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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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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
[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
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
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 a Dark Road by Linda Castillo is the newest A Kate Burkholder Novel. Kate Burkholder is the chief of police in Painters Mill, Ohio. Kate receives a call from Deputy Warden Jerry Murphy at the Mansfield Correctional Institute saying that Joseph King has escaped. Joseph was convicted two years prior of murdering his wife. His five children now live with their aunt and uncle on a farm outside Painters Mill. Kate grew up with Joseph until his family moved away when she was thirteen. She remembers the crush she had on Joseph and how he changed after his father passed away. Kate does not think Joseph will return to town, but she sets up a watch on Rebecca and Daniel Beachy’s home. Around 3 a.m. Kate is checking the perimeter when she show more is attacked. Joseph gets the drop of Kate and forces her into the farmhouse. Joseph is holding Kate along with his five children hostage. Joseph swears to Kate that he is innocent, but he refuses to give himself up. He does not want to go back to prison and he will not let the children go. Joseph wants Kate to investigate and prove he did not murder his wife, Naomi. Kate is set free and faces the criticism of her colleagues. She remembers what Joseph was like as a young boy. Kate sets off on her quest for answers. Did Joseph kill Naomi as the evidence suggests? Kate is in for a bumpy ride in Down a Dark Road.
I look forward to reading the latest Kate Burkholder book each year and Linda Castillo did not let me down with this tome. Down a Dark Road captured and held my interest. I found the book to be well-written and have a steady pace. The mystery is complex with many twists and turns along the way. I did solve the mystery early in the story, but I enjoyed reading on to see how it would unravel. I would find dealing with the Amish very frustrating if I was a police officer (Kate is so patient). Their reluctance to talk and help the law astounds me. Kate Burkholder is a complicated person. I liked that more of her youth was revealed to us (Kate looks back remembering her time with Joseph). It is nice to see how Kate was as a girl (she grew up Amish). I also appreciated seeing a more vulnerable side of Kate. My rating for Down a Dark Road is 4.5 out of 5 stars. While Down a Dark Road is the ninth book in the series, it can be read alone. Personally, I am glad to have read the whole series, because each volume builds upon the previous. A new layer of Kate’s character is exposed and we discover a little more about Kate. The epilogue was lovely and heartwarming. I look forward to reading the tenth book in A Kate Burkholder series when it releases next year. show less
I look forward to reading the latest Kate Burkholder book each year and Linda Castillo did not let me down with this tome. Down a Dark Road captured and held my interest. I found the book to be well-written and have a steady pace. The mystery is complex with many twists and turns along the way. I did solve the mystery early in the story, but I enjoyed reading on to see how it would unravel. I would find dealing with the Amish very frustrating if I was a police officer (Kate is so patient). Their reluctance to talk and help the law astounds me. Kate Burkholder is a complicated person. I liked that more of her youth was revealed to us (Kate looks back remembering her time with Joseph). It is nice to see how Kate was as a girl (she grew up Amish). I also appreciated seeing a more vulnerable side of Kate. My rating for Down a Dark Road is 4.5 out of 5 stars. While Down a Dark Road is the ninth book in the series, it can be read alone. Personally, I am glad to have read the whole series, because each volume builds upon the previous. A new layer of Kate’s character is exposed and we discover a little more about Kate. The epilogue was lovely and heartwarming. I look forward to reading the tenth book in A Kate Burkholder series when it releases next year. 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.
Kate may have left the Amish faith, but she cannot shake off her Amish roots. When a childhood friend, convicted of murdering his wife, escapes from prison, he seeks her help. No one believes he is innocent of her murder, and while he has not lead a saintly Amish life, Kate can’t help but remember how he befriended her when they were both young. Could he have changed that much? When Kate’s unofficial investigation steps on some toes, she unintentionally puts herself in danger. A superbly crafted plot peopled with well-developed and real characters, this series just keeps getting better and better.
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Author Information
70+ Works 12,824 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
Series
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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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