Helpful Score: 7
FIVE STARS
This book hits the ground on page one and starts running at a rate of speed that slows seldom and not for long!!!
I read a "LOT" and I'm usually pretty darn good at figuring out who did it but I have to admit I missed this one until I was 95% of the way through.
AND even after you know who the REALLY bad guy is it's still edge of your seat reading.
I will tell you that the descriptions of the crimes and what happens to the victims is very graphic so if you have an aversion to this you can either skip over those pages "like I did" or do not get this book.
The characters are very well developed and it feels as though you know them long before the end of the book.
I gave this book FIVE stars because it definitely kept my interest all the way through.
I have already started "Pray For Silence" and I have to tell you it starts off at the same rate of speed as this one did and has not let up.
This book hits the ground on page one and starts running at a rate of speed that slows seldom and not for long!!!
I read a "LOT" and I'm usually pretty darn good at figuring out who did it but I have to admit I missed this one until I was 95% of the way through.
AND even after you know who the REALLY bad guy is it's still edge of your seat reading.
I will tell you that the descriptions of the crimes and what happens to the victims is very graphic so if you have an aversion to this you can either skip over those pages "like I did" or do not get this book.
The characters are very well developed and it feels as though you know them long before the end of the book.
I gave this book FIVE stars because it definitely kept my interest all the way through.
I have already started "Pray For Silence" and I have to tell you it starts off at the same rate of speed as this one did and has not let up.
Helpful Score: 6
This book had me hooked. I liked Kate Burkholder's style and her own personal story. It was a little gory though so this is not for the squeamish!
Helpful Score: 5
Since this book has been on my PBS wish list since August 2009 after reading several favorable reviews, I couldn't resist buying in during a weak moment in a bookstore. I liked the main character, a woman chief of police who was raised in the Amish community, but the supporting characters seemed to be stereotypes, and it was easy to narrow the evildoer down to a couple of people. I'll read the next one - I'd like to see what happens to the heroine next and if the writing evolves - but I'll get it from the library.
Helpful Score: 3
If you enjoy Stephanie Plum or Regan Reilly, you will love Kate Burkholder!
Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio. She's no stranger to the town, as she grew up there in an Amish household.
Small town politics, personal demons and a sadistic killer explode in a captivating thriller with more twists and turns than old country road.
Author Linda Castillo delivers a powerful mystery and her roots in romance writing are evident in the strong characters and the relationships that surround them.
Evanovich and Higgins-Clark fans will surely enjoy Castillo, and her heroine Kate Burkholder.
Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio. She's no stranger to the town, as she grew up there in an Amish household.
Small town politics, personal demons and a sadistic killer explode in a captivating thriller with more twists and turns than old country road.
Author Linda Castillo delivers a powerful mystery and her roots in romance writing are evident in the strong characters and the relationships that surround them.
Evanovich and Higgins-Clark fans will surely enjoy Castillo, and her heroine Kate Burkholder.
Rebecca L. (ccqdesigns) -
Helpful Score: 2
I wish I could give this one 3.5 stars. For one thing, it is a hard core, down and dirty, bloody thriller that will keep you up at night. And, it kept me up till 2 am reading until I finished it. I just couldn't leave the characters hanging by putting it down.
The item that kept me from giving it more stars was the editing. There were enough errors in editing left in that I actually checked to make sure I was not reading an uncorrected proof which I could have been since my copy was a win from Goodreads (thank you so much).
The story line is a small New England town that has a young female sheriff with a secret. The town is both Amish and English as is the sheriff and now they have a serial killer that is back after a 16 year absence. The story is well written, keeps you guessing, but as I stated earlier, poorly edited. Maybe I noticed it more because I read the book all in one sitting. I would give the book a 7/10 with great points for storytelling and suspense and minuses for editing. I will definitely read the second book that will be about the same town and sheriff.
The item that kept me from giving it more stars was the editing. There were enough errors in editing left in that I actually checked to make sure I was not reading an uncorrected proof which I could have been since my copy was a win from Goodreads (thank you so much).
