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"Eight years ago Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was a "fallen" Amish man and, according to local law enforcement, a known drug user with a violent temper. Now King has escaped, and he's headed for Painters Mill. News of a murderer on the loose travels like wildfire and putting Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and her team of officers on edge. A nightmare scenario becomes reality when King shows up with a gun and kidnaps his five children show more from their Amish uncle's house. He's armed and desperate with nothing left to lose. Fearing for the safety of the children, Kate leaps into action, but her frantic search for a killer leads her into an ambush. When King releases her unharmed, asking her to prove his innocence, she begins to wonder whether the police are hiding something, and she embarks on her own investigation to discover the truth"-- show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This is the first time in a long while where I felt like I got a good glimpse into Kate's life before she left. I was excited for this. Then there is Kate's lover, John, who I had grown to love as much as Kate. They work well together both in the field and in their personal life.
The author does not slowly build up in this story. Right from the gate, the story picks up and does not slow down. I really enjoy this as it keeps the story moving. Not that I have had a problem reading any of the books in this series. I am a life time fan.
As usual, there was so twists. Yet, I do have to point out someone that was a star in my eyes in this book and that is Mona. She works with Kate but not as an investigator (yet). She showed some great skills show more in finding out information and helping Kate. Oh, and there is a shoot out scene towards the end of the story. Down a Dark Road will have you on the edge of your seat with engaging characters and a strong storyline. show less
The author does not slowly build up in this story. Right from the gate, the story picks up and does not slow down. I really enjoy this as it keeps the story moving. Not that I have had a problem reading any of the books in this series. I am a life time fan.
As usual, there was so twists. Yet, I do have to point out someone that was a star in my eyes in this book and that is Mona. She works with Kate but not as an investigator (yet). She showed some great skills show more in finding out information and helping Kate. Oh, and there is a shoot out scene towards the end of the story. Down a Dark Road will have you on the edge of your seat with engaging characters and a strong storyline. show less
The Kate Burkholder series is excellent and this installment is one of the best. An Amish woman is brutally murdered. A shotgun blast while in bed, her five children in nearby rooms untouched. But one child, three-year-old Sadie, sees the killer. A clean-shaven Englischer, not a bearded Amish man such as her father Joseph King. But at her young age, she is dismissed as a viable witness. Joe King and Kate have a history. All the way back to high school. Her first crush. But where she turned to law enforcement, Joe became a thorn in the side of various law enforcement jurisdictions. Fighting, stealing, drugs, domestic violence, and ultimately he is convicted of the murder of his wife. A year into his life sentence, he escapes, takes Kate show more and his children hostage, wants to prove his innocence. When Sadie, now five, tells Kate what she saw that dreadful night, her story rings true. To Kate anyway. Did an outsider kill the young mother of five? Was Joe innocent, framed? If so, by whom, and why? This is a well-crafted and written story and yet again Kate Burkholder jumps off the page. You will root for her and worry for her until the explosive ending of the story.
DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly, Samantha Cody, and Dub Walker thriller series show less
DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly, Samantha Cody, and Dub Walker thriller series show less
Another good Kate Burkholder. There's nothing like childhood memories, good ones anyhow, right? In this book, Kate comes face-to-face with a childhood friend, Joseph, and is conflicted by facts vs memories but when he asks, pleads with her to find the truth she knows that as a cop, she must do something.
If you've read all the Kate Burkholder books you know that she's stubborn, smart and resilient. This book is no different, she puts it all on the line but there's nothing I hate more than corrupt cops.
There is a single solitary most important moment in the book that I don't understand... When Joseph is holding the children hostage, they say that he fired at the cops, which, in turn, caused the SWAT to take him out. He had nothing to gain show more by firing at the cops and this was never addressed afterwards. Are we to assume that this was the doing of Crowder?
Don't pass this one up, especially if you're a fan of the series! show less
If you've read all the Kate Burkholder books you know that she's stubborn, smart and resilient. This book is no different, she puts it all on the line but there's nothing I hate more than corrupt cops.
There is a single solitary most important moment in the book that I don't understand... When Joseph is holding the children hostage, they say that he fired at the cops, which, in turn, caused the SWAT to take him out. He had nothing to gain show more by firing at the cops and this was never addressed afterwards. Are we to assume that this was the doing of Crowder?
Don't pass this one up, especially if you're a fan of the series! show less
Wow, this was one of the best Kate Burkholder books yet. I did not want to put it down to go to bed. Linda Castillo has the knack of writing about the Amish and Englischer divide as well as weaving them together living in the same area of Ohio. The plot in this story moved you quickly between past reminiscences and the present.
