Published by Macmillan,20 June 2013.
ISBN: 978-0-230-76024-0
Kate Burkholder is the Police Chief in a small town on the edge of an
Amish community. One night, an Amish deacon, Paul Borntrager, is driving
back home after a doctor's appointment for his three children, all of whom are
special-needs kids, since they suffer from a rare genetic disease often found
in closed societies such as the Amish, where the gene pool is not refreshed by
outsiders coming in. At an intersection, the Borntrager buggy is directly hit
by a driver going at 80 mph, causing the death of Paul and two of his
children. The driver doesn't stop.
Kate
can't work out how anyone could commit such a vicious and cowardly crime,
especially when children are involved. As a lapsed Amish herself, she is
particularly sensitive to Amish customs and beliefs and bears stoically the
hostility of those who think she will burn in hell for her defection.
I
don't know much about the Amish community, so to me all the detail rang
wonderfully true. Linda Castillo strengthens the plot with a secondary
story-line about Kate and her would-be lover/husband John Tomasetti, himself a
lawyer. I found their interaction to be both absorbing and
realistic. Added to the mix is a skeleton discovered in a deserted
granary which links Kate as she is now to Kate when she was a child of
fourteen. This is for the most part a straight forward deductive
detection novel and I have to say I did not see the final twist coming.
Having thoroughly enjoyed this novel, I shall certainly be reading earlier
books in the series.
-----
Reviewer: Susan Moody
Linda Castillo Originally from Ohio where her Amish thrillers are
set, Linda Castillo knew from an early age that she wanted to be a writer—and
penned her first novel at the age of thirteen. The author of twenty-seven
novels, she is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including the Daphne
du Maurier Award of Excellence, the Holt Medallion, the Golden Heart, and a
nomination for the prestigious Rita.Her debut thriller, Sworn To Silence, was recently adapted into a two-hour original
movie titled An Amish Murder starring
Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Her Amish thrillers routinely appear on the
New York Times bestseller list. In her spare time Linda enjoys riding horses,
especially trail riding, and dabbles in barrel racing. She resides in Texas
with her husband, three dogs, a barn cat, and two Appaloosa horses. She’s
currently at work on her next novel, a thriller set in Amish Country and
featuring Chief of Police Kate Burkholder.
Susan Moody was born and brought up in Oxford. She
has published over 30 crime and suspense novels, including the Penny Wanawake
series and the Cassandra Swann bridge series. She is a past Chairman of
the British Crime Writers' Association, a member of the Detection Club, a past
Writer-in-Residence at the University of Tasmania and a past President of the
International Association of Crime Writers. She divides her time between
south-west France and south-east Kent. Nominated for the CWA short
story award. Nominated for the RNA's award.
No comments:
Post a Comment