Linda Castillo is in top form with Sworn to Silence, about a small town police chief with a hidden past, now investigating a string of truly grisly serial rapes and murders that may or may not be related to her own secret. Enter another wounded cop, a state officer Kate is desperate to keep from finding out the truth and who is on the brink of total burnout himself. Will these wounded souls solve this crime spree or become victims themselves? This and other books are reviewed on my website, some in greater length.

The secrets the Amish police chief are hiding, the burnt-out state cop -- all could be cliches if handled by a lesser writer. But as I stated, Castillo is in top form and you won't regret this page turner. I highly recommend this book for suspense, crime drama, and just enough romance to keep it interesting but not distract from the mystery. Great characters and will certainly keep you guessing.

Linda Castillo's Sworn to Silence is a graphic thriller set among the peaceful Amish countryside of Ohio. While some elements of the book were predictable, the setting and character development made it a wonderful read.
The central character of police chief Kate Burkholder brings a unique perspective to the job having been raised among the Amish. The author handles the delicate balance of opposing cultures very well, and it proves to be the most fascinating aspect of this book.
This is a good mystery and I look forward to joining Kate in Amish country again soon.

I started reading this book about 32 hours ago, and found myself wanting to get right back to it any time I tried to put it story aside. The story needed to be read, had to be finished. The pacing is perfect. The little plot hooks go together really well. Of course there's a couple things that are "yeah right" coincidences... but, isnt' that how these stories always go? I liked the setting, because I only live about 1.5 hours from where this story takes place. She captures middle-of-nowhere Amish Ohio perfectly. The Kindle edition, as usual, was a crystal-clear read and far more convenient that reading from a flimsy paperback or heavy hardbound.

I was surprised on how much I really liked this read. A friend and fellow amazon buddy suggested the book to me and I'm glad she did.

The story is about a chief of police, Kate, who has to deal with a murder that takes place in the Amish community, who was born in the same Amish community. She left the Amish life and lived on the wild side for a while. I wont' tell you what lead Kate to do that, you'll have to read the book to find out. As the story unfolds, Kate thinks she knows who the killer is, but she also knows it's impossible. Kate's past coms back to haunt her. I don't want to say to much about it, because I don't want to spoil anything.

The writer has a fantastic writing style. She has the ability to have such a great writing style that it hooks the reader and doesn't let you go. The characters are fantastic and have a lot of depth and you just want to find out everything you can about them. All of the characters are fantastic and life like. There's a few nice plot twists that will keep the reader guessing right up to the end. Fantastic!

****SPOILERS****

I did have one small problem. There was a bit of romance in it, but for me, it seemed forced. If you took the romance out of the book, you really wouldn't lose any of the plot. Like I said, it just seemed forced and didn't seem to fit.


****SPOILERS END***


This is a gritty, violent thriller that will keep the reader glued to the very last page. I highly suggest you start it. If you do, I promise you won't be sorry. Great Read!

Bought this book based upon a review from People Magazine, so didn't really know what to expect. This is a fine thriller, sometimes pretty gory, detailing disgusting murders. A page-turner, I recommend this book. Sensitive souls, don't read this before going to sleep. Liked the main character, Kate, and her team. Amish setting well described and informative. Well told, sometimes you feel cold just from reading about the cold. Editing could have been better, sometimes phrases, expressions are repeated and I refer to Ronnie/Robbie (attentive reader will know what I mean).

I really enjoyed reading Sworn to Silence. It was fast-paced and hard to put down. Linda didn't hold back with the gruesome details, and at least for me as a reader, it was completely on par with any other serial killer novel I've read. I enjoyed the characters, and though some we didn't learn much about, hopefully more books will be written and we can then delve a little deeper into what makes them tick.

Obviously we learned the most about Kate Burkholder, the protagonist. I loved the fact that she was previously Amish and now working as the police chief in a community with a large Amish population. And I could really see the countryside, as I live in Ohio, not far from where all this took place and have been to Millersburg and the surrounding community. I want to read more about her and what the future brings her in trying to relate to her Amish relatives.

John Tomassetti is a character I completely loved. If you know the story of Frank Castle, Marvel Comic's Punisher, Tomassetti brings some parallels. I certainly hope to read more about him. He's a character that Linda Castillo could create another series around.

The plot kept moving and as Kate pieced together the identity of the killer near the end, the action ramped up to a frantic pace. This is the sort of book that keeps you reading through the night or could cause you to miss your bus stop. It's that exciting and that good. Another plus was the writing. The sentence structure and pace was easy to read and very appropriate for this type of fiction.

