Crime Reads: Linda Castillo on Keeping Her Kate Burkholder Series Fresh and Frightening After 17 Books

 Crime Reads: Linda Castillo on Keeping Her Kate Burkholder Series Fresh and Frightening After 17 Books

Publication Day Review: Rage: A Novel by Linda Castillo

 

Rage: A Novel by Linda Castillo is the latest in the long running Kate Burkholder series. A series that, while still very good, is becoming increasingly graphicly detailed in terms of the violent murders and the aftermath. In this case, the aftermath of what was done to the first victim.

 

Painters Mill Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and Officer Chuck “Skid” Skidmore are out at Painters Mill Elementary School as the books begins. Chief Burkholder loves doing the annual presentation for the kids. Officer Skidmore is not enjoying himself as he is cooking alive in the costume he must wear to play the role of “Kip the Cow.” It is late August, the first week of school, and unbelievably hot.

 

During their presentation, Chief Burkholder gets a call from dispatch regarding the fact that some kids have found something very disturbing. They think they have found pieces of a body. Before long, Burkholder and Skidmore are on their way to the scene.

 

Upon arrival at Sweet Potato Ridge Road, an area known to flood, Burkholder is still hoping it isn’t what the kids, and now their dad, thinks it is alongside the creek. That hope is quickly dashed by Officer Rupert “Glock” Maddox who has confirmed the presence of body parts.

 

The kids were playing down in one area next to Painters Mill creek when one of them found things that no child should have ever see. The kid found a severed hand and a foot. Soon, more parts are discovered and it becomes abundantly clear this was no accidental drowning and somehow the body just fell apart.

 

It won’t be the last killing either.

 

The latest read in the series is another good one with a lot going on throughout the book. It also goes into incredibly graphic detail about the murders as well as the disposal of the bodies. Those who were disturbed by that in The Burning are sure to be bothered here. This reviewer, who did not have that much of a reaction to that stuff in that read, was considerably bothered here. Especially in terms of the depiction here of the recovery and later autopsy of the various body parts of the first victim.

 

With that caveat in mind, Rage: A Novel by Linda Castillo, is a good one and well worth your time. I have been a fan of this series since the very beginning with Sworn to Silence. Still am. But, I just don’t really need things to be as graphic as they are here with the first body. Even though I read a ton of mystery and crime fiction each year, in this case, it was a bit much.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3G8EV4k

 

 

My digital ARC came by way of the publisher, Minotaur Books, through NetGalley, and with no expectation of a review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: Rage by Linda Castillo

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Rage by Linda Castillo

Review: The Burning: A Novel by Linda Castillo

I usually do not run reviews on Sunday. But recent health issues including, several falls over the last couple of weeks, as well as a just diagnosed left ear infection of both the drum as well as the ear canal, threw me off. I can assure everyone that the planet’s gravity still works, nothing broke as I just have assorted bumps and bruises, and I am on both a pill antibiotic and drops in the ear deal so one hopes one is on the mend. I am also back doing news posts for SMFS so the fat man is playing catchup as best as he can. This came out back on Tuesday so I am a few days late with my spoiler free review.

 

The latest in the series, The Burning: A Novel by Linda Castillo, finds Kate Burkholder and John Tomasetti two months into their marriage. The newlyweds are blissfully happy. Especially Kate Burkholder as life is pretty good these days.

 

It wasn’t for Milan Swanz. Especially his last few minutes as he was, basically, burned alive at the stake. It is a 2:47 am wakeup call for Painters Mill Chief of Police Kate Burkholder like no other and a horrific crime scene. A scene that gets into your mind and body in more ways than one.

 

As her and her team dig for answers, it is clear that Milan Swanz was a deeply flawed human being. One that the Amish tried to handle internally. He was disciplined repeatedly and finally recently excommunicated. His situation may have been permanently solved as somebody seems to be a following a book from long ago in the Ana Baptist culture.

 

What follows is a complicated and twisted novel that puts Kate pretty much against everybody else in her search for the truth. Along the way, we find out a little more about Kate’s history and just how important family is to her.

