Fear the Darkness

A Thriller

By: Becky Masterman

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

It's hard to recognize the devil when his hand is on your shoulder. That's because a psychopath is just a person before he becomes a headline... Psychopaths have preferences for Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts coffee, denim or linen, Dickens or... well, you get the point.

Ex-FBI agent Brigid Quinn has seen more than her share of psychopaths. She is ready to put all that behind her, building a new life in Tucson with a husband, friends, and some nice quiet work as a private investigator. Sure, she could still kill a man half her age, but she now gets her martial arts practice by teaching self-defense at a women's shelter. But sometimes it isn't that simple.

When her sister-in-law dies, Brigid take in her 17-year-old niece Gemma-Kate. There has always been something unsettling about Gemma-Kate, but family is family. Which is fine, until Gemma-Kate starts taking an unhealthy interest in dissecting the local wildlife. Meanwhile, Brigid agrees to help a local couple by investigating the death of their son - which also turns out not to be that simple. Her house isn't the sanctuary it used to be, and new dangers - including murder - seem to lurk everywhere. Brigid starts to wonder if there is anyone she can trust, or if the devil has simply moved closer to home.

Becky Masterman's Fear the Darkness is the masterful follow-up to the Edgar Award and CWA Gold Dagger finalist Rage Against the Dying.

©2014 Becky Masterman (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

Masterman Does It Again

What made the experience of listening to Fear the Darkness the most enjoyable?

I chose Rage Against the Dying (the first book in the series) on a whim. I loved the narrator, Judy Kaye, who read the Sue Grafton's Alphabet mysteries. I enjoyed the first Brigid Quinn mystery and was looking so forward to the 2nd. When I found out there was a different narrator, I was disappointed but because I enjoyed the story; I gave it a try. Even better than the first. Suzanne Toren does a marvelous job narrating this story. She gives life to each character, and the story is wonderful. Brigid is a "retired" agent trying to settle down but something or someone always keeps her in the game. At first the details seem so wide apart that you think there is no way everything can be related. Once again, Masterman does a splendid job weaving a story web of twists. I truly didn't see it coming. Looking forward to the 3rd in the series.

What did you like best about this story?

Humor - Brigid (through the narrator) just makes you crack up constantly. As hard as she tries, she will always have her career as a part of her life.

Which character – as performed by Suzanne Toren – was your favorite?

All were splendid. She gives life to each one. Brigid and Mallory were definitely my favorites. She does a great job differentiating between them.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Who Can You Trust? Brigid's niece comes to live with her after her ailing mother dies. Like Brigid, Gemma Kate is definitely a Quinn to the bone. Is Brigid going crazy or is GK a psychopathic nut job?

Any additional comments?

The narrator deserves so much of the credit in these books. They truly make the Audible experience enjoyable.

Love her books

This one is even better than the first one of hers I have read. Becky Masterman knows and loves Tucson.

Mmah.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first, but thought the reader was entertaining and kept me engaged even when the book was slow.

Wanted to like it more

I was a little disappointed after enjoying book 1 so much. I found myself getting increasingly annoyed with the characters. Too much suspending my disbelief.... How everyone else noticed Brigid looking terrible and walking oddly - except for her own spouse? How no one cared about her driving while acting odd? Faces into airbags don't create concussions?
I love this character but don't make her so dumb!
Finally, the wonderfully narrated voice of Brigid which I enjoyed in the first book seemed to break in & out of a strange southern drawl in book 2. Where did that come from?
Please write book 3. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Another Great Book from Becky Masterman

I don't remember how I heard about the author's first book, Rage Against the Dying. Maybe it was fascination with the title. But I loved it. And anxiously awaited another. This is it and I loved this one too. I'm a tough rater too.

So often in audiobooks, it seems hard to keep characters straight. Not so with Masterman's writing.

Protagonist Is a female retired FBI agent with a long history of violence, in both her personal and professional lives, now married to a former priest. This is a really intriguing match which stands firm through some real tests.

Except for husband Carlo and two dogs, there weren't carryover characters from the earlier book. (Except for one phone call with a former colleague and discussion with the local ME.) I hope in future books she develops a wider circle around her.

Again I look forward to the next chapter in the life of this woman.

intense!

OMG! at times I wish I was reading this book so I could have read it faster! I could hardly wait for the reader to read. fantastic book.

Better and better!

I chose the first book in this series, Rage Against the Dying because the book's description looked interesting and I liked the narrator. While I found it a bit lacking, the last third of the novel made up for the rest and by the end, I couldn't wait to read Fear the Darkness.

From the very beginning, I was hooked. This book had many twists and turns that I did not see coming. It kept me reading with that kind of horrid fascination you have when you know something really bad is going to happen to someone or something and you want to look away but can't. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

Definitely a keeper and my favorite book that I've read so far in 2019.

Not bad

Isn't my fav of 2021 but kept me interested and wasn't awful as some reviewers have said. Tough to follow up her first and that is probably why so many meh reviews. For $5, it is worth it.

Wow, but I love this series!

Fear the Darkness is the second of the Brigid Quinn novels, and a very enjoyable dance through duty, obligation, and what passes for love in any family.

Brigid has honored an obligation to take charge of her niece after her mother's death long enough to enable her to go to college in Arizona. In short order, the teen poisons one of the dogs, and seems to be setting Brigid up for a slow death.

When a story is well put togrther, then I'm all in to have my emotions batted from suspicion and dislike of them lousy kids to outright hatred of one smart little psychopath on down through a series of clever reveals and changes to an end in keeping with how to love the best we can.

Suzanne Toren gives us Brigid and a crowd of characters with some great acting! Try this series--it's addictive!

The story had so much potential!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone with lower standards? And I'm telling you, I truly lowered my bar in order to enjoy these thrillers/suspense books I have gotten into reading lately.

Has Fear the Darkness turned you off from other books in this genre?

This is what bothers me. I really like the premise, I think the story had so much potential. It was pretty original compared to other books I have read. I liked the idea of the main character and I think it could have been great if it hadn't been for the author's childish need of inserting ridiculous, retarded stories(basically bragging) of her previous work in the bureau. For example, the story had many moments of great suspense in which i was really caught in it and then out of the blue she would say something like: " I am not one to scare easily, having infiltrated in the Mexican cartel once blah blah" ughh ruining the moment. But I did find the story interesting and suspenseful and I wanted to know what was going to happen ( I am not one to stick with a book even if I don't like it, I just stop reading it) and kept me "on the edge" until the very end when a useless, totally unjustified. amateurish, twist is shoved into the story. Just for the sake of the twist. I don't want to say more and add spoilers but I felt cheated by the ending. Even with the bragging I would have still given it 3 stars but adding an illogical twist to a story is condescending and insulting to the reader.

Would you be willing to try another one of Suzanne Toren’s performances?

MMM I guess, yeah I would try another one.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Fear the Darkness?

The unnecessary bragging and cheap stories of her job in the bureau and the ending.