The Dead Will Tell - Linda Castillo

The Dead Will Tell is the sixth entry in Linda Castillo's series featuring Kate Burkholder.

Burkholder was born into the Amish community that surrounds the town of Painters Mill, but chose to leave. She's now the Police Chief of that community. Her background makes her invaluable when dealing with the Amish community. Her calm manner and determination to solve cases make her an ideal cop.

When a man is found hanging in his barn, it looks like a case of suicide. But a clue left at the scene says murder. When another death happens on the heels of the first, Kate finds the common ground between the two deaths. It's the past that connects them. Thirty five years ago, an Amish father and his four children were killed in their home and the wife and mother was never found. What has stirred this up after all that time? Has the mother returned after all these years? Who wants revenge?

Kate is an likable, engaging character. Castillo includes an ongoing personal storyline for Kate, bringing some romance to her books. Kate has now moved into with Agent John Tomasetti. Tomasetti has his own troubles - the man responsible for killing his wife and child has just been freed from prison. And he's having trouble accepting that. I'm not as enamoured of him as Kate is. And I still don't get why Kate only calls him by his last name?!

The whodunit is nicely played - not overly hard to solve, but still enjoyable. And Castillo includes a nice little twist. Procedural details aren't overly employed, instead Castillo moves things along with deductions and action. Although I must admit, the killer and their impetus is more than a little twisted. Castillo's premise and use of the Amish community and their way of life is interesting and different enough to separate it from other series. An easy read for the porch, not earth shattering, but entertaining.

Fans of Iris Johansen would enjoy this series. Read an excerpt of The Dead Will Tell. You can find Linda Castillo on Facebook.