#BookReview Shamed by Linda Castillo @FreshFiction @LindaCastillo11 @MinotaurBooks

Shamed by Linda Castillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this riveting new thriller in Linda Castillo's New York Times bestselling series, Kate Burkholder races against the clock to find a missing Amish girl.
An Amish grandmother is murdered on an abandoned farm, her seven year old granddaughter abducted. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder plunges headlong into a case that quickly becomes a race against the clock. She knows the longer the girl is missing, the more likely a tragic outcome. The family of the missing girl is well thought of—a pillar of the Amish community. Their pain is palpable and they cooperate in every way, but Kate soon learns they’re keeping secrets...

The investigation takes Kate to an isolated Old Order Amish settlement along the river in southern Ohio. At first, the community seems upstanding and helpful. But when Kate starts asking questions, they stonewall her—and the situation soon becomes dangerous. What are they hiding and why?

After an attempt on her life, Kate unearths a haunting and tragic secret that changes everything she thought she knew about the family for whom she is fighting, the Amish community as a whole—and everything she thought she knew about herself. Will she reach the girl in time to save her life?

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An old woman is out picking walnuts with her two grandchildren when she hears a sound from inside the abandoned farmhouse where they are. No one lived on the farm for a long time so no one should be inside the house. A little time later is the woman dead and one of the granddaughters has been kidnapped. Kate Burkholder has to figure out who would want to hurt the old woman and why did the person in question take one of the children? Kate has a feeling that the people related to the old woman and some around her in the Amish community have a secret. That they are hiding something that made someone kill...

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

#BookReview A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo @LindaCastillo11 @MinotaurBooks @FreshFiction

A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A deadly fire exposes the dark side of Amish life in this harrowing new thriller in the New York Times bestselling series.

When a historic barn burns to the ground in the middle of the night, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to investigate. At first, it looks like an accident, but when the body of eighteen-year-old Daniel Gingerich is found inside—burned alive—Kate suspects murder. Who would want a well-liked, hardworking young Amish man dead?

Kate delves into the investigation only to find herself stonewalled by the community to which she once belonged. Is their silence a result of the Amish tenet of separation? Or is this peaceful and deeply religious community conspiring to hide a truth no one wants to talk about? Kate doubles down only to discover a plethora of secrets and a chilling series of crimes that shatters everything she thought she knew about her Amish roots—and herself.

As Kate wades through a sea of suspects, she’s confronted by her own violent past and an unthinkable possibility.

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I read SWORN TO SILENCE , the first book in the Kate Burkholder series some years ago and loved it. After reading it, I did get several of the books in the series and planned to read them. I still plan to read them, even more so after finishing A GATHERING OF SECRETS, book ten in the series.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When a serial killer strikes bucolic Painters Mill, Ohio, the killer's signature -—Roman numerals ritualistically carved into each victim's abdomen- —matches the MO of four unsolved murders from 16 years earlier. Police chief Kate Burkholder, who's reluctant to dredge up the past, must keep secret that she knows why the old murders stopped. Not satisfied with the case's progress, local politicos set up a multijurisdictional task force to assist, including a law-enforcement agent battling his own demons. The added scrutiny and the rising body count threaten to push the chief over the edge. Adept at creating characters with depth and nuance, Castillo smoothly integrates their backstories into a well-paced plot that illuminates the divide between the Amish and English worlds.

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I was lucky enough to get Sworn to Silence, the first book in the series cheap as an Ebook after being rejected on NetGalley for Among the Wicked the latest book in the series. So, all and all it was probably for the best since I did enjoy starting this series from the beginning instead of the latest book. 

Police chief Kate Burkholder, ex-Amish, has to stop a vicious killer in this book that may be a copycat or a killer that murdered several women 16 years ago. However, she has personal reasons for believing that it has to be another killer. It doesn't get easier for her when her role as police chief is getting questioned as more people are killed while she is trying to figure out who the killer is. Some local people just don't think she is trying hard enough... 

I found the book to be very good, and very different from other crime novels. I like that Kate Burkholder has a history with the Amish community and I liked that she is a complex character with a dark past. Also, this case really brought back bad memories for her. The case also brought agent John Tomasetti into her life as he who was hellbent on wrecking his life and career seems to have finally found someone that can get his life back on track. I quite like the chemistry between them. 

The case was interesting, is it the same killer or a copycat? What is really going one and what happened to Kate all those years ago? I did, however, figure out the killer when Tomasetti listed the killer profile, it was actually quite easy to do so I thought and then I just kept on reading to see if I was right, and I was. But, it did not take away the enjoyment of reading the book. I still found the book pretty good, despite not being surprised over the killers identity.

It was a good first book and I'm looking forward to reading more books in the series!

Cover Crush: Among the Wicked by Linda Castillo

Erin over at Flashlight Commentary is the one that came up with the cover crush idea and I loved it so much that I decided that every Thursday would I post a cover that I really love. 

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This week's Cover Crush is Linda Castillo's Among the Wicked. I haven't read any books in this series, but I find the covers captivating. This book is the latest in the series and I love the simplicity of the cover, with the lonely woman and the beautiful sky. The font also is perfect, strong, big and simple.



Check out this week's cover crush over at 
Flashlight Commentary, 
2 Kids and Tired Books, 
Layered Pages 
The Maidens Court