Scan barcode
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo is the tenth A Kate Burkholder Novel. Kate Burkholder, the police chief for Painters Mill, gets a late night call about a barn on fire at the Gingerich’s. Kate arrives and is told that Daniel Gingerich is missing. It looks like an accidental barn fire until Daniel’s body is found inside the locked and barricaded tack room. Someone wanted to make sure that Daniel did not survive the fire. Kate begins her investigation, but the Amish in Painters Mill are less than forthcoming. Despite being raised Amish and having family in the community, Kate’s uniform and position holds her apart. She is determined, though, to find out who murdered Daniel and set fire to the Gingerich’s barn. The more Kate learns about Daniel, the more unsettled she feels. Can Kate break through the wall of silence to get the answers she needs?
I do not recommend reading A Gathering of Secrets on its own. While it can be read alone, you will miss out on Kate’s backstory. Why she is no longer Amish, how she become the police chief, her relationship with John Tomasetti, and how she gets along with her family. In A Gathering of Secrets, we follow Kate as she delves into Daniel’s life. She gathers evidence, interviews family and friends, follows up on anonymous tips, etc. Kate finds herself once again in a situation that endangers her life. I am amazed that she allowed herself to fall for the one incident. Kate has enough experience to know better (I would say more but it would be a spoiler). A Gathering of Secrets contains good writing and I like Kate’s character. She is a strong, smart woman who does a difficult job. It cannot be easy being English in a community where you grew up Amish. I would like to see Kate grow more as a person. It is time for her to move beyond what happened to her as a teenager (she will never forget it, but she needs to find a way to deal with what happened to her so she can have a future). I was disappointed that A Gathering of Secrets is exactly like the nine books before it. The author seems to follow a formula for her books and she is sticking with it. The descriptions are the fire, the body and other crimes are vivid and explicit. There is an uncalled for amount of foul language as well. I liked that the author included different Amish sects (Beachy Amish and Swartzentruber) and explained the differences. The mystery had depth, but the solution was obvious. I kept hoping there would be a surprise/twist that would shock me. I was amazed at the amount of violence from non-violent people. My rating for A Gathering of Secrets is 3 out of 5 stars (it was okay). While I was not enamored with A Gathering of Secrets, I will read the next A Kate Burkholder Novel.
I do not recommend reading A Gathering of Secrets on its own. While it can be read alone, you will miss out on Kate’s backstory. Why she is no longer Amish, how she become the police chief, her relationship with John Tomasetti, and how she gets along with her family. In A Gathering of Secrets, we follow Kate as she delves into Daniel’s life. She gathers evidence, interviews family and friends, follows up on anonymous tips, etc. Kate finds herself once again in a situation that endangers her life. I am amazed that she allowed herself to fall for the one incident. Kate has enough experience to know better (I would say more but it would be a spoiler). A Gathering of Secrets contains good writing and I like Kate’s character. She is a strong, smart woman who does a difficult job. It cannot be easy being English in a community where you grew up Amish. I would like to see Kate grow more as a person. It is time for her to move beyond what happened to her as a teenager (she will never forget it, but she needs to find a way to deal with what happened to her so she can have a future). I was disappointed that A Gathering of Secrets is exactly like the nine books before it. The author seems to follow a formula for her books and she is sticking with it. The descriptions are the fire, the body and other crimes are vivid and explicit. There is an uncalled for amount of foul language as well. I liked that the author included different Amish sects (Beachy Amish and Swartzentruber) and explained the differences. The mystery had depth, but the solution was obvious. I kept hoping there would be a surprise/twist that would shock me. I was amazed at the amount of violence from non-violent people. My rating for A Gathering of Secrets is 3 out of 5 stars (it was okay). While I was not enamored with A Gathering of Secrets, I will read the next A Kate Burkholder Novel.
raging_and_reading_sarah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dixie1090's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
luciearan's review against another edition
4.0
Zlo se někdy skrývá, všem na očích.
