REVIEW: We Were Killers Once

We Were Killers Once
Author: Becky Masterman

Holcomb, KS. 1959. An entire family murdered. The Clutter Family killings were immortalized by Truman Capote. Two killers were put to death for the crime. But just imagine if a third killer was there that night....and was never caught. In fact, what if another family was murdered, but the second crime was never solved. Flash forward several decades and a freshly released long-time convict is afraid that a death bed confession by one of the executed killers might reveal that he is that third killer. He's willing to do just about anything to remain a secret....

In Cold Blood is a rough read for me. I read it for the first time in college. It was just an incredibly creepy read for me (since I grew up in Kansas in a small town pretty much like Holcomb where rural families didn't lock their doors or worry about crime) and made me paranoid about walking around campus for several weeks. In Cold Blood was the first book I ever read about a crime that really happened. It made it a bit too real for me. I don't care for the book even now....just because the crime was so gruesome and unnecessarily cruel. This fictional story adds another layer on top....a what if that just chilled me to the bone. What if there was another murderer there that night....someone who was never caught? *Shiver*

We Were Killers Once is the fourth book in the Brigid Quinn series. Brigid is a retired FBI agent who is trying to get used to her retirement. It's a losing battle, as a series of coincidences line up to pull Brigid and her husband into the cold case of a family killed in Florida in 1959, just after the Clutters. I love how the author weaved this fictional story in with the true crime details described in Capote's book. But, the string of coincidences necessary to get there were just a bit much for me. I think part of the problem is that I jumped into this series on the fourth book....these characters obviously had a lot of background and detail that built up through the first three books. There was a bit of a disconnect for me because I didn't start this series from the beginning.

The story starts off a bit slow....but once the case revs up, there is great suspense and story-telling. The plot is interesting, engaging and very creative. I just didn't connect with the characters very well. Brigid's husband is a former priest...that seems a bit weird from the start. And Brigid is jealous of her husband's deceased first wife. Just a strange mix....then all the coincidences to tie them in with this unsolved murder and the Clutter murders.....it just didn't really gel for me. But.....I might have liked it better if I had read the first three books first. Or it might have been that the Clutter killings are a crime that just really bothers me. Not sure.

Solid 3.5 stars for the interesting plot. I'll round up to 4. I don't think I will be reading more of this series....it doesn't seem to really be one for me. Not every story is for every reader. It's a good story and very well-written....just not my cup of tea.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**