The Dead Will Tell

May 12, 2014
In the prologue, set in Painters Mill, Ohio, in 1979, of bestseller Castillo’s suspenseful sixth Amish thriller (after 2013’s Her Last Breath), 14-year-old Billy Hochstetler survives a brutal attack that kills his father and three siblings; his mother disappears. In present-day Painter’s Mill, police chief Kate Burkholder investigates the apparent suicide of a respectable middle-aged man found hanging in his barn, a small wooden Amish doll stuffed into his mouth. When three other pillars of the community report threatening notes, two of them end up dead, adorned with a similar Amish doll souvenir. Is there a connection to the decades-old tragedy? What’s the relationship between these new victims? And could Billy be the avenger? All the while, Kate struggles with boyfriend John Tomasetti’s anguish over developments in the prosecution of the murderers of his wife and children some years ago. Outwardly calm and thorough as always, the chief handles it all. Author tour. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

May 1, 2014
Sometimes, setting mirrors action in crime fiction, but other times, the beauty or tranquility of a landscape serves to heighten the horror of the crimes that unfold against it. Such is certainly the case in Castillo's Kate Burkholder series, starring the police chief of Painters Mill, Ohio, seemingly a near-bucolic community set in the midst of Amish country. In this sixth installment, Kate must connect the dots linking a horrendous 1975 robbery-gone-wrong (reminiscent of In Cold Blood)an Amish man was killed, four of his children died in a fire, and his wife disappearedand a string of 2014 murders suggesting that the victims may have been involved in the decades-old crime. But why has the revenge-fueled killer waited so long to begin extracting his or her pounds of flesh? Castillo effectively combines an airtight plot with a revealingly complex look at what can happen when a fissure develops along the fault line separating an insular community from the secular world. As always, the introspective but determined Kate straddles both worlds with remarkable dexterity. Castillo shows again why the phrase gritty Amish mystery is no oxymoron. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The Kate Burkholder series has steadily grown in popularity, turning up recently on the New York Times best-seller list. An aggressive marketing campaign, combining national trade exposure as well as library and social media, will help ensure that it stays there.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

Starred review from June 15, 2014

Thirty-five years ago in Painters Mill, OH, the Hochstetler family was robbed in the middle of the night. The crime began as a quick money scheme but swiftly turned sinister, resulting in the deaths of the entire Amish family except for a teenage son who escaped. No suspects were found, and the case went unsolved. Suddenly this cold case is back on the radar when a prominent man is found dead with a clue connected to the Hochstetler murders. Soon several other residents die suspiciously, all with hints tied to the 1979 crime. Chief Kate Burkholder and her police force work feverishly to connect the dots between the murder victims and the cold case before the killer strikes again. Cryptic notes and sightings of a ghostly Amish woman late at night are linked to the recent deaths. Is a supernatural vengeance to blame? VERDICT Castillo weaves a taut mystery in her sixth series title (after Her Last Breath) that will keep suspense fans glued to their books and ereaders.--Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2014
A pair of cold cases turns hot for an Ohio police chief with an Amish background. Painters Mill Police Chief Kate Burkholder is just settling into a romantic relationship with Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent John Tomasetti when two cases from the past throw their lives into turmoil. Tomasetti learns that one of the men who murdered his wife and children has gotten off on a technicality. His violent reaction is understandable but still disturbing to Kate, who thought he had put the past behind him; she has little time to ponder, though, when the gruesome killing of a solid citizen demands all her attention. No motive appears until the second and third murders reveal telling connections. All the victims were high school friends, and accusing letters they'd received suggest they may have been involved in the unsolved 1979 murder of an Amish family. Billy Hochstetler is the only survivor of that robbery attempt gone wrong. Soon after young Billy bragged to a friend about how well his family was doing in their woodworking business, several masked figures robbed and murdered his father and kidnapped his mother. While Billy tried to help his mother, his younger siblings-locked in the cellar by the killers-burned to death when a lantern overturned. Billy has finally married and is running a successful apple orchard, but his guilt is constantly with him. Two men who may have been involved refuse to admit to any connection. One is a preacher known for his good deeds, the other a town counselor who dislikes Kate but wants police protection. Although Kate is no longer Amish, her connections with the sect turn up information about the missing Mrs. Hochstetler that may be crucial. No one who picks up Kate's stunning sixth case (Her Last Breath, 2013, etc.), a marriage of thriller and police procedural, will put it down unfinished.

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