The story line is a small New England town that has a young female sheriff with a secret. The town is both Amish and English as is the sheriff and now they have a serial killer that is back after a 16 year absence. The story is well written, keeps you guessing, but as I stated earlier, poorly edited. Maybe I noticed it more because I read the book all in one sitting. I would give the book a 7/10 with great points for storytelling and suspense and minuses for editing. I will definitely read the second book that will be about the same town and sheriff.
Marianne S. (sfc95) -
Helpful Score: 2
This book was excellent. It grabbed you and didn't let go. It had everything a good thriller needs and kept you guessing until the end. I highly recommend it for any thriller reader, also has a little Amish flair for extra interest.
Helpful Score: 2
I really enjoyed this thriller. I usually get tired of reading thrillers but I have been enjoying those that feature female cops. (this series and the ones by JD Robb)
I liked how it was set in Amish country.
I usually read two books at once, but I couldn't put this one down.
The details of the murders are very graphic so if you have a queasy stomach, you should skip over the page.
I liked how it was set in Amish country.
I usually read two books at once, but I couldn't put this one down.
The details of the murders are very graphic so if you have a queasy stomach, you should skip over the page.
Helpful Score: 2
Every now and then, I find a terrific author and read all of their books as fast as I can. Last year, it was Michael Robotham. This year, it's Linda Castillo and the Kate Burkholder series.
Burkholder is a gun-toting, cursing, former Amish female chief of police in bucolic Painters Mill, Ohio, home to about 5,300 people, about a third of which are Amish. When a serial killer strikes, his signatureRoman numerals ritualistically carved into each victim's abdomenmatches the MO of four unsolved murders from 16 years earlier. The presence of a serial killer shatters the idyllic peace of the town. Council members are convinced that Kate doesn't have what it takes to handle such a case, and bring in help from the sheriff and federal agencies.
Police chief Kate Burkholder, who's reluctant to dredge up the past, must keep secret that she knows why the old murders stopped. Not satisfied with the case's progress, local politicos set up a multijurisdictional task force to assist, including a law-enforcement agent battling his own demons, John Tomasetti. How they get him involved is all too realistic and devious. The added scrutiny and the rising body count threaten to push the chief over the edge. Adept at creating characters with depth and nuance, Castillo smoothly integrates their backstories into a well-paced plot that illuminates the divide between the Amish and English worlds.
Deeply flawed characters in a distinctive setting make this a crackling good series opener, recommended for fans of T. Jefferson Parker and Robert Ellis, whose books take place in very un-Amish settings but who generate the same kind of chills and suspense.
Burkholder is a gun-toting, cursing, former Amish female chief of police in bucolic Painters Mill, Ohio, home to about 5,300 people, about a third of which are Amish. When a serial killer strikes, his signatureRoman numerals ritualistically carved into each victim's abdomenmatches the MO of four unsolved murders from 16 years earlier. The presence of a serial killer shatters the idyllic peace of the town. Council members are convinced that Kate doesn't have what it takes to handle such a case, and bring in help from the sheriff and federal agencies.
Police chief Kate Burkholder, who's reluctant to dredge up the past, must keep secret that she knows why the old murders stopped. Not satisfied with the case's progress, local politicos set up a multijurisdictional task force to assist, including a law-enforcement agent battling his own demons, John Tomasetti. How they get him involved is all too realistic and devious. The added scrutiny and the rising body count threaten to push the chief over the edge. Adept at creating characters with depth and nuance, Castillo smoothly integrates their backstories into a well-paced plot that illuminates the divide between the Amish and English worlds.
Deeply flawed characters in a distinctive setting make this a crackling good series opener, recommended for fans of T. Jefferson Parker and Robert Ellis, whose books take place in very un-Amish settings but who generate the same kind of chills and suspense.