 

Strongly recommended, as is the entire series.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3S5nN2j

 

Make sure you read Lesa Holstine’s recent review at Lesa’s Book Critiques. Lesa also sent me an ARC for the book a few weeks ago before I was approved for it by NetGalley so that was how I read this book.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024

Lesa's Book Critiques: THE BURNING BY LINDA CASTILLO

 Lesa's Book Critiques: THE BURNING BY LINDA CASTILLO

Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – DARK STORM RISING BY LINDA CASTILLO

 Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – DARK STORM RISING BY LINDA CASTILLO

Short Story Wednesday Review: Dark Storm Rising: A Kate Burkholder Short Story by Linda Castillo

It has been a long time coming but it finally happened as Dark Storm Rising: A Kate Burkholder Short Story by Linda Castillo begins. Kate Burkholder and John Tomasetti are married. The two are on their honeymoon and are going to spend time at an area on the shores of Lake Erie. It is a rare stretch of time off from their jobs as Chief of Police Painter’s Mill, Ohio, and BCI agent respectively.

 

On the drive in, both note that there are abandoned farms in the area. When Kate was last here, back when she was twelve, it was a thriving Amish community. Now twenty years later, not so much. The burnt remnants of a cabin on the property they will be staying at is also a sign that something bad recently happened.

 

Fortunately, their particular cabin at “Sugar Maple Cabins” is fine and awaiting their arrival. Mrs. Lovina Nisley and her husband, Enos, are wonderful hosts. Mrs. Nisley remembers Kate, as does Kate remember her, so soon they are getting all the news about what is going on in the area.

 

They are also the first people Enos contacts just a few hours later when Lovina goes missing during a snowstorm.

 

What follows is a fastmoving short story where Kate Burkholder and John Tomassetti do more than just help find Lovina. Readers learn a bit more about Kate and a certain summer when she was twelve. Events of that summer helped shaper her into the woman she is today. Readers long familiar with the series are sure to enjoy Dark Storm Rising: A Kate Burkholder Short Story as it is a good one.

 

The read closes with excerpt from this summer’s release, The Burning: A Novel.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3VUvaN3

 

 

My reading copy came by way of a purchase using funds that were recently donated via the PayPal widget on the left side of this blog.

 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024

Review: An Evil Heart: An Kate Burkholder Novel by Linda Castillo

While I reviewed this book back in late March, the book dropped on Tuesday so I am reminding you again. Make sure you read Lesa Holstine's review as well. 

An Evil Heart: A Kate Burkholder Novel by Linda Castillo opens just a few days before Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is to be wed to John Tomasetti. Fall has come to the Amish country side Surrounding Painters Mill, Ohio, and the land is pretty as the trees take on their fall colors. Kate’s on the wedding is soon destroyed as she has a case to work. What might have been a simple hit and run is instead a murder. Not just a murder, but a brutal and savage execution.

 

Aden Karn is the victim of being shot twice by a crossbow. A bolt was fired into his abdomen a couple of inches above his navel. Then, with the twenty-year-old man gravely wounded, the shooter manually pushed the bolt through his body and out his back. That freed bolt was retrieved, and then is forced deep into his mouth before being fired again through the back of the throat and back of his head. The person who did this wanted to inflict a lot of pain and terror to kill in such a brutal way.

 

Aden Karn initially seems to have been a great guy. But, nobody’s perfect. As Chief Burkholder and her team work the case, it becomes clear that Karn was hiding a lot of dark things. Plenty of folks had a reason to kill him. Isolating who did it gets increasingly complicated and more difficult in An Evil Heart: A Novel.

 

After the events of The Hidden One took Kate Burkholder away from home, An Evil Heart keeps her local and makes the tale stronger thanks to the inclusion of the usual secondary characters. All the regulars are fully involved in this brutal and violent case. The latest in this long running series as a complicated and detailed read that works on all levels. Well worth your time, it is nice to have Burkholder and the gang back together in the powerfully good, An Evil Heart: A Novel by Linda Castillo.

