A Twist of the Knife is the third Brigid Quinn mystery by Becky Masterman. The main character, Brigid Quinn, is a retired FBI agent. She lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband Carlo and several pugs. In this story Brigid is asked by a former FBI colleague to help her investigate what may be an innocent man on Florida's death row. The man, Marcus Creighton, was convicted of murdering his family and his execution date is coming up soon. Creighton continued to insist that he didn't murder his wife and children but he didn't seem to want to dig too deep as if he was protecting someone else. The wife was found in her bathtub electrocuted by a hairdryer but the children's bodies were never found. Are the three children really dead? Will Brigid find some evidence to prove Marcus innocent before it is too late. If he didn't do it who did?

Brigid returns to FL to help family and a friend. The end is good with no quite a twist. ( )

fiction (crime - suspense/mystery; not too grisly compared to Scandinavian crime novels, but still adult). Main protagonist is a retired FBI agent in her 60s with a less-than-spotless past; her dysfunctional family lives mostly in Florida. ( )

A Twist of the Knife by Becky Masterman is a 201i Minotaur publication.

This third installment in this series sends Brigid to Florida, where her father is facing a serious health crisis- but her main reason for this trip is to touch base with her former partner, Laura, who needs Brigid’s help with a case involving a death row inmate she feels certain is innocent.

The situation is urgent, as the execution date is quickly approaching.

While Brigid is not totally convinced of the man’s innocence, she goes all in to help Laura search for the evidence needed to save his life.

Any story centered around a race against time saga that could save the life of a potentially innocent person sitting on death row, about to be executed, is certain to be a tense and compelling drama.

Brigid’s view is pragmatic, where as Laura has allowed herself to become emotionally involved. The did he- or didn’t he- factor keeps the reader conflicted, and the ethical issues with Laura adds to the uncertainty.

While the story is absorbing, it doesn’t have the same edge as the two previous installments. Despite that, it is still a solid entry in the series and provides the reader with bit more insight into Brigid’s family dynamic, as well.

While not the best addition, I still enjoyed the story and am looking forward to meeting up with Brigid again in the near future.

3.5 stars ( )

Did I read the same book as these other reviewers? This third entry in the Brigid Quinn series is a clunker. Although the feisty, 60-ish Quinn is still a great character, author Becky Masterman sends her to Florida and surrounds her with deadly dull situations and people. I found that I really didn't care about the guy on death row or the circumstances that got him there, or any of the others involved, including the boring FBI colleague Laura Coleman, or the (yawn) subplot with Brigid's aging parents. The energy and plot pacing in the first two books were MIA in this one. Go back to Arizona, Ms. Quinn! ( )