Kate Burkholder
13 primary works • 20 total works
Book 1
Some secrets are too terrible to reveal . . .
Some crimes are too unspeakable to solve . . .
Painter's Creek, Ohio may be a sleepy, rural town with both Amish and 'English' residents, but it's also the place where a series of brutal murders shattered the lives of an entire community over a decade ago. When the killing stopped, it left in its aftermath a sense of fragility, and for the young Amish girl, Katie Burkholder, a realization that she didn't belong.
Now, 15 years, two dead parents and a wealth of experience later, Katie has been asked to return as Chief of Police. Her Amish background combined with her big-city law enforcement expertise make her the perfect candidate. Katie is certain she has come to terms with the past. Until the first body of a slaughtered young woman is found in a pristine, snowy field...
Book 2
The sound of a scream in the early morning dawn leads to a case that will change Kate Burkholder's life irrevocably...
When the police arrive at the Amish farmstead in Painters Mill they can't imagine the horror that awaits them. An entire family slaughtered: the men shot, the young women tortured and killed. The Amish are peace-loving, gentle folk and the town is shocked by what appears to be a particularly brutal and random killing. But is it random?
Every family has its secrets. Kate knows that better than anyone. And as she and Agent John Tomasetti dig deeper into the victim's lives they discover a young woman who was living a lie. A girl who had to live in silence.
With her own past resonating, Kate knows she has to maintain some distance. From the case, and from Tomasetti. She knows what could happen if she gets too close. But when she puts herself in the line of fire, she realizes that, this time, there may be no going back.
Book 3
When Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder, is called to a farm in the Amish community of Painter's Creek, nothing could prepare her for the horror and tragedy she encounters. Solly and Rachel Slabaugh, and his brother Abel, have drowned in the hog pit leaving the four children as orphans. As the investigation progresses, it seems that the Slabaugh deaths were not an accident, and the case suddenly becomes a murder enquiry.
Agent John Tomasetti and Kate have worked together before, and now he is called back to Painter's Creek to help seek out the perpetrators of what appear to be serious hate crimes against the Amish. Whether these crimes and the Slabaugh murders are linked is hard to establish because the Amish are very proud and private people who do not enjoy involvement from outside.
As the case deepens, Kate develops a bond with the children, particularly the 15-year-old daughter, Solome. Maybe she is reminded of herself at that age, and maybe there's something about this case which stirs up memories for her. The events surrounding the deaths puzzle her - something doesn't feel right. As more information comes to light, a tragic incident turns into something much more shocking.
Book 4
When an Amish teenager disappears, it's only the beginning . . .
'Becca slogged through a deep drift and stumbled toward the front of the shanty. A padlock hung from the hasp, but it wasn't engaged. Shaking with cold, she shoved open the door. The interior was dark and hushed. The air smelled of kerosene and fish. Out of the wind, it was so quiet she could hear the ice creaking beneath her feet.
Her breath puffing out in clouds of white vapour, she pulled out the candle and matches she'd brought from home and lit the wick. The light revealed a small interior with plywood walls and a shelf covered with fish blood and a smattering of silver scales. A lantern sat on the shelf. A coil of rope hung on the wall . . .'
Three teenagers have vanished from Ohio's Amish country. The only thing they have in common, other than their religion, is they are keen to leave the Plain Life. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to consult by Agent John Tomasetti as her Amish roots will be invaluable in an investigation involving this sectarian society.
They travel to the small town of Monongahela Falls to investigate the latest disappearance - that of seventeen-year-old Annie King. The only evidence left behind is a satchel - and a pool of blood. The case moves closer to home for Kate when a young relative, Sadie Miller, vanishes. With her own past resonating, Kate delves into the lives of the missing teens. Soon, a sinister pattern emerges along with a vital clue that changes everything. While following up on a lead, Kate makes an appalling discovery and unearths a secret no one could have imagined-thrusting her into a fight to the death with a merciless killer.
Book 6
Everyone in Painters Mill knows the abandoned Hochstetler farm is haunted. But only a handful of the residents remember the terrible secrets lost in the muted/hushed whispers of time-and now death is stalking them, seemingly from the grave.
On a late-night shift, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called to the scene of an apparent suicide-an old man found hanging from the rafters in his dilapidated barn. But evidence quickly points to murder and Kate finds herself chasing a singularly difficult and elusive trail of evidence that somehow points back to the tragedy of that long ago incident. Meanwhile, Kate has moved in with state agent John Tomasetti and for the first time in so long, they're both happy; a bliss quickly shattered when one of the men responsible for the murders of Tomasetti's family four years ago is found not guilty, and walks away a free man. Will Tomasetti be pulled back to his own haunted past?
When a second man is found dead-also seemingly by his own hand-Kate discovers a link in the case that sends the investigation in a direction no one could imagine and revealing the horrifying truth of what really happened that terrible night thirty-five years ago, when an Amish father and his four children perished-and his young wife disappeared without a trace.
And, as Kate knows-the past never truly dies . . . in The Dead Will Tell by Linda Castillo . . .