 

 

My reading copy came by way of an ARC by way of NetGalley. The currently scheduled release date is July 11^th.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

Lesa's Book Critiques: AN EVIL HEART BY LINDA CASTILLO

 Lesa's Book Critiques: AN EVIL HEART BY LINDA CASTILLO

Short Story Wednesday Review: Hallowed Ground: A Kate Burkholder Short Story by Linda Castillo

 

It is Fall as Hallowed Ground: A Kate Burkholder Short Story by Linda Castillo begins and the annual Pumpkin Festival is just days away. Eddie Chupp is harvesting his pumpkins when his dog finds an old bone. A jawbone to be exact. He would have thought it was a from a long dead sheep until he spotted the sliver in one of the molars.

That means this was a person.

It isn’t long before Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and her fiancée, John Tomasetti, of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are at the scene. A place known for pumpkins and its location next to the annual corn maze is now a crime scene. The land frequently floods and that might be how the odd jawbone wound up amongst the pumpkins.

There might be more bones. There is a victim to identify. There certainly is a lot to do and it happens in Hallowed Ground: A Kate Burkholder Short Story. A fast moving read with a lot going on. This is a solidly good tale. It also serves as a nice way to introduce Linda Castillo’s upcoming book, An Evil Heart: A Kate Burkholder Novel, coming out on July 11^th.

 

My reading copy came via a purchase as my local library system was not picking this one up. Make sure you read Lesa Holstine’s review of Hallowed Ground. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

Lesa's Book Critiques: HALLOWED GROUND BY LINDA CASTILLO

 Lesa's Book Critiques: HALLOWED GROUND BY LINDA CASTILLO

Review: An Evil Heart: A Kate Burkholder Novel by Linda Castillo

An Evil Heart: A Kate Burkholder Novel by Linda Castillo opens just a few days before Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is to be wed to John Tomasetti. Fall has come to the Amish country side Surrounding Painters Mill, Ohio, and the land is pretty as the trees take on their fall colors. Kate’s on the wedding is soon destroyed as she has a case to work. What might have been a simple hit and run is instead a murder. Not just a murder, but a brutal and savage execution.

 

Aden Karn is the victim of being shot twice by a crossbow. A bolt was fired into his abdomen a couple of inches above his navel. Then, with the twenty-year-old man gravely wounded, the shooter manually pushed the bolt through his body and out his back. That freed bolt was retrieved, and then is forced deep into his mouth before being fired again through the back of the throat and back of his head. The person who did this wanted to inflict a lot of pain and terror to kill in such a brutal way.

 

Aden Karn initially seems to have been a great guy. But, nobody’s perfect. As Chief Burkholder and her team work the case, it becomes clear that Karn was hiding a lot of dark things. Plenty of folks had a reason to kill him. Isolating who did it gets increasingly complicated and more difficult in An Evil Heart: A Novel.

 

After the events of The Hidden One took Kate Burkholder away from home, An Evil Heart keeps her local and makes the tale stronger thanks to the inclusion of the usual secondary characters. All the regulars are fully involved in this brutal and violent case. The latest in this long running series as a complicated and detailed read that works on all levels. Well worth your time, it is nice to have Burkholder and the gang back together in the powerfully good, An Evil Heart: A Novel by Linda Castillo.

 

My reading copy came by way of an ARC by way of NetGalley. The currently scheduled release date is July 11^th.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

Lesa's Book Critiques: SANDIE’S CORNER – THE DEAD WILL TELL BY LINDA CASTILLO

 Lesa's Book Critiques: SANDIE’S CORNER – THE DEAD WILL TELL BY LINDA CASTILLO

Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – HER LAST BREATH BY LINDA CASTILLO

 Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – HER LAST BREATH BY LINDA CASTILLO

Lesa's Book Critiques: SANDIE’S CORNER – LINDA CASTILLO’S THE HIDDEN ONE

 Lesa's Book Critiques: SANDIE’S CORNER – LINDA CASTILLO’S THE HIDDEN ONE

Review: The Hidden One: A Novel of Suspense by Linda Castillo

While I reviewed this book last month, publication day for it was Tuesday so I am reminding folks today of the latest read in the Kate Burkholder series.  

