In this electrifying new thriller in the New York Times bestselling series, a convicted murderer is on the run and Chief of Police Kate Burkholder must catch him before he strikes again.
"Murder in Amish country has a certain added frisson, and Castillo’s the master of the genre.” —People magazine
“Castillo weaves the particularities of the Amish mindset into a complex mystery that will leave you crying with pity or seething with rage.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)
Two years ago, Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was a “fallen” Amish man and a known drug user with a violent temper. Now King has escaped, and he’s headed for Painters Mill.
News of a murderer on the loose travels like wildfire, putting Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and her team of officers on edge. But this is personal for Kate. She grew up with Joseph King. As a thirteen year old Amish girl, she’d worshipped the ground he walked on. She never could have imagined the nightmare scenario that becomes reality when King shows up with a gun and takes his five children hostage at their Amish uncle’s farm. Armed and desperate, he has nothing left to lose.
Fearing for the safety of the children, Kate makes contact with King only to find herself trapped with a killer. Or is he? All King asks of her is to help him prove his innocence—and he releases her unharmed. Kate is skeptical, but when the facts and the evidence don’t align, she begins to wonder who she should trust. Spurned by some of her fellow cops, she embarks on her own investigation only to unearth an unspeakable secret—and someone who is willing to commit murder to keep it buried.
I was worried after the last book that this author had lost her touch, but this book proved me wrong -thank goodness!
Kate is off being a good cop again and boy does she pay for it. She is 'caught' trying to help a long time friend that had become estranged. He is Amish but had been sentenced for the murder of his wife; this is his big crime although there have been other crimes along the way.
This is a novel of corrupt policemen and police departments and how they can sometimes take advantage of those who don't understand or live by our rules like the Amish.
I dislike having to say that this book dept me guessing and at the edge of my seat, but it really did. At one point I had thought that it was going to be a cliff hanger, but it wasn't.
The secondary character's are mostly unlikable and disagreeable, but frankly that is how they should be. Even the Amish secondary character's got on my nerves a bit and I had to keep reminding myself that this is the way they live -by keeping to themselves.
This is not the type of Amish book that we read when we read Amish/Christian romances -this book is about the 'real' Amish or at least what I believe to be the true Amish. And I enjoy looking into this unusual lifestyle (at least it is to me). To add a murder into the mix is the cherry on the strudel!
Kate is off being a good cop again and boy does she pay for it. She is 'caught' trying to help a long time friend that had become estranged. He is Amish but had been sentenced for the murder of his wife; this is his big crime although there have been other crimes along the way.
This is a novel of corrupt policemen and police departments and how they can sometimes take advantage of those who don't understand or live by our rules like the Amish.
I dislike having to say that this book dept me guessing and at the edge of my seat, but it really did. At one point I had thought that it was going to be a cliff hanger, but it wasn't.
The secondary character's are mostly unlikable and disagreeable, but frankly that is how they should be. Even the Amish secondary character's got on my nerves a bit and I had to keep reminding myself that this is the way they live -by keeping to themselves.
This is not the type of Amish book that we read when we read Amish/Christian romances -this book is about the 'real' Amish or at least what I believe to be the true Amish. And I enjoy looking into this unusual lifestyle (at least it is to me). To add a murder into the mix is the cherry on the strudel!