Vivian Q. (bellasgranny) -
Helpful Score: 2
I won a copy of this book in a "first reads" giveaway. Don't start this one before you go to bed, or you will be up all night reading. Linda Castillo has written a terrific page turner. The first book in a proposed series, we are introduced to Kate Burkholder, who was raised Amish but is now the sheriff in a small town. With terrific characters and fabulous writing, I was sucked in from the first page. The story moves along at a good pace, and although I guessed who the murderer was half way into the book, it did not detract from my enjoyment. Very much looking forward to her next book. Very highly recommend.
Helpful Score: 2
This is the first book I've read by this author. I was interested based on a recent visit through Amish country. The last fifty pages will keep you on the edge of your seat. The action begins immediately. It doesn't slow from there. You'll never guess who did it. When you figure it out, you'll be shocked. This book was a very easy read. I really enjoyed getting to know Kate Burkeholder. I will definitely be reading the next book. To sum it up in one word...intriguing!
I a not a murder mystery kind of person, but I recieved this book as a gift. I was fascinated by the police chief and how she lived her life in 2 worlds. The writing is great. The graphics a little bit gruesome, but as a whole the book was hard to put down. I was also intrigued by the relationships of the chief and those around her. Good book to read for a weekend off.
Helpful Score: 2
This excellent book gives a peak at Amish culture, and the interactions between Amish and the "English" or everyday Americans. At the same time, this is a thrilling mystery which carries you along and is hard to put down. Castillo's characters are well drawn and sympathetic; you'll find yourself rooting for the heroine. One technical point: I come from the part of Ohio where this book is set, and I never heard a roadside ditch there called a "barrow ditch." I'm guessing this is a term more common in Castillo's home state of Texas. This minor point didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.
Helpful Score: 1
LOVED this book, great suspense, great, complex characters. Would definitely recommend.
Diane Y. (dianefrombklyn) reviewed Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder, Bk 1) on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is the first time I read this author. It is not your typical "Amish" book. The story is gripping and a page-turner from the first page to the last. I loved it.
Helpful Score: 1
I could not put down this book either! I am always looking for original story lines and this book certainly delivers. The plot was very exciting and riveting as the author wove her story through all the twists and turns. Both the Amish and "English" characters were wonderful and vividly portrayed. Ms Castillo really made them come alive. I am so glad that this is the beginning of a series and I will be able to read more about the lives of the characters especially Kate Burkholder who was raised Amish for her first fourteen years, left the order and eventually becomes the Police chief of Painter's Mill.
Helpful Score: 1
If you like thrillers this is for you! If you're not into gruesome DO NOT get this book. Four victims and for the first you're there as she's being killed. After that the coroner is describing hoe the women have been tortured and killed.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book! It was a thrilling mystery with a unique central character - and who doesn't love the Amish? I thought this was so exciting and while not wholly unpredictable, it was still fun to read until the very last page. And I will definitely read a sequel or anything else this author produces in the years to come. The only downsides to the book were very minor - the verb and perspective transitions were a bit abrupt at times, but on the whole, I really loved this!
Helpful Score: 1
This was the irst book in the series and I can't wait to read the rest. It kept me interested to the point I gave up sleep to finish it.
Helpful Score: 1
Good story. Really graphic. If you are squeemish - you may want to skip it. The description is very detailed.....
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked this book..........look forward to the 2nd in the series!
Highly recommend!!!
Highly recommend!!!
Helpful Score: 1
good 1st novel, keeps your interest and short enough to read over weekend- didnt guess the killer until very end!
Helpful Score: 1
Loved it... great twist... couldn't put the book down, read in three days.
This book is stunning. I almost gave it 5 stars. It is a perfect crafted thriller. Some parts are gory but so well-written that it is makes the gruesome parts easier to read. Linda Castillo should be given kudos for her first book. "Sworn to Silence" is a vivid, intense, and brutal page-turner of a novel. I look forward to her second novel, "Pray For Silence" which will be published June 22.
A great book, difficult to put down!
Love it! Read it super fast as it was hard to put down!
Good mystery. However, the killings are very graphic. It is not often a book keeps me awake at night.
