What I’m Reading: The Hidden One

I’m off at the cross stitch retreat.  I didn’t want to leave you high and dry with no blog posts…yet I wanted to enjoy the retreat and not be taxed with writing posts.  So I added an extra book review in…

If you’ve been following along with me all of these years, you know that I like the Kate Burkholder series by Linda Castillo.  I like them so much that I always preorder the books and burn up an Audible credit for them.  I used to try to wait with the online library but it takes at least six months on the waitlist before I get them.

The latest book, The Hidden One, came out this month.  I was having a crummy day and feeling a little sorry for myself when I got a notification that the book was available.  I turned that frown right upside down, grabbed the book, and started listening.

The book was just what I needed to take my crabbiness away.  I worked on cleaning the sewing room.  I was back to Painters Mill…back to Kate Burkholder…back to a crime and trying to figure out whodunit.

I have long loved this series.  This time around, Kate’s sidekicks weren’t around.  No Mona, no Pickles, no John Tomasetti.  I missed them as they always add more dimension to the story.  This time Kate was a state away helping a teenage love interest get out of jail.

These books don’t have hard-core detective work…they are a little “Mayberry-ish” only with a murder in Amish country.  On this day, it was just what I needed.

This is book #14 in the series.  I highly recommend starting with book one.
Here is what Amazon has to say:
“Over a decade ago, beloved Amish bishop Ananias Stoltzfus disappeared without a trace. When skeletal remains showing evidence of foul play are unearthed, his disappearance becomes even more sinister.

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?”

Amazon readers gave it 4.6 stars.

You can find the book HERE if you are interested.  I do recommend reading these in order…or at least somewhat in order.  HERE is a complete listing of the series.