Další díl povedené série s Kate Burkholderovou, tentokrát desátý, nás opět přivádí mezi členy Amišské komunity. Jak už je u knih L. Castillo zvykem, netrvá dlouho a začínáme rozplétat spletitou sérii tajemství a nevyřčených pravd. Potřeba odhalit skládanku jednotlivých tajemství, nutí čtenáře obracet stránku za stránkou, a než se naděje, zjistí, že knihu přečetl jedním dechem. Autorka ve svých příbězích poukazuje na velice lidská témata, díky čemuž je snadné se do jednotlivých knih začíst a nechat se jimi pohltit. V tomto dílu o to víc, že se to dotýká historie i života samotné Kate.
Už se moc těším na další díly.
Další díl povedené série s Kate Burkholderovou, tentokrát desátý, nás opět přivádí mezi členy Amišské komunity. Jak už je u knih L. Castillo zvykem, netrvá dlouho a začínáme rozplétat spletitou sérii tajemství a nevyřčených pravd. Potřeba odhalit skládanku jednotlivých tajemství, nutí čtenáře obracet stránku za stránkou, a než se naděje, zjistí, že knihu přečetl jedním dechem. Autorka ve svých příbězích poukazuje na velice lidská témata, díky čemuž je snadné se do jednotlivých knih začíst a nechat se jimi pohltit. V tomto dílu o to víc, že se to dotýká historie i života samotné Kate.
Už se moc těším na další díly.
rmarcin's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, who knew that the Amish had so many dark secrets? The latest installment in the Kate Burkholder series has Kate investigating the death of a young Amish man in a barn fire. As she digs deeper, she uncovers many secrets being held by this tight-knit community. At the same time, Kate needs to face her past and her future. As always, Kate is put into danger by people who want her to stop investigating. There are many clues as to the culprits with a few red herrings thrown in the story to cause you to wonder who the real killer is.
I did have my suspicions early on, but not the full extent of the mystery. I also really enjoyed the parallel story of Kate and Tomasetti.
Well done, Linda Castillo, another wonderful book!!!
Thanks to Minotaur Books and Linda Castillo for an advance copy of this book. I loved it!!
#AGathering of Secrets #MinotaurBooks #LindaCastillo
I did have my suspicions early on, but not the full extent of the mystery. I also really enjoyed the parallel story of Kate and Tomasetti.
Well done, Linda Castillo, another wonderful book!!!
Thanks to Minotaur Books and Linda Castillo for an advance copy of this book. I loved it!!
#AGathering of Secrets #MinotaurBooks #LindaCastillo
tblossom1's review against another edition
5.0
I hadn't read the rest of the series but yet this book was really easy to understand. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a good murder mystery.
stephaniealysse's review against another edition
4.0
I don't typically go for detective novels, but I found this one hard to put down. I'm very unfamiliar with the Amish lifestyle. Therefore, I was just as interested in learning about the culture as I was in discovering "who did it". At times I had to skim over the cop lingo, but it wasn't so bad as to take me completely out of the story. Ultimately, I found this to be an enjoyable read with an earned ending. I'll definitely consider reading more from the series.
beastreader's review against another edition
3.0
I have really enjoyed getting to know and see Kate in action. I like her don't really feel like an outsider. Thus the reason, it saddens me to report that this book did not hit me in all the right spots this time. In fact, it surprised me a bit as I have enjoyed these books so much. However, it was not Kate that was the problem but the story itself. There was no interest in the characters and thus the story was uninteresting to me.
The last few chapters when Kate solved the case and wrapped it all up in those last few chapters were good. Kate has this way about her that demands respect. Also, she shows why she is one of the best with her intelligence. Here is to the next book in this series that I hope will excite me again.
The last few chapters when Kate solved the case and wrapped it all up in those last few chapters were good. Kate has this way about her that demands respect. Also, she shows why she is one of the best with her intelligence. Here is to the next book in this series that I hope will excite me again.
heidisreads's review against another edition
4.0
A great mystery -- even greater if you've read the other 9 books in the Kate Burkholder series. I love how each story brings in the past and builds into something a little bigger.