Kate Burholder is not your usual Police Chief, being ex-Amish and returning to her childhood home of Painters Mill, Ohio is not the life that most would pick, but she felt that it was the best choice. A choice where she could use her understanding of both the Amish and English worlds and act as a go between when sticky situations arise.
On a dark winter evening, one of Kate's young officers is sent out on a routine call; unfortunately, it wasn't just wandering cows that he found along the road, there was a brutalized body, a body that bore striking similarities to a serial killer that had struck 16 years before. A killer that Kate knew couldn't be back, but yet the proof was written all over his victim's body.
Kate isn't the only one with secrets; John Tomasetti is just one bar stool away from permanently being removed from his official position. His past is just as grueling as Kate's is, but between the two of them, they either solve this case or there is nothing left of their lives for them to live. With their combined expertise and the help of the Painers Mill Police Department, a killer must be brought to justice before they have to tell another family of a tragic loss.
I can usually pick out the killer early on in a book, the author usually leaves enough clues that the climatic moment just usually leaves a lot to be desired, but I can honestly tell you that I didn't pick this one. The storyline flowed, the characters were given their own voices and their own directions, and when a final clue was given, I literally said, "really?".
Very good book, very good conclusion and I look forward to the next book by Linda Castillo.
On a dark winter evening, one of Kate's young officers is sent out on a routine call; unfortunately, it wasn't just wandering cows that he found along the road, there was a brutalized body, a body that bore striking similarities to a serial killer that had struck 16 years before. A killer that Kate knew couldn't be back, but yet the proof was written all over his victim's body.
Kate isn't the only one with secrets; John Tomasetti is just one bar stool away from permanently being removed from his official position. His past is just as grueling as Kate's is, but between the two of them, they either solve this case or there is nothing left of their lives for them to live. With their combined expertise and the help of the Painers Mill Police Department, a killer must be brought to justice before they have to tell another family of a tragic loss.
I can usually pick out the killer early on in a book, the author usually leaves enough clues that the climatic moment just usually leaves a lot to be desired, but I can honestly tell you that I didn't pick this one. The storyline flowed, the characters were given their own voices and their own directions, and when a final clue was given, I literally said, "really?".
Very good book, very good conclusion and I look forward to the next book by Linda Castillo.
I bought this book knowing anything about it other than the fact that it was a thriller. I started to read it, but soon put it down. It is very descriptive (way to much), and has foul language. I WOULD NOT RECCOMEND this book to anyone. EXTREMELY INNAPROPRIATE from what I saw. I will not be filling my head with what I see as "trash", and this definitely qualifies...definitely.
Wow. I just finished this today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very good read. Great mystery, I never saw the end coming. I will definitely be looking for more of her books.
Polly J. (spiritedbabe59) reviewed Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder, Bk 1) on + 106 more book reviews
Taught, tense, murder mystery. Dive in and you won't to stop reading until you've completed it. A few paragraphs were so gruesome in detail that I had to skim them, but the story was great.
Great thrilling mystery--you won't know the answer until the end!
It was a good read. Kinda dragged along until about the middle of the book then really started moving.
Anissa S. (Anissa419) - , reviewed Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder, Bk 1) on + 69 more book reviews
This book is a little bit to descriptive for me about the murders but otherwise it was a great read.
Robin M. (robinmy) -
Katie Burkholder grew up Amish, but left the community when she was eighteen. Now she has returned to her hometown to take the job as Chief of Police. Chief Burkholder is tough and competent, respected by her officers and staff. When the brutal murder of a young woman sends shock waves through the community, Kate's past comes back to haunt her. Sixteen years ago, a series of unsolved murders in the small town ended when Kate killed the man who raped her. Her family covered up the death by disposing of the body and refusing to report it. Now a new murder has occurred and the clues make it look like the same serial killer is back. Is this a copycat? Did the man that Kate knew not actually die?
