Short Story Wednesday Review: A Dark Place and Other Kate Burkholder Short Stories by Linda Castillo

A Dark Place and Other Kate Burkholder Short Stories by Linda Castillo opens with every parent’s nightmare. 12-year-old Aaron Kuhns and 11-year-old Kevin Dennison are missing. As the night goes on and the weather gets worse, it is all hands-on deck for the small police force in Painter’s Mill, Ohio, led by Kate Burkholder.  The kids have to be found.

 

A missing child is also  in play in “Disappeared.” The youngest child of Joseph and Emma Kline, a toddler, is missing. The child might have wandered outside and could have easily gotten to the nearby Painters Creek. Or be lost elsewhere on their Amish farm.

 

Merle Beachy was just trying to get home in “Blood Moon.” The buggy is on the way home down backroads as the fog gets thicker when everything goes wrong. The horse got spooked and bolted, the buggy crashed, he got attacked, and now dispatch is waking up the chief with the call for help out at the Levi Miller Farm.

 

Eddie Chupp is harvesting pumpkins as “Hallowed Ground” begins. The harvest is a good one. He’s happy and enjoying the day until his dog gets into something in the field.  The dog won’t stop digging. Eddie goes to see what the dog has found and thinks that it is a human bone.

 

And arsonist has done their work as “Dark Storm Rising” begins. Just days later, Kate Burkholder and John Tomasetti, BCI agent, are on the way to their honeymoon cabin somewhere close to Lake Erie. Sugar Maple Cabins is owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Nisley. They are also having some trouble as one of their cabins was burned down recently.

 

A derecho is a terrifying and destructive weather event. Here in NE Dallas, we are blasted by one a few years ago. The result was a multi-day power outage that made me sick from the heat and widespread damage. They are far more common in the Midwest, places like Ohio. One has hit “A Dark Path” and people are missing. It might not be just the fault of the weather either.

 

I have long been a fan of the Kate Burkholder series by Linda Castillo. I was onboard long before she was famous and winning awards. Like the late Steven F. Havill, her books are set in a small town, feature diverse and complicated characters, and build upon each other. The primary characters become like family to the read as they go through their lives. The series is fluid and the same can be said of her latest short story collection.

 

If you are a new to this author, A Dark Path and Other Kate Burkholder Short Stories is a very good start. And if you are an old hand at the series, reading this is like coming home. Truly a balm for the soul and what ails you.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://link.amazon/B04oKRVqN

 

After being denied by the publisher, Minotaur Books last summer  on NetGalley, Lesa Holstine sent me her paperback review copy several months ago. I am grateful to her for sending me her copy to read and review. You should read her review as well.

 

Kevin R. Tipple  © 2026