The book opens with Kate getting a call about an escaped convict that might be headed to her area. It is Joseph (Joe) King who used to be her childhood friend and first crush. Two years earlier he was charged with killing his wife Naomi and spent the last year in prison. He heads to Painter's Mill because his children are living there with his sister-in-law and her husband. As Kate is patrolling the area, she show more comes across an abandoned car. Following the trail, she is ambushed by Joe, has her sidearm taken and is held hostage for a period of time. Kate tries to use her personal connection with him to solve the issues without any fatalities. His request for her, is to find out who killed his wife. He insists he is innocent and that his youngest daughter, Sadie, saw an intruder in the house. He then lets her leave. Who really killed Naomi? Can the standoff end without any fatalities? Can Kate help Joe without putting herself in danger?
I love the characters in this series. Kate and Tomasetti are a great couple. The things they go through together, yet have to keep their relationship professional is amazing. I feel like I have come to know the characters in Painter's Mill. Even though the Painter's Mill police department were peripheral in this story, their short appearances were important. The kids in the story, especially Sadie, were wonderful. What they had been through in the last couple of years would cause major upset, but they seem to be handling things well with the help of their aunt and uncle. Sadie is only five, but she was so smart for her age and was able to wrap adults around her fingers. I really connected with this family and felt their pain.
With all the family drama and sadness going on, this was an exceptional mystery. Kate had her hands tied investigating something outside her jurisdiction but her guts and moral compass kept her going until she found a resolution. A great story for any mystery, suspense and/or crime/detective lover. A must read. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. show less
The book opens with Kate getting a call about an escaped convict that might be headed to her area. It is Joseph (Joe) King who used to be her childhood friend and first crush. Two years earlier he was charged with killing his wife Naomi and spent the last year in prison. He heads to Painter's Mill because his children are living there with his sister-in-law and her husband. As Kate is patrolling the area, she show more comes across an abandoned car. Following the trail, she is ambushed by Joe, has her sidearm taken and is held hostage for a period of time. Kate tries to use her personal connection with him to solve the issues without any fatalities. His request for her, is to find out who killed his wife. He insists he is innocent and that his youngest daughter, Sadie, saw an intruder in the house. He then lets her leave. Who really killed Naomi? Can the standoff end without any fatalities? Can Kate help Joe without putting herself in danger?
I love the characters in this series. Kate and Tomasetti are a great couple. The things they go through together, yet have to keep their relationship professional is amazing. I feel like I have come to know the characters in Painter's Mill. Even though the Painter's Mill police department were peripheral in this story, their short appearances were important. The kids in the story, especially Sadie, were wonderful. What they had been through in the last couple of years would cause major upset, but they seem to be handling things well with the help of their aunt and uncle. Sadie is only five, but she was so smart for her age and was able to wrap adults around her fingers. I really connected with this family and felt their pain.
With all the family drama and sadness going on, this was an exceptional mystery. Kate had her hands tied investigating something outside her jurisdiction but her guts and moral compass kept her going until she found a resolution. A great story for any mystery, suspense and/or crime/detective lover. A must read. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. show less
This third audiobook that I've listened to was another good experience. I've long known that Linda Castillo knows how to write a compelling story, and now I know that series narrator Kathleen McInerney is a talented storyteller. Now if only Down a Dark Road hadn't been so predictable!
Castillo does an excellent job of showing readers how precarious the job of a female chief of police can be. One slip-up, one photograph taken out of context, and fellow law enforcement and the town council rush to judgment and start looking for her replacement. It doesn't matter how long she's been doing an excellent job. Yes indeed, reputations are so easily ruined-- and I'm not just talking about Kate's.
There's an ex-cop who shows up in the last quarter show more of Down a Dark Road that I'd really like to see again, and the relationship Kate had with Joseph King when they were children proves why she's so willing to swim against the current in an attempt to prove that he was innocent. But. I knew Joseph's fate. I knew where Kate should have started looking for the real murderer. And I had an eye-rolling episode when, at the end of the book, Kate gets one of those weird 3 AM calls and doesn't tell anyone where she's going. I am most definitely not a reader who approves of characters who are TSTL (Too Stupid To Live), and Kate stomped right into that mud hole at book's end.
Even though I felt Down a Dark Road was predictable, it was fast-paced, exciting, and still a good listen. If I'd been reading a physical copy of this book, I might not have finished it, but Kathleen McInerney's voice persuaded me to stay with her to the end. show less
Castillo does an excellent job of showing readers how precarious the job of a female chief of police can be. One slip-up, one photograph taken out of context, and fellow law enforcement and the town council rush to judgment and start looking for her replacement. It doesn't matter how long she's been doing an excellent job. Yes indeed, reputations are so easily ruined-- and I'm not just talking about Kate's.
