After the Storm

April 27, 2015
Bestseller Castillo’s seventh Amish novel (after 2014’s The Dead Will Tell) does something remarkable for a thriller. Not counting the gripping prologue, readers are halfway through the book before police chief Kate Burkholder and the town of Painters Mill, Ohio, are threatened by even one violent act. And yet Castillo manages to keep the tension building as Kate and her team doggedly follow leads in the case of 30-year-old human remains uncovered in a crumbling Amish barn. Kate, utilizing her childhood Pennsylvania Dutch to share memories with and interrogate members of the reclusive Amish community, soon realizes the long-ago incident was not an accident. Somewhere within the gentle sect, killers are lurking. After the first shots are fired at Kate by an unknown stalker, the violence doesn’t let up—in fact, it gets grislier and grislier. Personal stress, hidden family secrets, and unlikely murderers—as well as murder weapons—turn the serene landscape into fertile ground for this chilling tale. Author tour. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

May 15, 2015
A small-town Ohio police chief is stressed to her limit by the aftermaths of a violent tornado and a crisis in her personal life. Although Painters Mill Chief of Police Kate Burkholder has long since left the Amish community, she knows it's helped make her who she is. Her placid life with John Tomasetti, an agent in the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation who's still haunted by the death of his wife and children, is interrupted when the area is struck by a tornado. After Kate rescues a child and mother from a demolished trailer, she's sued for causing the child's death and threatened by the meth-head father. The storm also discloses a surprise from the past. Boy Scouts cleaning up the destruction discover parts of a corpse in an old barn. A surgical plate found on the scene eventually helps identify the body as Mennonite Leroy Nolt, who vanished 30 years ago. Kate and her team are unsettled to learn that the missing parts of the body were almost certainly eaten by hogs. On the homefront, Kate's recently discovered that she's pregnant. Neither she nor Tomasetti feels ready for parenthood, but they can't agree about what to do. A quilt Leroy gave his mother leads back to a married member of the strict Swartzentruber sect. As the Amish community closes ranks and refuses to provide any information, Kate must search the past for answers while dealing with her personal crisis. Castillo (The Dead Will Tell, 2014, etc.) poses another teasing puzzle whose solution is rooted in the past and another look at the secretive Amish lifestyle.

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June 15, 2015

This seventh book in Castillo's "Kate Burkholder" series (after The Dead Will Tell) opens with a tornado tearing through Painters Mill, OH. In the aftermath of the destruction, a set of bones is discovered in an old barn. Kate is called to the scene, where the forensics team is working to safely unearth the remains. Once at the lab, the investigation reveals that the bones have been buried for over 30 years. What's odder though, the hands and the feet have been chewed off. Kate and her team set to work identifying and determining what happened to the body. They conclude that it was no accident and the secrets lie deep within the Amish community. VERDICT Series fans as well as first-time readers will be enthralled by this compelling and atmospheric mystery set in the heart of Amish country. [See Prepub Alert, 2/2/15.]--Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
The crimes in Castillo's gripping Kate Burkholder series often arise from tensions within the Amish community living near the small town of Painters Mill, Ohio, where Kate is chief of police. That's true here, as well, but those tensions are brought to light this time through a natural disastera tornado that leaves in its wake some long-buried human remains. These aren't just any human remains, as forensic analysis reveals that the body was ripped apart by some kind of hog. Death by pig is a tough concept to swallow, for the reader, to be sure, but equally so for Kate and the farmers who live in Painters Mill. But was the grotesque death an accident or murder? As the clues accumulate and the victim is identified, Kate must once again use her Amish upbringing to nurse long-buried secrets from the mouths of tight-lipped residents, all the while dealing with a personal situation that could impact her future in multiple ways. Throughout this series, Castillo consistently manages to portray the Amish with respect and sensitivity while, at the same time, exposing the way rigidity of belief can sometimes lead to violence. Another strong showing from a very fine crime writer.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The Burkholder series has used mystery fan word-of-mouth to propel it toward best-sellerdom. Extensive promotion plans will help continue the trend.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)