Among the Wicked

Just when you might think Linda Castillo would run out of ideas for creating trouble within the Amish community, she delivers a stunning situation with Chief Kate Burkholder right in the center. The death of a teenage girl gives new weight to the whispered rumors about an Amish community under the leadership of a very strict bishop. Though it's out of her jurisdiction, Kate is the only cop who speaks Pennsylvania Dutch well enough to go undercover. Despite lover Tomasetti's objections, Burkholder agrees to pose as a plain widow and starts poking around for information. She stirs up more trouble (and memories) than expected and the pervasive cold and snow of an upstate New York winter aren't making the job any easier. A page-turning, show more atmospheric thriller and one of the best entries in the series. show less

The good part: Castillo switches things up a bit by having Kate Burkholder go undercover in a strict Amish community in upstate New York to figure out what's behind the death of a teenaged girl. The bad part: This means that Kate is separated from her live-in lover, State Agency John Tomasetti, for almost the entire novel. There's also almost no Mona, Pickles or any of the other colorful members of the Painters Mill Ohio PD. But overall, the new plotline gives a boost of energy to an already strong series, providing mystery, danger, twists and emotional depth as Kate, pretending to be an Amish widow, has the chance to reflect on what her life would have been like if she had not left the community she was born into.

As usual with this show more series, I read the entire book in one day, and the last 50 pages without taking a breath. And now I have to wait until next summer for the next (hopefully!) installment. More Tomasetti next time, please Ms. Castillo! show less

In the eighth book of the series, Police Chief Kate Burkholder is facing a challenging assignment. She's contacted by a sheriff from a rural, mostly Amish town of Roaring Springs, New York, after they discover the body of a fifteen year old girl, frozen and full of Oxycontin. Since Kate is the only law enforcement officer who speaks Pennsylvania Dutch, she decides to go undercover as a recent widow in search of a new home. She's been away from her Amish childhood for many years but it doesn't take her too long to return to a past that holds a lot of memories for her.

Before long Kate has been welcomed by several of the local Amish women and meets the charismatic bishop, Eli Schrock, who runs a very strict church filled with harsh rules. show more She soon discovers that some of the bishop's flock are not what they seem to be. There's plenty of secrets and before long she finds herself in terrible trouble.

I really enjoyed this book and it's probably my favorite of the series. Kate is a tough woman and in this particular book, she makes friends with an Amish ladies quilting group. She's not much of a quilter and this added a lot of humor and charm to a tension filled mystery. She is alone a lot of the time and it was so fascinating to hear the story from her perspective. I think this was a great advance in the show less

Among the Wicked by Linda Castillo
Kate Burkholder series Book #8
4.5★'s

From The Book:
Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called upon by the sheriff's department in rural, upstate New York to assist on a developing situation that involves a reclusive Amish settlement and the death of a young girl. Unable to penetrate the wall of silence between the Amish and "English" communities, the sheriff asks Kate to travel to New York, pose as an Amish woman, and infiltrate the community. Kate's long time love interest, State Agent John Tomasetti, is dead set against her taking on such an unorthodox assignment, knowing she'll have limited communication - and even less in the way of backup. But Kate can't turn her back, especially when the rumor show more mill boils with disturbing accounts of children in danger. She travels to New York where she's briefed and assumes her new identity as a lone widow seeking a new life. Kate infiltrates the community and goes deep under cover. In the coming days, she unearths a world built on secrets, a series of shocking crimes, and herself, alone... trapped in a fight for her life.

My Thoughts:
The clues were staring us in the face the whole time and I didn't see them and start putting 2 and 2 together until the last 20 pages. Linda Castillo is a fantastic writer and presents Kate Burkholder as a capable, dedicated Chief of Police in the small Ohio hamlet of Painters Mill,...loyal to her small staff of officers but haunted at times by her strict religious past. In this book we again get to intermingle with the Amish and see what happens when the worlds of the "plain people" and the "Englishers" collide. The entire series is more than worth anyone's reading time and all the others have received a 5 star rating. The only reason that this one didn't was I wasn't especially happy with the ending that gave the reader no real explanation for the actions of the perpetrator show less

In the eighth book of the series, Police Chief Kate Burkholder is facing a challenging assignment. She's contacted by a sheriff from a rural, mostly Amish town of Roaring Springs, New York, after they discover the body of a fifteen year old girl, frozen and full of Oxycontin. Since Kate is the only law enforcement officer who speaks Pennsylvania Dutch, she decides to go undercover as a recent widow in search of a new home. She's been away from her Amish childhood for many years but it doesn't take her too long to return to a past that holds a lot of memories for her.

Before long Kate has been welcomed by several of the local Amish women and meets the charismatic bishop, Eli Schrock, who runs a very strict church filled with harsh rules. show more She soon discovers that some of the bishop's flock are not what they seem to be. There's plenty of secrets and before long she finds herself in terrible trouble.

I really enjoyed this book and it's probably my favorite of the series. Kate is a tough woman and in this particular book, she makes friends with an Amish ladies quilting group. She's not much of a quilter and this added a lot of humor and charm to a tension filled mystery. She is alone a lot of the time and it was so fascinating to hear the story from her perspective. I think this was a great advance in the development of the main character. show less

I have finally read a book in this series! I say that because for years now I have handed them out to library patrons who rave about them. I kept meaning to try one, but for some reason never seemed to get around to it. Well, I finally read one and now am mad at myself for waiting so long!

I was worried about jumping in to the series so late, but was happy to find that the author threw in enough background so I did not feel lost. I was also happy that even with Amish people figuring in so strongly this was not a cozy or inspirational book. This is a full on murder thriller. Kate is a great character--flawed and vulnerable but also very strong. Good side characters along with plenty of twists and turns makes this a solid beach read. Now show more I have to make the difficult decision if I go back and read the rest of the series from the beginning.

A quick side note. Yesterday I got to meet the author and hear her talk at my library system. She is a great speaker! If she is ever in your area making an appearance it is well worth the effort to see her. show less

When an Amish girl is found frozen to death in unusual circumstances, Kate Burkholder is sought out to pose as a young Amish widow wanting to join the old Amish order. Strange things are happening in this closed-off Amish community, along with some very unAmish-like activities. The Amish aren’t talking, but disturbing things are being noticed. Persuading Kate to infiltrate the community puts her at risk, but it is one she feels compelled to take. Living alone in a trailer allows her to report her findings to her colleagues, but it also makes her a target. Secrets run deep, and even Kate has trouble believing what she is uncovering. But even as Kate ingrains herself into the community to root out the trouble, she finds herself being show more drawn back into the Amish life she left. Author Linda Castillo has done a masterful job of creating a thriller of a page-turner with a villain beyond belief who has corrupted others. A great plot peopled with the characters we’ve come to know and love, this is perhaps the best novel in a series that just keeps getting better and better. show less