As Kate begins her investigation, the town council question her experience in such matters. They call for the assistance of the County Sheriff's department and and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Trying to solve the murder while staying in charge of the investigation and keeping her own secrets buried gets harder when another dead body is discovered.
This story had me hooked from the first chapter. It is a good mystery/suspense book with well developed characters. Kate Burkholder and BCI Agent John Tomasetti are deeply flawed but realistic characters. The Amish community seems to be portrayed accurately. The mixed community of "English" and Amish very much reminds me of the small town I live in (without the murders). I will definitely be searching for the next book in the series and hope to read it soon. My rating: 5 Stars.
As Kate begins her investigation, the town council question her experience in such matters. They call for the assistance of the County Sheriff's department and and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Trying to solve the murder while staying in charge of the investigation and keeping her own secrets buried gets harder when another dead body is discovered.
This story had me hooked from the first chapter. It is a good mystery/suspense book with well developed characters. Kate Burkholder and BCI Agent John Tomasetti are deeply flawed but realistic characters. The Amish community seems to be portrayed accurately. The mixed community of "English" and Amish very much reminds me of the small town I live in (without the murders). I will definitely be searching for the next book in the series and hope to read it soon. My rating: 5 Stars.
Another reason not to teach roman numerals in the public schools.
Joan W. (justreadingabook) reviewed Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder, Bk 1) on + 1711 more book reviews
This wa a book that was right to it from the first page till the last. One that you want to read in one sitting. Great character development and how they all unfold, letting you know more about them at the right time. Great tension and suspense, am looking forward to reading more with this main character.
Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
First Line: She hadn't believed in monsters since she was six years old, back when her mom would check the closet and look beneath her bed at night.
Kate Burkholder was born and raised Amish in small Painters Mill, Ohio, but a traumatic event when she was fifteen made her turn her back on her upbringing and leave her home. Now she's back in Painters Mill as police chief, and although her people tend to pretend she isn't there, she's well thought of in the community, and she's hired good people to work with her. Her job is everything to her.
But the nude, tortured body of a young woman throws Kate's life right back into the nightmare that occurred when she was fifteen. The murder has all the earmarks of the Slaughterhouse Killer who plied his horrible trade in the area sixteen years ago. Whispers begin to circulate, but Kate knows it has to be the work of a copycat. Why? She knows why the murderer stopped killing all those years ago. It's a secret that she has to try to keep while she's working this current case.
Convinced that she alone has the solution to the investigation, Kate is slow to ask for help from other law enforcement agencies, so the town politicians take matters into their own hands and set up a multi-jurisdictional task force with the county sheriff and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent, John Tomasetti, lending a hand. The sheriff is all sweetness and light around anyone in a position of greater authority, but his real agenda is to undermine Kate's credibility. Tomasetti, on the other hand, is an entirely different piece of work, called "dead weight" and a "train wreck" by his superiors. Tomasetti has been sent in hopes that he will fail brilliantly and allow the BCI to get rid of him.
So there are all sorts of things swirling around in Sworn to Silence. The two main characters, Burkholder and Tomasetti, are the type of character that I enjoy reading about: strong, intelligent and flawed. It's how they work past their flaws that makes this book so strong.
The plot is well-paced, and I only had the vaguest inklings of the identity of the Slaughterhouse Killer. Castillo does reveal the killer's identity toward the end, which left me to wonder how long it would be before Burkholder figured it out. This device certainly ratcheted up the suspense.
The depiction of a small town in Amish country was well done, especially in the way that the Amish tried to keep themselves separate from the rest of the community in an attempt to handle situations according to their own beliefs.
The characters were vivid in my mind, especially the graveyard dispatcher, whose role models are Kate and Stephanie Plum. Since the book tends to be grim, humorous tidbits like this added a welcome touch of lightness.
Even the landscape played a part in the book. There can be something more than a little spooky about farm country in the winter:
"My speedometer hits eighty miles per hour on the highway, but I slow to a reasonable speed once I reach Thigpen Road because it's slick with snow. The Huffman place is down a short lane and surrounded by skeletal trees, like bony fingers holding the place together."
