**AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER (July 2017)** In Down a Dark Road, the electrifying new thriller in Linda Castillo’s New York Times bestselling series, a convicted murderer is on the run and Chief of Police Kate Burkholder must catch him before he strikes again. “Murder in Amish country has a certain added frisson, and Castillo’s the master of the genre.” –People magazine … frisson, and Castillo’s the master of the genre.” —People magazine
“Castillo weaves the particularities of the Amish mindset into a complex mystery that will leave you crying with pity or seething with rage.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)
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.
News of a murderer on the loose travels like wildfire, putting Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and her team of officers on edge. But this is personal for Kate. She grew up with Joseph King. As a thirteen year old Amish girl, she’d worshipped the ground he walked on. She never could have imagined the nightmare scenario that becomes reality when King shows up with a gun and takes his five children hostage at their Amish uncle’s farm. Armed and desperate, he has nothing left to lose.
Fearing for the safety of the children, Kate makes contact with King only to find herself trapped with a killer. Or is he? All King asks of her is to help him prove his innocence–and he releases her unharmed. Kate is skeptical, but when the facts and the evidence don’t align, she begins to wonder who she should trust. Spurned by some of her fellow cops, she embarks on her own investigation only to unearth an unspeakable secret–and someone who is willing to commit murder to keep it buried.
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I have read all of Linda Castillo’s books. I started the series and was hooked on the stories. She’s an absolutely gifted writer.
Another great Kate Burkholder book and another late night finishing it because I couldn’t go to sleep until I finished it. I’ve said it before and will continue to say it, I LOVE THIS SERIES!!! I’ve always been a big fan of bad@$$ female MC’s that can kick scumbag @$$ and have a long list of characters that I have loved over the years and now add Kate Burkholder to the list.
In typical Kate behavior, she’s “running around poking bee hives with a stick” and checking out old leads in a cold case and making the requisite enemies along the way. Having said that, I hated the whole incident between Kate and the city council. I can’t help but wonder if the same thing had happened to a male officer, if that male officer would have faced the same repercussions. Regardless, the incident seemed kind of gender biased but didn’t take away from the story because Kate didn’t let it. Kate just continued to do the job she was doing and continued to do what she felt was the right thing to do.
First rate read.
4 stars
Last year I won Among the Wicked, book 8 in the series, in a Goodreads giveaway. The publisher, Minotaur Books, sent me this book instead. I contacted them and asked if they would send me Among the Wicked. They apologized for the mistake and sent me Among the Wicked. They also said I did not have to worry about reading or reviewing Down a Dark Road.
This is book 9 in the series, and I recommend reading them in order, although I started with book 8 because of the giveaway. I have since read books 1 and 2 in the series. Kate Burkholder is the police chief in a fictional small Ohio town with a substantial Amish population.
The prologue sets the scene with the murder of an Amish woman.
Then the main part of the book opens with a lyrical description of the fictional Tuscarawas covered bridge in Painters Mill. I know it is fictional because my wife and I have visited 575 covered bridges with the help of her World Guide to Covered Bridges. This one is not listed in her WGCB. However, many of the cbs that we have visited are about 150 years old.
This book has Kate taken hostage by an escaped convicted murderer, Joseph King, who was her
first teenage crush. He insists that he is innocent. She agrees to look into his case. I won’t go into spoiler territory, but it is an absorbing read.
Thanks again to Minotaur books.
5 Stars
This series gets better with each book! The tough and resourceful Chief Burkholder is a fascinating strong female protagonist facing dangerous situations with courage and integrity. With her past in the Amish community and her present outside it in law enforcement she struggles with rejection from both communities to get the job done.
Have listened to quite a few of Linda Castillo’s audio books now and find that I enjoy her story lines. Realistic crime novel with unexpected twists and turns.
All of the books with Kate Burkholder are outstanding. I love the characters in all her books and learning about the Amish.
I love this series. This is one of the best ones!
I’m a long-time fan of the Kate Burkholder series. This was a great addition, the best in her Amish related thrillers.