Becky Masterman exploded into the thriller world in 2013 with RAGE AGAINST THE DYING, which introduced Brigid Quinn to the mystery genre with a great deal of well-deserved critical acclaim. FEAR THE DARKNESS, her much-anticipated sophomore effort, meets and exceeds the high bar of quality set by its predecessor, establishing Masterman as one of the must-read authors of the decade.

Brigid is a former FBI agent who is approaching 60 and has retired to the Tucson, Arizona area with her husband, Carlo. Despite her law enforcement reputation of not playing well with others, she has an extended network of friends and balances her social activities with some very occasional work as a private investigator. Her peaceful life with Carlo, an ex-priest with a steady emotional set, is disrupted at the beginning of the book when a promise she once made seeks to be fulfilled. Brigid’s sister-in-law has passed away after a long illness, and Todd, Brigid’s brother, asks Brigid and Carlo to take his daughter, 17-year-old Gemma-Kate, back to Arizona with them so she might establish residency for college tuition purposes.

"Masterman balances her character development of Brigid and a strong supporting cast with a riveting plot and a couple of puzzling mysteries that impel the reader to proceed quickly through the book from its beginning before coming softly to earth at the very end, following a harrowing and unsettling climax."

The extended Quinn family is not quite right. Gemma-Kate certainly fits that mold, but it’s uncertain how much of her off-putting personality is due to genetics or to losing her mother at an early age. Brigid and Carlo take her, notwithstanding some quiet misgivings. However, things go wrong almost immediately --- and dramatically so --- though it is not exactly clear if they do so as the result of bad coincidence or more nefarious and deliberate circumstances. In the aftermath, what was once a peaceful household and tranquil marriage becomes somewhat less so.

At the same time, Brigid begins to assist a local woman whose son died tragically some several months previously. It appears that the death has been investigated thoroughly and is considered to be accidental. The boy’s mother, though, cannot be placated, and as Brigid digs into the circumstances of the young man’s life and the investigation of his death, she finds that what appeared to be a simple conclusion is more complicated than she had anticipated.

Meanwhile, Brigid begins to experience some sudden physical deterioration that is unexpected and inexplicable. She immediately suspects that the cause is Gemma-Kate, who does little to deflect attention away from herself; in fact, she does everything but confess to creating the etiology behind Brigid’s physical difficulties. Brigid has no idea of the degree of danger she is in and may not find out until it is too late. As good of an investigator as she might be, she finally may have met her match.

Brigid Quinn is a believable protagonist, one of the most credible that one is likely to find in contemporary genre fiction. Masterman balances her character development of Brigid and a strong supporting cast with a riveting plot and a couple of puzzling mysteries that impel the reader to proceed quickly through the book from its beginning before coming softly to earth at the very end, following a harrowing and unsettling climax. FEAR THE DARKNESS should exponentially increase Masterman’s growing legion of readers while maintaining and exceeding the critical praise she received for her impressive debut.