Becky Masterman is the acquisitions editor for a press specializing in medical textbooks for forensic examiners and law enforcement. Rage Against the Dying is her first thriller. Masterman is nothing like her protagonist, Brigid Quinn. For one thing, she is rather tall and not terribly fit. More significantly, she has never killed anyone. Masterman lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband. |
RAGE AGAINST THE DYING
You have never met an (ex) FBI agent like Brigid Quinn
Brigid Quinn’s experiences hunting sexual predators for the FBI have left her with memories she wishes she didn’t have and lethal skills she hopes never to need again. Having been pushed into early retirement by events she thinks she’s put firmly behind her, Brigid keeps telling herself she’s settling down nicely in Tucson with a wonderful new husband, Carlo, and their dogs.
But the past intervenes when a man named Floyd Lynch confesses to the worst unsolved crime of Brigid’s career—the disappearance and presumed murder of her young protege, Jessica. Floyd knows things about that terrible night that were never made public, and he offers to lead the cops to Jessica’s body in return for a plea bargain.
This should finally be the end of a dark chapter in Brigid’s life, except the new FBI agent on the case, Laura Coleman, thinks the confession is fake, and Brigid finds she cannot walk away from violence and retribution after all, no matter what the cost.
With a fiercely original and compelling voice, Becky Masterman’s Rage Against the Dying marks the heart-stopping debut of a brilliant new thriller writer.
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Prologue
From his idling van atop the Golder Ranch Road bridge, Gerald Peasil examined his next girlfriend. With his elbow leaning out the open window, and his face resting on his forearm, the slide of his lips back and forth on the hair of his arm aroused him a little, that and the salty sour odor of his skin. No hurry to introduce himself. Savoring the anticipation of meeting was part of the thrill
The little woman would have been poking among the rocks in the dry riverbed below, too busy to spot him. She didn’t have all the qualities that her picture promised. Sure, wisps of gray hair snuck out from under her khaki canvas hat, and she leaned on her walking stick whenever she stopped to examine a rock, but her body was so erect she could almost pass for hot.
The idea of a hot granny frightened Gerald a little, but no matter. It had probably been a lifetime since she got any, and she’d welcome the attention of a younger man. With his free hand Gerald rearranged himself through his thin nylon workout shorts and thought about his own mother. Mom used to grab him there really hard to discourage him from touching himself, until he got big enough to smack her across the chest with her prize Amway skillet. Dad thought that was pretty funny, only told him he should pick on someone his own size.
"Rage Against the Dying is the kind of thriller that will keep you up long past your bedtime, and Brigid Quinn is the kind of FBI agent you have never met before, but will want to meet again!"
— Peter Robinson, author of The Penguin Book of Crime Stories
"Wow. An absolute pleasure. Chilling, smart, funny, and what a voice she has."
— Gillian Flynn, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Gone Girl
"First time is the charm for Masterman's masterful debut, featuring 59-year-old retired FBI Agent Brigid Quinn, still tough, still determined, and still smarting to catch that one killer who got away. An author to watch. A thriller that must be read."
— Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Catch Me and Love You More
"Blown away. What else can I tell you? Brigid Quinn is a heroine to cheer for, and Masterman writes like an angel who has seen far too many ungodly things.”
— Linwood Barclay, author of the New York Times bestseller No Time For Goodbye
"Blown away. What else can I tell you? Brigid Quinn is a heroine to cheer for, and Masterman writes like an angel who has seen far too many ungodly things."
— Linwood Barclay, author of the New York Times bestseller No Time for Goodbye
"Wow. An absolute pleasure. Chilling, smart, funny, and what a voice she has."
— Gillian Flynn, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Gone Girl
"First time is the charm for Masterman's masterful debut, featuring 59-year-old retired FBI Agent Brigid Quinn, still tough, still determined, and still smarting to catch that one killer who got away. An author to watch. A thriller that must be read."
— Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Catch Me and Love You More
