Gone Missing (Kate Burkholder #4)

 

   Again, I am reading a series out of order. Well, actually I’m listening to the audio version through Overdrive.  The good news is that while the book is part of a series, it can stand alone.  There are some references to events and situations that are part of a previous book but the author gives enough explanation of them that I didn’t feel I was lost or was missing something.

   Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder Series is set in the sleepy rural town of Painters Mill, Ohio where the Amish and “English” residents have lived side by side for two centuries. Many years ago a series of brutal murders shattered the peaceful farming community and Kate Burkholder, as a young Amish girl, survived the terror of the Slaughterhouse Killer but came away from its brutality with the realization that she no longer belonged with the Amish. After several years spent on the police force in Columbus, OH, Kate has been asked to return to Painters Mill as Chief of Police. Kate must seek out the truth in a society of silence and in each book must face some secrets of her own. Along with facing secrets, Kate must also face her growing attachment to State Agent John Tomasetti and adjust to the changes that are beginning to take place in their relationship. Changes she isn’t sure she wants to happen.

   The book begins with a tragic event involving a teenage Amish girl. Then the story jumps into the future leaving me wondering how what happened ties into the current situation. The event of the prologue sat in the back of my mind as I continue to listen, trying to tie it in with what is happening in the present day.

   Several chapters in to the book, things start to come together. I have an “Ah Ha” moment and the past meets the present. I made a guess as to who I thought the culprit was and I guessed half right. As usual, Linda Castillo creates an ending I didn’t anticipate leaving me with the feeling of “Oh wow!! I didn’t see that coming.” I did have a letdown at the end when the reason that the event in the prologue happened wasn’t revealed. but even with that small letdown “Gone Missing” is definitely a book worth reading.

Gone Missing by Linda Castillo -

Rumspringa is the time when Amish teens are allowed to experience life without the rules. It’s an exciting time of personal discovery and growth before committing to the church. But when a young teen disappears without a trace, the carefree fun comes to an abrupt and sinister end, and fear spreads through the community like a contagion.

A missing child is a nightmare to all parents, and never more so than in the Amish community, where family ties run deep. When the search for the presumed runaway turns up a dead body, the case quickly becomes a murder investigation. And chief of Police Kate Burkholder knows that in order to solve this case she will have to call upon everything she has to give not only as a cop, but as a woman whose own Amish roots run deep.

Kate and state agent, John Tomasetti, delve into the lives of the missing teen and discover links to cold cases that may go back years. But will Kate piece together all the parts of this sinister puzzle in time to save the missing teen and the Amish community from a devastating fate? Or will she find herself locked in a fight to the death with a merciless killer?

 

 

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