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is enjoying a quiet Saturday in Painters Mill as The Hidden One: A Novel of Suspense by Linda Castillo begins. Off duty and out of uniform, she is in town to pick up a birdhouse for her significant other, John Tomasetti. His birthday is next week and she plans to give the handcrafted birdhouse to him as a gift.

She soon is requested by dispatch to come to the office as three men are there and want to see her as soon as possible. The Amish men have come from Pennsylvania and have serious business. So much for getting the bird house picked up now.

Chief Burkholder goes to the office and meets with Bishop Nelson Yoder, Deacon Nathan Kempf, and a minster by the name of Mahlon Barkman. They are the elected officials of the church district in “The Kish Valley” in Central Pennsylvania. They bring word that Jonas Bowman has been arrested for the murder of Bishop Ananias Stolfzfus.

Eighteen years ago, Bishop Stolzfus vanished without a trace. Two months ago, while one of the members of the church was cutting hay pm his land, he found human remains. What was left of the person allowed the police to determine that it was Bishop Stolzfus. Found nearby was a muzzleloader that belonged to Jonas Bowman.

The local police believe that Jonas shot him and then buried the body and the gun. Jonas and the Bishop were clashing a lot over various issues in those days and young Jonas was known for his temper. The cops think it was an open and shut murder. Since Jonas admitted it was his gun and has no explanation for anything, including the identity of who might have taken it, the police have locked him up and pretty much quit investigating the case.

Long ago when she was a young teen, Chief Burkholder knew Jonas. They were friends and then a lot more. He as an important part of her life for several years. Then he and his family moved and she lost touch as she was going through her own tough times.

While the Bishop and Jonas had a nasty history, and Jonas hated the deceased for good reason, he swears he did not do it. The church elders have come to Chief Burkholder on his behalf as he has a wife and kids. They are sure Jonas did not do it. Since he won’t ask for help, they are asking on his behalf. They want her to come to Pennsylvania where she has no jurisdiction and investigate.

As has happened before in this long running series, the past is going to play a major role in Burkholder’s action in the here and now. The arrest of Jonas Bowman stirs up a lot within her and she does not want to have to deal with it. However, she will, and goes to Pennsylvania and investigates because the past and the current murder charge has to be dealt with for all involved. Put simply, her motivation to go and see what she can do to clear him is that she owes him for what she did, and they did, so very long ago.

The Hidden One: A Novel of Suspense is another good one in the series. This reader likes it much better when she is working at home in Ohio and thus all the secondary characters are present and engaged. Instead, this time she is far from home and working an increasingly difficult and dangerous case without the people readers know and love involved.

Still, despite that fact, The Hidden One: A Novel of Suspense is a solidly good read and well worth your time.

 

 

My reading copy came by way of a digital ARC via NetGalley. The book is currently scheduled to be released on July 5^th.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022

Dru's Book Musings: A Word With Linda Castillo

 Dru's Book Musings: A Word With Linda Castillo

Lesa's Book Critiques: SANDIE’S CORNER – LONG LOST BY LINDA CASTILLO

 Lesa's Book Critiques: SANDIE’S CORNER – LONG LOST BY LINDA CASTILLO

Review: The Hidden One: A Novel of Suspense by Linda Castillo

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is enjoying a quiet Saturday in Painters Mill as The Hidden One: A Novel of Suspense by Linda Castillo begins. Off duty and out of uniform, she is in town to pick up a birdhouse for her significant other, John Tomasetti. His birthday is next week and she plans to give the handcrafted birdhouse to him as a gift.

She soon is requested by dispatch to come to the office as three men are there and want to see her as soon as possible. The Amish men have come from Pennsylvania and have serious business. So much for getting the bird house picked up now.