Probably the must frustrating thing with this book is that now I have to wait until the next one comes out.

Linda Castillo's newest book is set in January in northeastern Ohio, a cold and at times forbidding time of year. As the book opens, a dead body is discovered, in indescribably brutal and hideous condition. When the local police department is called in, they fear it is not the last one they will find, as it is horribly reminiscent of a series of murders committed in nearly identical fashion sixteen years before, all the victims being young women or girls, four in all, over a two-year period and, because of the manner of death, dubbed the work of The Slaughterhouse Killer. The case was never closed, and the cops cannot believe that he has struck again after all this time. Especially in a peaceful town like Painters Mill, where one-third of the population is Amish.

The Painters Mill, Ohio Police Department is comprised of the following: Kate Burkholder, its Chief, now thirty years old, born and raised Amish but having left the church at eighteen, when in accordance with tradition she had the choice of being baptized or not and chose the latter, and shunned by the Amish in town ever since, including by her own siblings. Kate's professional background was as a cop in Columbus, six years in patrol, two as a homicide detective. Under her are three full-time officers and one auxiliary officer. They are each well-drawn and interesting, as follows: T. J. Banks, young and inexperienced, with, Kate thinks, "the makings of a good cop . . . diligent and serious about his work;" Rupert "Glock" Maddux, former marine and the most experienced, as well as being the first African-American, on the force; Chuck "Skid" Skidmore; and auxiliary cop Roland "Pickles" Shumaker. Called in to assist in the investigation is John Tomasetti, from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). On the brink of forced retirement, he is a cop with a haunted past. His reactions to meeting Kate are varied, surprised to find her "a gun-toting, cursing, former Amish female chief of police . . . [with] secrets nearly as dark as his own."

I had some misgivings about the book, which tended to detract from an otherwise gripping and suspenseful novel. The author tended to spell out and hammer home the same points, often in nearly identical verbiage, a tad more than necessary. The prose, lyrical and brutal by turn, as befits a tale of predominantly peaceful people living in a gorgeous landscape, in which a monster has been turned loose, at times becomes clunky, e.g., a description of the wind whining "like an injured dog;" midnight descending "with the cold stealth of a nocturnal predator;" a woman being struck with a "fist like a sledgehammer making nice with the bridge of my nose;" a cop being told "I want you to drop everything" and then asking, on the next page, "This a priority?" That said, I was drawn into the unfolding tale, with suspense and tension building to a slambang denouement, and almost despite myself found it a satisfying read.

I doubt I would ever read Ms. Castillo romance related work but Sworn to Silence is a good first effort in the "thriller" space. I echo some that said the graphic nature of some of the torture/murder/post murder scenes were surprising. Maybe because a woman wrote them? I liked the 1st person narrative too. It's a compelling story and she fleshes it and characters well. I enjoyed it for what it is, an adult novel. I did find the ending a little rushed as she moved away from using the 1st person for the villain which I found compelling earlier in the book. I'll be back for #2.

A surprisingly sympathetic and eminently readable mystery novel about an ex-Amish female cop. Sheriff Kate Burkholder investigates a serial killer that she thought had died long ago, and dredges up the memories of her Amish past and a tragic event connected with it. Lots of stereotypes, corny dialogue, and pseudo-CSI jargon, but man, I kept wanting to read it to find out who the murderer was - and it was a satisfying reveal. The emphasis on Amish pacifism and reluctance to rely on the outside world is portrayed with relative lack of stereotype or condescension. A fun read that captures Holmes County accurately and interestingly.

Painters Mill Chief of Police Kate Burkholder has a dark secret: when she was 14 years old, she killed her rapist. At that time, a series of murders by someone dubbed the Slaughterhouse Killer ended with the death of her rapist. Her Amish family covered up Kate's act of self-defense, but it still haunts her. A similar series of murders recently cropped up, and Kate is in the position of trying to keep her secret and solve the murders.

To complicate matters, Bureau of Criminal Investigations Agent John Tomasetti is called in to assist with the investigation of the murders. Kate doesn't like Tomasetti butting in on her case, but she realizes she needs assistance that she simply can't get in Painters Mill.

I don't typically read a lot of thrillers because they tend to begin to blend together. But with Castillo's elements of dark secrets, shady pasts, and honest dialogue, I found myself unable to put this book down. Her style reminds me a lot of Patricia Cornwell, and she has a superior storytelling ability.

I look forward to seeing a lot more from Castillo in the future.