Strong story and strong characters mean that this is a series I will be visiting again and again.
Kate Burkholder was born and raised Amish in small Painters Mill, Ohio, but a traumatic event when she was fifteen made her turn her back on her upbringing and leave her home. Now she's back in Painters Mill as police chief, and although her people tend to pretend she isn't there, she's well thought of in the community, and she's hired good people to work with her. Her job is everything to her.
But the nude, tortured body of a young woman throws Kate's life right back into the nightmare that occurred when she was fifteen. The murder has all the earmarks of the Slaughterhouse Killer who plied his horrible trade in the area sixteen years ago. Whispers begin to circulate, but Kate knows it has to be the work of a copycat. Why? She knows why the murderer stopped killing all those years ago. It's a secret that she has to try to keep while she's working this current case.
Convinced that she alone has the solution to the investigation, Kate is slow to ask for help from other law enforcement agencies, so the town politicians take matters into their own hands and set up a multi-jurisdictional task force with the county sheriff and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent, John Tomasetti, lending a hand. The sheriff is all sweetness and light around anyone in a position of greater authority, but his real agenda is to undermine Kate's credibility. Tomasetti, on the other hand, is an entirely different piece of work, called "dead weight" and a "train wreck" by his superiors. Tomasetti has been sent in hopes that he will fail brilliantly and allow the BCI to get rid of him.
So there are all sorts of things swirling around in Sworn to Silence. The two main characters, Burkholder and Tomasetti, are the type of character that I enjoy reading about: strong, intelligent and flawed. It's how they work past their flaws that makes this book so strong.
The plot is well-paced, and I only had the vaguest inklings of the identity of the Slaughterhouse Killer. Castillo does reveal the killer's identity toward the end, which left me to wonder how long it would be before Burkholder figured it out. This device certainly ratcheted up the suspense.
The depiction of a small town in Amish country was well done, especially in the way that the Amish tried to keep themselves separate from the rest of the community in an attempt to handle situations according to their own beliefs.
The characters were vivid in my mind, especially the graveyard dispatcher, whose role models are Kate and Stephanie Plum. Since the book tends to be grim, humorous tidbits like this added a welcome touch of lightness.
Even the landscape played a part in the book. There can be something more than a little spooky about farm country in the winter:
"My speedometer hits eighty miles per hour on the highway, but I slow to a reasonable speed once I reach Thigpen Road because it's slick with snow. The Huffman place is down a short lane and surrounded by skeletal trees, like bony fingers holding the place together."
Strong story and strong characters mean that this is a series I will be visiting again and again.
This is the first book I read by this author. I already got the other three books in this series and can't wait to read them. Couldn't put this book down. This is a must read.
There are some books that are so full of petty, ridiculous little inconsistencies that the entire story ends up being ruined. For me, this was one of those books.
My first clue this was going to turn into a hate-read for me was when the main character does a massive backstory info-dump about how she became Chief of Police by the age of thirty. She comments that when she was hired (in one place it says three years earlier, and in another it says two years, so she would have been either 27 or 28), she had a degree in criminal justice and eight years experience as a cop. This doesn't jive at all with having run away at 18, then spending a year drinking and partying before getting a job as a police dispatcher then getting her GED and enrolling college. Even if she started school at 19 and only completed an associate's degree, that would have made her 21 when she graduated, which wouldn't have allowed for eight years of experience by age 28. Of course later, she amends this to say she enrolled in a criminal justice program at the community college and finished in a year. One year at a community college does not equal a degree. Nor does her explanation of how she was hired due to political issues of balancing the "English" against the Amish in this small town hold any water at all, especially when combined with the fact that every single damn person who works at the police station is thirty or younger. Apparently "Pickles," the grumbling 70+ retiree, was the only cop working in this small town at all before Katie showed up at the wise old age of 28 and hired a bunch of stereotypical 20-somethings.
Riiiiight.
