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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
She’s back! Police Chief, Kate Burkholder, and her motley crew (her fellow officers) along with hubby, John Tomasetti are on the case of some of the most gruesome murders in the history of the series – at least to me they are. This is probably one of the darkest and most twisted installments so far.
"Children discovering body parts in the woods is extremely unlikely in a town like Painters Mill.” - Kate Burkholder
Yes, this is true, but finding dead bodies in Painters Mill is not all that uncommon, at least not for Kate and her crew. I’ve said this before, but it bears mentioning again, the crime rate in Painters Mill is pretty high for such a small rural town and in this Amish community, the Amish get knocked off at an alarming rate, which makes their suspicions and caution of “the English” a rather prudent and valid attitude.
The book summary introduces the primary storyline of the two Amish friends, Samuel and Aaron being brutally murdered. What the book summary doesn’t mention is the lawsuit against Samuel, a tree farmer and landscaper, from a wealthy and respected local business owner for some shoddy work. There are also questions surrounding the possible relationship between Samuel and Cass, a local exotic dancer (and formerly Amish), who seems to have disappeared around the same time that Samuel was murdered.
Most of the story revolves around Kate and her crew, along with Tomasetti, investigating the case. Kate believes the murders have a “big city” vibe to them and that perhaps Samuel and Aaron had gotten involved in something that was out of their depth of handling, especially since Samuel had just recently returned home and to the Amish fold from his Rumspringa period. It’s deep into the second half, and as the body count increases, that Kate and the team realize that the danger and threats are much closer to home. The end comes to an intense and scary end for Kate, who in true bad@$$ form, takes a beating and gets up swinging – every time!!!
The continuing character development of Kate and Tomasetti, along with some of the other characters continue to exhibit that all is not what it seems in Painters Mill. Kate is a total bad@$$ and I love that about her. The pacing was steady to fast, never dragging, at least not to me. The storyline was interesting and the writing was classic Castillo, who is a really good writer and storyteller; I really enjoy her work. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will be rounding down to a 4.25star review. I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #Rage
"Children discovering body parts in the woods is extremely unlikely in a town like Painters Mill.” - Kate Burkholder
Yes, this is true, but finding dead bodies in Painters Mill is not all that uncommon, at least not for Kate and her crew. I’ve said this before, but it bears mentioning again, the crime rate in Painters Mill is pretty high for such a small rural town and in this Amish community, the Amish get knocked off at an alarming rate, which makes their suspicions and caution of “the English” a rather prudent and valid attitude.
The book summary introduces the primary storyline of the two Amish friends, Samuel and Aaron being brutally murdered. What the book summary doesn’t mention is the lawsuit against Samuel, a tree farmer and landscaper, from a wealthy and respected local business owner for some shoddy work. There are also questions surrounding the possible relationship between Samuel and Cass, a local exotic dancer (and formerly Amish), who seems to have disappeared around the same time that Samuel was murdered.
Most of the story revolves around Kate and her crew, along with Tomasetti, investigating the case. Kate believes the murders have a “big city” vibe to them and that perhaps Samuel and Aaron had gotten involved in something that was out of their depth of handling, especially since Samuel had just recently returned home and to the Amish fold from his Rumspringa period. It’s deep into the second half, and as the body count increases, that Kate and the team realize that the danger and threats are much closer to home. The end comes to an intense and scary end for Kate, who in true bad@$$ form, takes a beating and gets up swinging – every time!!!
The continuing character development of Kate and Tomasetti, along with some of the other characters continue to exhibit that all is not what it seems in Painters Mill. Kate is a total bad@$$ and I love that about her. The pacing was steady to fast, never dragging, at least not to me. The storyline was interesting and the writing was classic Castillo, who is a really good writer and storyteller; I really enjoy her work. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will be rounding down to a 4.25star review. I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #Rage
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A great addition to the Kate Burkholder series. I really enjoyed the mystery and that it shined light on something that is a major issue in the United States.
With that said, I felt like last book had the close of a big character arc for Kate and Tomasetti. I would like to have the next one start a new arc or have something unexpected happen.
All in all, I will continue to read this series because I have a great time with it and it's something to look forward to in the summer time.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
With that said, I felt like last book had the close of a big character arc for Kate and Tomasetti. I would like to have the next one start a new arc or have something unexpected happen.
All in all, I will continue to read this series because I have a great time with it and it's something to look forward to in the summer time.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4 stars for book 17 in the Kate Burkholder series. While you can read this book as a stand alone, you will understand the characters better if you read the series in order. The book opens with a grisly discovery: two children discover human body parts. Kate is the police chief of the fictional town of Painter's Mill, Ohio. She has a 5 person department, but can and does get help from the Sheriff's department and the Ohio state BCI(Bureau of Criminal Investigation). Kate does solve the case, but not before more deaths.
She is now married to John Tomasetti, an investigator for BCI. There are some things that happen in this book that happen in almost every book in the series: Kate is attacked several times, but miraculously survived a vicious beating, and being hit by car. This is fiction and in real life she would be dead or on disability retirement.
The book examines the dangers of rumspringa, the Amish word for teenagers going wild before being baptized and committing to the Amish way of life.
There is some bad language, no graphic sex and the horrific violence is post mortem.
Thank you Katie Layton at St. Martin's Press for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
Pub Date Jul 08 2025
She is now married to John Tomasetti, an investigator for BCI. There are some things that happen in this book that happen in almost every book in the series: Kate is attacked several times, but miraculously survived a vicious beating, and being hit by car. This is fiction and in real life she would be dead or on disability retirement.
The book examines the dangers of rumspringa, the Amish word for teenagers going wild before being baptized and committing to the Amish way of life.
There is some bad language, no graphic sex and the horrific violence is post mortem.
Thank you Katie Layton at St. Martin's Press for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
Pub Date Jul 08 2025
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I look forward to the next Kate Burkholder book every year, and this one did not disappoint! A series that is now 17 books strong is impressive. I recommend this series to EVERYONE.
There were so many twists and turns in this one that I could not put it down. And although I thought fairly early on that we were dealing withsome sort of trafficking I did not think it would be that big. I always love the overarching personal stories of Kate and Tomasseti as well as her officers, that you miss if you read these books as a stand alone.
Thanks to Netgally for the ARC.
There were so many twists and turns in this one that I could not put it down. And although I thought fairly early on that we were dealing with
Thanks to Netgally for the ARC.
Kate Burkholder is back with the whole gang. Kate is a yanked over Amish sheriff in Amish country Ohio(about two hours from where I live). Every June I get so excited for the next book in the series. It’s one of my favorite series. This one was no different. Linda Castillo always has you on your toes and always has you guessing.
These books aren’t for the faint heart. They are gruesome with such great detail. I loved it(I’ve loved pretty much all of them though so I am biased.)
So many twists and turns. It’s legit a book you will stay up late to read and not regret it. As always 5 ⭐️ read!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press | Minotaur books for giving me an advance copy in exchange for a honest review.
These books aren’t for the faint heart. They are gruesome with such great detail. I loved it(I’ve loved pretty much all of them though so I am biased.)
So many twists and turns. It’s legit a book you will stay up late to read and not regret it. As always 5 ⭐️ read!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press | Minotaur books for giving me an advance copy in exchange for a honest review.