 pages of copious research, even reportedly brought his childhood friend Harper Lee ("To Kill a Mockingbird") to help gain the confidence of the locals at Finney County, Kansas, where the murder of the Clutter family occured. He conducted prison interviews with convicted murderers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith.

Although "In Cold Blood" drew much praise from the literary community, critics who questioned its veracity include several locals mentioned in Capote's book, the prosecutor in the case, the lead investigator, and other true crime writers who did their own interviews and research. Evidence is said to have indicated that the book may not as "immaculately factual" as Capote claimed it to be.

"Dick and Perry pick up a couple hitchhikers – an old man and a young boy. Dick is initially annoyed by the passengers, but quickly warms up to them when the young boy introduces him to the art of finding returnable bottles by the roadside. Together, they load the car full of bottles, and the boy exchanges them at a motel. They split the money and eat a big dinner at a diner." - Summary of Truman Capote's narrative.

Out of Capote's hitchhiker boy - "...a stocky, sharp-eyed, talkative towhead of about twelve...", Becky Masterman weaves her horrific monster, Jeremiah "Jerry" Beaufort, to wreak havoc upon Brigid Quinn's world and effectively blur the lines between fiction and non-fiction - quite so, that many readers will be tempted to Google the fictional Beaufort.

She spices the plot with the Seal of the Confessional, a Catholic dogma in the Sacrament of Penance and the extent to which priests consider it their absolute duty.

It's thus an understatement that the author has to be commended for courage and creativity.

But does she rise up to the literary challenge?

The book may be panned by many and may not "..measure up to what-if premises". But the author has her own level of literary sophistication to draw out emotions, action and suspense in a delightful subtle manner. And it does measure quite up to par with crime thriller contemporaries.

Great writing - quick and easy to read. Excellent creative plot drawn upon a classic masterpiece. Unputdownable. Almost.

Some readers may find that the book's thriller segments, particularly the finale, are heavily infused and bogged down with family drama and make for extra lengthy reading, even defuse the tension of gripping action on scene - humdrum marital issues with the protagonist's husband and vice-versa, and incessant jealousy for his deceased first wife, all of which the author may have found essential to the plot (to underscore the personality and character of the ex-priest husband) and quite possibly to build up for the next installment of the Brigid Quinn series.

Definitely worth a read!

Review based on an advance reading copy provided by NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books.

This was my first Brigid Quinn book. I wasn't really aware that I was reading the 4th book and it worked out ok. I felt like I had plenty of information but now, I would love to go back and read books 1-3. I also have not read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote and this book focuses on that book and the two killers he wrote about. I was very interested in it all though. I really would like to know more about Brigid's niece, Gemma Kate! Overall, this was a very good read!

Outside of romance books, one of my favorite tropes of books is mysteries or police procedurals, true crime. This book was interesting from beginning to end. Definitely kept me intrigued as a reader. I love when books are this well written and can hold my time and interest.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Story felt too contrived which is a shame because the characters and plot especially given the In Cold Blood twist had great potential. From the beginning the story and character interaction felt manipulated. Entertaining with a too manufactured flavor.