Gone Missing

Kate Burkholder is Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio, a rural area with a mix of Amish and English residents. Kate grew up Amish and can sometimes penetrate the community’s cultural walls to solve a crime. Although many resent her decision to leave the order, her familiarity with Amish customs and ability to speak Pennsylvania Dutch frequently opens doors closed to other members of law enforcement.

In Gone Missing, Kate is asked to assist with a case outside her jurisdiction. An Amish girl has disappeared, and there may be a connection with other cold cases, some going back a year or more. Kate pairs up with John Tomasetti, a state officer she has worked with before. They are also trying – and failing – to curb their show more attraction for one another. Their investigation is professional and thorough, but the situation also advances their relationship and strengthens the bonds between them.

These mysteries are always well plotted and fast-paced, and this was no exception. And then, just when I was expecting a tidy ending, there was a twist with an epilogue that suggests we may not have seen the last of these horrific crimes. show less

**.5

I'm starting to think that rather than an homage to the Amish, Castillo intends these books to castigate and condemn them. She clearly relishes in depicting their torture and degradation, and has them committing the worst types of crimes, from kidnapping and rape to torture, incest, child abuse, and of course lots and lots of murder.
She also makes them out to backwards, inbred, smelly, and kinda gross. In all four books, the only food they ever eat for breakfast is scrapple, and other than that they are constantly baking pies. The woman are used as broodmares with no autonomy, beautiful and innocent when young but prematurely coarsened and aged by the incessant manual labour. There's also been multiple scenes of them brutally show more slaughtering pigs, to undermine their pacifist nature. They are stubborn and insular, naïve yet conniving, foolish, controlling, and vindictive.
She claims that she's trying to show that they are real people with real problems just like everyone else, but they come across in these books as the worst kind of religious zealots. She repeatedly mentions that many people hate them and consider them a cult, and does little to discredit such negative attitudes.

The book itself is similar to the previous ones. The writing is perhaps a tiny bit better but the editing even worse, with far too many mistakes, contradictions, continuity errors, repeated phrases, misused words, etc. It did have a more interesting conclusion, which was a nice departure from the prior books. show less

Another in the Kate Burkholder series revolving around her detective abilities, in this story, Amish teens are missing. Some bodies are found, others simply disappear. Castillo does an excellent job of portraying the Amish culture. Because they are a closed group who tend to take care of things themselves, they are reluctant to come forth and ask police to help.

Previously an Amish person, Burkholder knows the culture and is able to communicate with them to her advantage.

With very few clues and a lack of a motive, frustration mounts as more teens become missing.

This is good writing with great character development, and a snapshot of a culture who holds fast to their beliefs and has a very difficult time when their children show more rebel.

Recommended, with the caveat that these books have a large dose of vivid descriptions of violence. show less

First Line: Becca had always known her life would end in tragedy.

From its heartbreaking beginning to its chill-inducing ending, this book is all about "kids, our most precious resource, and the way we treat them."

Once Amish herself, Painters Mill, Ohio, Police Chief Kate Burkholder is a perfect choice to act as a consultant with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation as they look into the disappearances of two young Amish girls. Not only will she be able to work with John Tomasetti again, but the case will hopefully put her out of range of the town mayor. (He wants Kate to turn a blind eye to the extremely illegal things for which his son was arrested.)

As Kate and Tomasetti start looking into the lives of the missing teenagers, they show more begin to discover links to cold cases that go back several years. Bodies also begin to turn up, and the investigation becomes a race against time to save those young girls who are still missing.

Amish areas are small and insular, so I wondered how author Linda Castillo was going to prevent "Cabot Cove Syndrome" (the constant appearance of dead bodies in a rather sparsely populated area). Solution: Loan Kate Burkholder out as a consultant in other areas of the state when investigators need an "Amish expert." In Gone Missing, this has her working with Agent John Tomasetti-- the spice in her gumbo-- which keeps the romantic tension flowing.

A very likable character, Kate is well-respected in the law enforcement community, but she's also very conflicted about many things in her past and present. Since she's no longer Amish, she has a strained relationship with her family, as well as a tendency to empathize with any rebellious Amish youth.

The beginning chapter, which deals with the heartbreaking suicide of a young Amish girl sets the book up perfectly. The girl says just enough to let us know that there's one Amish homestead that isn't picture postcard perfect. In fact, in that one short chapter, Becca makes such an impression that I kept waiting for the tie-in with these present day disappearances. When that tie-in comes, it's much more than I was expecting-- leading up to a spine-chilling conclusion.

I'd only previously read the first book in the series, but not having the information from books two and three did not prove confusing. Castillo gave me just enough information to fill in the blanks, and to whet my appetite for the two books I have yet to read.

For some reason, the Amish hold a fascination for many of us. I grew up very close to an Amish area and visited often with my grandparents when they'd go to the butcher shop, cheese shop, and a grocery store that sold homemade pies, breads, and jams. Castillo's Amish ring true, and even though you may find yourself wondering if things like this really do happen in Amish settlements, she's such a storyteller that belief is willingly suspended as the pages of the book turn. If you've never read a Kate Burkholder mystery, I highly recommend them! show less

This book is the 4th in a series. I really like the stories and how the author can tell it with such detail and suspense. It did feel a little like same ol' same ol' but I enjoyed it.

In this installment, teenagers from the Amish community keep turning up missing, one after another in a 100 mile radius. Kate is asked by Tomasetti to work on this case of his because of her understanding of the Amish. She becomes attached to the investigation in a way that she never expected and she's forced to keep a level head so she doesn't screw it up.

I must say that at one point, I was at the edge of my seat while reading. I felt like I was running with Kate. And I just love how I'm probably the only one who didn't see the obvious... I was kind of show more caught off guard at a small revelation at the end of book.

Yes, it's a recommend! show less

Kate Burkholder joins Tomasetti's group in investigating missing Amish teenage girls. When a girl with a connection to her own family goes missing in her own jurisdiction, it becomes even more personal. It's well-plotted with several viable suspects. Castillo knows how to plot a novel to keep readers engaged. Even the epilogue adds a new dimension to the novel. My biggest problem is with the Burkholder-Tomasetti relationship. I'm just tired of romance in my mysteries. Why do today's authors feel obligated to include both genres in their novels? The audiobook included an interview between the narrator and author which was interesting.

Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police of the fictional town of Painters Mill, located in the very real Holmes County, Ohio. She was raised Amish but left the community as a young adult. After some twists and turns, she is now back among the people and family with whom she was raised, though not a part of them. Her relationship provides an interesting subtext that ties all of the books together.

John Tomasetti, also involved in law enforcement as a State Agent, has become more than a friend since he and Kate worked together on a murder case a little over a year ago. Having both experienced tragedy and facing it often in their careers, Kate and John make a good team, both on and off the job. It still surprises Kate when John requests that show more she join the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) in Cleveland as a consultant on his latest case where a young Amish girl has gone missing following Rumspringa. She has hardly begun her investigation before she learns that this disappearance is the third and latest to occur over the course of a year. The possibility that the girls had decided to leave the Amish world for that of the English, with its freedoms and temptations, has to be entertained. Yet it's unlikely that any of the girls, let alone all of them, would leave their community and family so abruptly.

Gone Missing is an excellent police detective story containing suspense that’s gritty and unexpected. This novel isn’t for the faint of heart, where some of the realism will make your skin crawl. Linda Castillo very aptly leads the reader down the path of shock and surprise. This is my favorite of the four books I've read in this series and it left me wanting more. This is a series I will definitely keep reading. I've listened to all of them, narrated by Kathleen McInerney, who I think does a wonderful job. show less