Now, in and of itself, that's one minor complaint that I might have ignored. The problem is, nearly every chapter produces another similar complaint. Katie's blindness when it comes to a critical plot point regarding her rapist is absurd and rambles on for 2/3 of the book. She yells at her brother multiples times for not being able to point out the location of a grave, even though he tells her over and over that he wasn't there and doesn't know. In one scene, Katie arrives at a bar at 10:00 am. We flash to a girl who gets of school for the afternoon, runs home, goes ice skating for hours, then discovers a body. Somehow her call to police comes in ten minutes after Katie arrived at the bar. So, around 5 or 6pm at the pond, but still just after 10:00 am at the bar. The police magically track down everybody in the town who's purchased condoms in the last week, but can't manage to enter any of the crime information into major crime databases. The big BCI investigator packs up and leaves as soon as an arrest is made, even though evidence is flimsy. The entire novel is just one bungling, idiotic thing after the next until Katie breaks the case wide open with, of all things, a simple google search. Of course when she calls the BCI agent with a mountain of evidence, he blows it off as her paranoid before rushing in to save her. I only finished the book because I wanted to see if my prediction was correct. (It was.)
Throw in a bunch of bizarre POV shifts, some of them in past third and some in present first, plus a completely flat, boring, and totally predictable romance angle between Katie and the BCI agent, and you get one major flop of a book.
Summary: Bad. Just... frustratingly bad.
My first clue this was going to turn into a hate-read for me was when the main character does a massive backstory info-dump about how she became Chief of Police by the age of thirty. She comments that when she was hired (in one place it says three years earlier, and in another it says two years, so she would have been either 27 or 28), she had a degree in criminal justice and eight years experience as a cop. This doesn't jive at all with having run away at 18, then spending a year drinking and partying before getting a job as a police dispatcher then getting her GED and enrolling college. Even if she started school at 19 and only completed an associate's degree, that would have made her 21 when she graduated, which wouldn't have allowed for eight years of experience by age 28. Of course later, she amends this to say she enrolled in a criminal justice program at the community college and finished in a year. One year at a community college does not equal a degree. Nor does her explanation of how she was hired due to political issues of balancing the "English" against the Amish in this small town hold any water at all, especially when combined with the fact that every single damn person who works at the police station is thirty or younger. Apparently "Pickles," the grumbling 70+ retiree, was the only cop working in this small town at all before Katie showed up at the wise old age of 28 and hired a bunch of stereotypical 20-somethings.
Riiiiight.
Now, in and of itself, that's one minor complaint that I might have ignored. The problem is, nearly every chapter produces another similar complaint. Katie's blindness when it comes to a critical plot point regarding her rapist is absurd and rambles on for 2/3 of the book. She yells at her brother multiples times for not being able to point out the location of a grave, even though he tells her over and over that he wasn't there and doesn't know. In one scene, Katie arrives at a bar at 10:00 am. We flash to a girl who gets of school for the afternoon, runs home, goes ice skating for hours, then discovers a body. Somehow her call to police comes in ten minutes after Katie arrived at the bar. So, around 5 or 6pm at the pond, but still just after 10:00 am at the bar. The police magically track down everybody in the town who's purchased condoms in the last week, but can't manage to enter any of the crime information into major crime databases. The big BCI investigator packs up and leaves as soon as an arrest is made, even though evidence is flimsy. The entire novel is just one bungling, idiotic thing after the next until Katie breaks the case wide open with, of all things, a simple google search. Of course when she calls the BCI agent with a mountain of evidence, he blows it off as her paranoid before rushing in to save her. I only finished the book because I wanted to see if my prediction was correct. (It was.)
Throw in a bunch of bizarre POV shifts, some of them in past third and some in present first, plus a completely flat, boring, and totally predictable romance angle between Katie and the BCI agent, and you get one major flop of a book.
Summary: Bad. Just... frustratingly bad.
Really like this series. Good characters and plot.
First book I've read by Castillo and it was great. The book is perfect condition but the "dust cover" is missing. Otherwise the book is in perfect condition.