Book 7
Book 8
Book 9
Eight years ago Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. A "fallen" Amish man and, according to local law enforcement, a known drug user with a violent temper, King has escaped, and is headed for Painters Mill. When King shows up and kidnaps his five children from their Amish uncle's house, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder know he is armed and desperate with nothing left to lose. Fearing for the safety of the children, Kate is led into an ambush, but King releases her unharmed and asks her to prove his innocence. Kate embarks on her own investigation to discover the truth.
Book 10
As Kate wades through a sea of suspects, she’s confronted by her own violent past and an unthinkable possibility.
Book 11
The investigation takes Kate to an isolated Old Order Amish settlement along the river in southern Ohio. At first, the community seems upstanding and helpful. But when Kate starts asking questions, they stonewall her - and the situation soon becomes dangerous. What are they hiding and why?
After an attempt on her life, Kate unearths a haunting and tragic secret that changes everything she thought she knew about the family for whom she is fighting, the Amish community as a whole - and everything she thought she knew about herself. Will she reach the girl in time to save her life?
Book 12
Ten years ago, Kate and Gina were best friends at the police academy, graduating together as rookies with the Columbus Division of Police. But the reunion takes an ominous turn when Kate learns Gina is wanted for killing an undercover officer. Gina claims she’s innocent, that she was framed by corrupt officers who want her gone because she was about to turn them in for wrong doing.
Kate calls upon state agent John Tomasetti for help and with a blizzard bearing down, they delve into the incident. But no one wants to talk about what happened the night Gina allegedly gunned down a fellow cop. Even Tomasetti is stonewalled, his superior telling him in no uncertain terms to back off.
With whisperings of corruption and the threat of rogue cops seeking revenge, Kate and Gina hunker down at Adam Lengacher’s farm. As Kate gets closer to the truth, a killer lies in wait. When violence strikes, Kate must confront a reality that changes everything she thought she knew not only about friendship, but the institution to which she's devoted her life.
Book 13
Kate remembers Rachael as the only girl who was as bad at being Amish as Kate was-and those parallels dog her. But the more Kate learns about Rachael's life, the more she's convinced that her dubious reputation was deserved. As a child, Rachael was a rowdy rulebreaker whose decision to leave devastated her parents and best friend. As an adult, she was charismatic and beautiful, a rabble-rouser with a keen eye for opportunity no matter who got in her way. Her no-holds-barred lifestyle earned her a lot of love and enemies aplenty-both English and Amish.
As the case heats to a fever pitch and long-buried secrets resurface, a killer haunts Painters Mill. Someone doesn't want Rachael's past-or the mysteries she took with her to the grave-coming to light. As Kate digs deeper, violence strikes again-this time hitting close to home. Will Kate uncover the truth and bring a murderer to justice? Or will a killer bent on protecting a terrible past, stop her once and for all-and let the fallen be forgotten?
Book 16
A Simple Murder : A Kate Burkholder Short Story Collection
by Linda Castillo
An abandoned baby is discovered on the Amish bishop's front porch in A HIDDEN SECRET, and Kate is called in to investigate.
SEEDS OF DECEPTION unearths the secrets of Kate Burkholder's own Amish past - and lays the groundwork for her future career in law enforcement.
In the midst of a power outage in Painters Mill, a teenage girl is attacked at an Amish party in ONLY THE LUCKY.
IN DARK COMPANY is the story of an injured woman with amnesia who seeks Kate's help in trying to remember her attacker’s identity... and her own.
IN PLAIN SIGHT leads Kate to what she believes is a straightforward hit-and-run accident - but she soon uncovers a story of teenage passion that may have led to attempted murder.
The town's elders arrive in Painters Mill to ask chief of police Kate Burkholder for help, but she quickly realizes she has a personal connection to the crime. The handsome Amish man who stands accused of the murder, Jonas Bowman, was Kate's first love. Forced to confront a painful episode from her past, Kate travels to Pennsylvania's Kishacoquillas Valley, where the Amish culture differs dramatically from the traditions she knows. Though Bishop Stoltzfus was highly respected, she soon hears about a dark side to this complex man. What was he hiding that resulted in his own brutal death?
Someone doesn't want Kate asking questions. But even after being accosted and threatened in the dead of night, she refuses to back down. Is she too close to the case-and to Jonas-to see clearly? There's a killer in the Valley who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried. Will they get to Kate before she can expose the truth? Or will the bishop's secrets remain hidden forever?
On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road. Aden Karn was just twenty years old, well liked, and from an upstanding Amish family. Who would commit such a heinous crime against a young man whose life was just beginning?
The more Kate gets to know his devastated family and the people-both English and Amish-who loved him, the more determined she becomes to solve the case. Aden Karn was funny and hardworking and looking forward to marrying his sweet fiancé, Emily. All the while, Kate's own wedding day to Tomasetti draws near...
But as she delves into Karn's past, Kate begins to hear whispers about a dark side. What if Aden Karn wasn't the wholesome young man everyone admired? Is it possible the rumors are a cruel campaign to blame the victim? Kate pursues every lead with a vengeance, sensing an unspeakable secret no one will broach.
The case spirals out of control when a young Amish woman comes forward with a horrific story that pits Kate against a dangerous and unexpected opponent. When the awful truth is finally uncovered, Kate comes face to face with the terrible consequences of a life lived in all the dark places.