There's an ex-cop who shows up in the last quarter show more of Down a Dark Road that I'd really like to see again, and the relationship Kate had with Joseph King when they were children proves why she's so willing to swim against the current in an attempt to prove that he was innocent. But. I knew Joseph's fate. I knew where Kate should have started looking for the real murderer. And I had an eye-rolling episode when, at the end of the book, Kate gets one of those weird 3 AM calls and doesn't tell anyone where she's going. I am most definitely not a reader who approves of characters who are TSTL (Too Stupid To Live), and Kate stomped right into that mud hole at book's end.
Even though I felt Down a Dark Road was predictable, it was fast-paced, exciting, and still a good listen. If I'd been reading a physical copy of this book, I might not have finished it, but Kathleen McInerney's voice persuaded me to stay with her to the end. show less
[Down Dark Road] by Linda Castillo
Kate Bunkholder series Book #9
4.5★'s
What's It About?
Two years ago, Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was a “fallen” Amish man and a known drug user with a violent temper. Now King has escaped, and he’s headed for Painters Mill.
What Did I Think?
I really liked the personal connection that Kate had in this one. From the start you knew that things were not going to end well...but the reader had no idea how many different twists events were going to take before it concluded. Not only did Kate have to come to gripes with events from her childhood but she had to face something that every cop dreads and finds so hard to comprehend...betrayal by their show more own.
This is a great series with a likable, believable character in Kate Bunkholder. The entire series will appeal to all that love a mystery that doesn't have a lot of blood and guts but yet is not a cozy show less
Kate Bunkholder series Book #9
4.5★'s
What's It About?
Two years ago, Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was a “fallen” Amish man and a known drug user with a violent temper. Now King has escaped, and he’s headed for Painters Mill.
What Did I Think?
I really liked the personal connection that Kate had in this one. From the start you knew that things were not going to end well...but the reader had no idea how many different twists events were going to take before it concluded. Not only did Kate have to come to gripes with events from her childhood but she had to face something that every cop dreads and finds so hard to comprehend...betrayal by their show more own.
This is a great series with a likable, believable character in Kate Bunkholder. The entire series will appeal to all that love a mystery that doesn't have a lot of blood and guts but yet is not a cozy show less
i love this series but this one felt like a redo of at least one previous book in the series. also kate burkholder tends to make the same mistakes over and over again.....which kind of makes you wonder how she ever became chief of police (albeit of a very small town) - since her subordinates never seem to make any mistakes at all. that being said, i waited in line until a copy became available and took out the book first chance i got, cut myself off from work, family and friends and zoned out until i finished reading.
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Kirkus Starred Fiction Reviews of Books Published in 2017
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Author Information
67+ Works 12,663 Members
Linda Castillo is an author of novels including the New York Times bestselling Kate Burkholder series, which are crime thrillers set in Amish country. She has also written numerous romance and romantic suspense novels. Castillo is the recipient of awards including the Daphne du Maurier Award, the Holt Medallion, and a nomination for the RITA. Her show more titles include Sworn to Silence, Pray for Silence, Her Last Breath and Fade to Red. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Down a Dark Road
- Original publication date
- 2017-07-11
- People/Characters
- Kate Burkholder (Chief of Police); John Tomasetti (Agent); Roland "Pickles" Schumaker; Auggie Brock (Mayor); Mike Rasmussen (Sheriff); Mona Kurtz (show all 21); T. J. Banks; Chuck "Skid" Skidmore; Rupert "Glock" Maddox; Jodi Metzger; Joseph King; Sadie King; Jeff Crowder (Sheriff); Curtis Scanlon; Nick Rowlett (Sheriff); Wade Travers (Deputy); Sidney Tucker; Jonas King; Vicki Cascioli; Kelly Dennison; Jason Ryan
- Important places
- Painters Mill, Ohio, USA
- Epigraph
- That's all we expect of man, this side
The grave; his good is--knowing he is bad.
~Robert Browning, The Ring and the Book
Every heart has its secret sorrows which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man cold, when he is only sad.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hyperion - Dedication
- For my husband, Ernest Always
- First words
- Prologue: He waited until the children slept.
Chapter 1: The Tuscarawas covered bridge is a Painters Mill icon. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I watch him walk away and then I start toward the service to bid a final farewell to my childhood friend and let go of another piece of my past.
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