Review by Booklist Review
Kate Burkholder, who was born Amish but left the church at eighteen, has solved several thorny cases as police chief, but her latest is a corker. Excommunicated Amish cabinetmaker Milan Swanz is found dead, burned at the stake. As Kate investigates, she hits one dead end after another. Then, to her dismay, the Ohio BCI swoops in and forces her off the case because her brother has become a suspect after someone reported a violent argument between him and Swanz. Undaunted, Kate keeps investigating on her own. What she finds is a brutal cult of men determined to punish those they consider to have violated their definition of Amish principles and precepts, and Milan was a bad, bad man. This latest entry in Castillo's popular series (after An Evil Heart, 2023) is a sometimes gruesome, suspenseful, multilayered story featuring a smart, tough heroine, with enhanced appeal provided by fascinating details about Amish history, beliefs, and practices.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of Castillo's enthralling 16th mystery featuring Painters Mill, Ohio, police chief Kate Burkholder (after An Evil Heart), Kate's colleagues find the charred body of 36-year-old Milan Swanz bound to a stake in the middle of the woods. Milan had a reputation for drunkenness and disorderly conduct, but Kate is still surprised to learn that he'd divorced his wife and been excommunicated from Painter Hill's Amish community a few months earlier. On further investigation, Kate learns Milan had made several enemies in recent years, including Kate's brother, Jacob. When one of Milan's neighbors claims to have seen Milan and Jacob in a physical altercation days before Milan was killed, the sheriff arrests Jacob for Milan's murder, despite Kate's protests. Though she's taken off the case, she remains determined to prove her brother's innocence, and pulls her husband into an off-the-books investigation--which she continues even when a masked stranger threatens her. Well-shaded characters, near-perfect pacing, and a fascinating glimpse into Ohio's Amish community mark this as another winner for Castillo. This series is nowhere near out of steam. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
When two members of the Painters Mill, OH, police force hear screams in the woods, they find a body still on fire. Police Chief Kate Burkholder investigates the victim's past, learning that Milan Swanz was Amish but had been excommunicated after he was given numerous chances to change his ways. Rumors of fallen men called schwertlers go back over 70 years, but the stories of the past remind Kate of the victim, who was burned at the stake. Kate is caught between unfounded legends, the area's Amish community, which is reluctant to report crimes or speak ill of the dead, and her law enforcement colleagues who feel she is protecting the perpetrator of the murder. When her brother becomes a suspect, Kate is sidelined but continues to investigate. While she's threatened and viciously attacked, her husband, Tomasetti, and her small team continue to support her. VERDICT The 16th Kate Burkholder mystery (following An Evil Heart) is another riveting police procedural. Despite the violence and some graphic, gruesome details, fans will be eager for the latest well-developed mystery set in Ohio's Amish country. --Lesa Holstine
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
When two police officers stop for a bit of dalliance, screams from the nearby woods introduce them to a puzzling and horrifying murder. Chuck Skidmore and Mona Kurtz don't arrive in time to rescue a man who's being burned at the stake, a sight that will haunt their dreams. Police Chief Kate Burkholder arrives on the scene with her husband, John Tomasetti, an agent of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, who'll join her and many other cops in a task force investigating the bizarre murder. Born Amish, Kate ran away from Painters Mill, found her vocation in law enforcement, and eventually came home as the police department's chief. Over the years, she's built up some trust with the local Amish community, who generally prefer to keep their problems to themselves. The victim is Milan Swanz, a troubled former schoolmate of Kate's whom she's arrested several times. A divorced man with four children, he'd been recently excommunicated by the Amish. Although Milan was far from popular, Kate meets a wall of silence from even her own brother, one of many people who had disputes with the hot-tempered man. Kate's theory of the crime, based on stories in a book popular with the Amish, is so bizarre that she has trouble believing it herself. When her brother is arrested, she's removed from the task force but continues to investigate, putting her in the sights of some very determined killers. A brutal, gripping look at murder in a self-enclosed community with many secrets to hide. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
