TEST
Silence can be golden. It can also be deadly. In Linda Castillo’s Kate Burholder series, silence refers to the Amish desire to be apart – which sometimes manifests as not helping the police by giving testimony. But when you are a police chief investigating a horrific crime, you need someone willing to speak, someone willing to break that silence. Finding that person can be as dangerous, though, as searching for a killer.
It looked like a tragic accident. A small Amish farm; Two parents and a visiting uncle fall into a cesspit, dying almost instantly from the poisonous gasses within. Sheriff Kate Burkholder is more concerned with what will happen to the four remaining children than in looking for a villain, but almost immediately that situation changes drastically. The coroner finds evidence of foul play – turning the case from tragedy to murder. Who besides those four children – two teens and two young boys – would have been on this quiet farm at the crack of dawn?
Kate thinks she may have an idea. There have been a string of hate crimes in the area lately – all of them against local Amish residents – escalating a little more with each act. The most recent event involved the slaughter of several sheep. Had the perpetrators evolved into killing people? FBI Agent John Tomasetti (a sometimes love interest of Kate) is called in to take a look and determine just who is behind the hatred. But neither of them can guess the horror of finding out just who is behind the murders.
As always, Castillo delivers a strong mystery which takes a long, hard look at how evil lurks behind the sweetest, most innocent of faces and how it can penetrate even the quietest of communities. Her continuing exploration of the contrast of the gentle Amish community and the harsh reality of crime among even these most peaceful of people is evocative and heartfelt. The contrast between their world and ours and how the two clash and inter-mesh is woven skillfully throughout the series. The author brings to light the people who make up the small world in which Kate lives.
Castillo does a good job of presenting the crime as well. While these novels aren’t cozies, neither are they so descriptive of violence that they will have you trembling under your bed. The concentration is on the killer(s) – what drives a person to this most horrific of acts? That question is explored thoroughly and with finesse.
I have to be a bit less glowing about her characterization, though. Both John and Kate often feel like sleep walkers outside of their jobs, barely going through the motions of living. That was fine in book one, where they were just starting to come back from the brink of some pretty heavy personal baggage. What happened with John – and all he went through afterwards – certainly justifies him being just short of a zombie in a lot of ways. Kate’s baggage is well in her past, but the changes that have come about in her life – her change from her Amish lifestyle, the violence she has seen and continues to confront head on – certainly justify the world weary, increasingly alcohol-dependent view of life she has. Both are strong characters with fascinating, deep pasts. However, the slow, slow, sllllooooowwww growth that they are exhibiting pulls down the pacing of the books for me a bit. Perhaps it is realistic to have things move at the pace of molasses, but it doesn’t necessarily make for good fiction. This was the only aspect of the book which I had even the faintest quibble but it was most definitely there.
These books don’t have to be read in order but I would recommend doing that. The characters’ private lives have history you will need in order to understand them and most of that history is revealed in book one. My quibble aside, these are well written, fascinating mystery stories. The author does a superb job of taking a look at a world apart from ours and not vilifying it or rose coloring it but simply presenting it as a choice some make. I would recommend to any fan of the suspense genre.
Grade: B
Book Type: Suspense
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 11/07/11
Publication Date: 2011/06
I've been an avid reader since 2nd grade and discovered romance when my cousin lent me Lord of La Pampa by Kay Thorpe in 7th grade. I currently read approximately 150 books a year, comprised of a mix of Young Adult, romance, mystery, women's fiction, and science fiction/fantasy.
Related Reviews
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.