Chief Burkholder goes to the office and meets with Bishop Nelson Yoder, Deacon Nathan Kempf, and a minster by the name of Mahlon Barkman. They are the elected officials of the church district in “The Kish Valley” in Central Pennsylvania. They bring word that Jonas Bowman has been arrested for the murder of Bishop Ananias Stolfzfus.

Eighteen years ago, Bishop Stolzfus vanished without a trace. Two months ago, while one of the members of the church was cutting hay pm his land, he found human remains. What was left of the person allowed the police to determine that it was Bishop Stolzfus. Found nearby was a muzzleloader that belonged to Jonas Bowman.

The local police believe that Jonas shot him and then buried the body and the gun. Jonas and the Bishop were clashing a lot over various issues in those days and young Jonas was known for his temper. The cops think it was an open and shut murder. Since Jonas admitted it was his gun and has no explanation for anything, including the identity of who might have taken it, the police have locked him up and pretty much quit investigating the case.

Long ago when she was a young teen, Chief Burkholder knew Jonas. They were friends and then a lot more. He as an important part of her life for several years. Then he and his family moved and she lost touch as she was going through her own tough times.

While the Bishop and Jonas had a nasty history, and Jonas hated the deceased for good reason, he swears he did not do it. The church elders have come to Chief Burkholder on his behalf as he has a wife and kids. They are sure Jonas did not do it. Since he won’t ask for help, they are asking on his behalf. They want her to come to Pennsylvania where she has no jurisdiction and investigate. 

As has happened before in this long running series, the past is going to play a major role in Burkholder’s action in the here and now. The arrest of Jonas Bowman stirs up a lot within her and she does not want to have to deal with it. However, she will, and goes to Pennsylvania and investigates because the past and the current murder charge has to be dealt with for all involved. Put simply, her motivation to go and see what she can do to clear him is that she owes him for what she did, and they did, so very long ago.

The Hidden One: A Novel of Suspense is another good one in the series. This reader likes it much better when she is working at home in Ohio and thus all the secondary characters are present and engaged. Instead, this time she is far from home and working an increasingly difficult and dangerous case without the people readers know and love involved.

Still, despite that fact, The Hidden One: A Novel of Suspense is a solidly good read and well worth your time.

 

My reading copy came by way of a digital ARC via NetGalley. The book is currently scheduled to be released on July 5^th.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022

Short Story Wednesday Review: Blood Moon: A Kate Burkholder Short Mystery by Linda Castillo

Blood Moon: A Kate Burkholder Short Mystery by Linda Castillo begins as more than one tale in the long running series has--- a buggy crash. In this case, Merle Beachy is on his way home from The Strawberry Festival and things are going wrong. He was already running late and had missed the evening meal. The thick fog certainly isn’t helping as the damp and cold settle in on man, beast, and every surface, including the roadway.

Things go way worse when a loud noise in the woods just after a bridge crossing causes his horse to spook and run flat out. The terrified horse plunges off the roadway, through a ditch, and towards the trees where it soon becomes clear that the buggy is not going to slide in between the trees. Merle is thrown clear of the damaged buggy only to be, within a couple of minutes, attacked by the creature that spooked the horse.

After fighting off the creature, which he thinks might be a bear, the injured man makes his way to a nearby farm. As it happens, that farm is Levi Miller’s place. Levi Miller and Kate Burkholder have known each other since they were kids, so when she learns his call is why dispatch is calling her, she knows that his request for her presence is legit and needed. Before long, Chief Burkholder and her partner, John Tomasetti, are in her unit and headed towards Miller’s farm.

Good thing too as there will be more incidents this foggy dark night. Something is in the woods and things are definitely rapidly escalating. What it is and how to deal with it are two of several questions in Blood Moon: A Kate Burkholder Short Mystery.

An interesting tale that is a bit of a change of pace from what goes on normally in this series. While billed as a “short mystery” this read is a novella and is action orientated with virtually no character development and very little backstory. It is just a fun short visit with some characters long known to readers and new folks.

Also included in the eBook is the opening chapters of the next novel in this long running series, The Hidden One.

 

 

I picked this up, pre-publication, using funds in my Amazon Associate account. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022