Review also published on blog:  https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com/

A Collection of Short Stories involving Kate Burkholder?  Sign me up!

If only they had delivered as much as I’d hoped.  Herein lies my problem with short stories - I’m often let wanting more and such was the case with most of the stories in “A Simple Murder” the collection by Linda Castillo.

Of the stories featured here, a few pulled me in.  They were:

Long Lost:  Here, Kate Burkholder and her partner John Tomasseti go away to a B&B for a long weekend only to discover that the town is embroiled in the case of a woman who went missing a few months prior.  Though it’s not their jurisdiction, the two can’t help but dig around.

A Hidden Secret:  The case of a newborn baby being left on the doorstep of the bishop’s house leads Burkholder and Tomasetti to investigate and well, gives the readers a lot to hope for.

In Plain Sight:  In this well done short story, a young amish man is on the wrong end of a hit and run accident. The question, of course, is why.  Brilliantly plotted, concise and well executed, if only all of the stories in this collection ended this perfectly, I would have been all in.

Truth be told, I was quite disappointed in this collection.  I love Kate Burkholder.  Her series is near and dear to my heart, but throughout this I just felt as though these stories were missing something and that they weren’t truly fleshed out enough. I am however an ardent fan of this series and the author and can’t wait to dive into her next full length novel “Fallen” which I have on my NetGalley shelf ready to read. 

This was another buddy read with Kaceey.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Linda Castillo for the arc.

Published on Goodreads and Twitter on 3.4.21

A collection of short stories featuring my favorite character/series! 

I had to laugh at myself just a little. When I requested this book all I saw was that it was a new release from Linda Castillo. I had no idea it wasn’t a full length novel!

Though I’m not a huge fan of short stories, how could I resist diving back into the life of Kate Burkholder, Chief of Police at Painters Mill, to see what she was up to. 

There are six short stories included in this book. And I have to say I enjoyed every one of them though I was always left wanting more. Maybe another 200 pages to each story😂. Then I could enjoy 6 new full length books. I’m not asking too much here…am I?🤷🏻‍♀️

I do have Linda Castillo’s next release Fallen on my shelf and cannot wait to dive into it!

If you are a fan of the series and enjoy short stories don’t miss out!

A buddy read with Susanne.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an ARC to read and review.

This collection of short stories are an entertaining addition of this  excellent suspense/mystery series that blends the police world with the Amish world. 

There were six short stories in this collection and my favorite was In Dark Company. Kate Burkholder had to unravel the mystery of a young lady with amnesia. I would have read a book length version of this story. The mystery and suspense shows how clever Kate is and how she responds to an armed attack.

Another favorite was In Plain Sight, which had one of the most gripping opening scenes. 

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy short stories with a strong female character. Readers of the series will also enjoy learning more of the relationship between Kate and John Tomasetti.

A Simple Murder 
“Magnetic.”―People Magazine

First off, thank you so much to St Martins and NetGalley for this advanced digital copy! This book will be released In February!

This book is actually complied of a bunch of short stories, all dealing with crime within the Amish community and all being solved by Chief Kate Burkholder, who herself used to be part of the community. This book has 6 amazing short stories that you will most definitely enjoy. 

There wasn’t anything too gory or uncomfortable, which is a change of pace from what I typically read, and I loved it. Each story gets you drawn into the characters and the plot and you are rooting for Kate to solve the mystery. I almost felt part of the community myself after reading. 

I would def recommend these short stories to everyone who loves a good Amish story mixed with crime and drama.

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5 murderous stars

My favorite way to wrap up 2020 is reading some Linda Castillo! Normally, I’m not a fan of short stories, but in this case, I so love this character that I truly enjoy these stories!

These six stories feature Kate Burkholder and her partner in crime (and the bedroom) John Tomasetti.

I usually say that I want more romance for Kate and John and the first story offers just that. In “Long Lost” the couple gets away to a romantic B&B but of course investigate a missing person case!

“A Hidden Secret” is all about an abandoned newborn and I’m secretly hoping that there might be marriage and a baby in Kate’s future.

I really enjoyed “Seeds of Deception” as it went into Kate’s past and explored some time from her Amish upbringing.

During an Amish party, a young girl is attacked, and Kate is called in to investigate. “Only the Lucky” is a story filled with jealousy.

Trauma can bring about amnesia and that’s just the case “In Dark Company” with a woman who can’t remember who she is or what happened.

The final short story, “In Plain Sight”, a hit-and-run investigation turns out to be more complex that it seemed at first.

Overall, I love these short stories that build the character of Kate Burkholder. I have read all 12 books in this series and I count this character as one of my all-time favorites. Can’t wait to read the next full-length book, but in the meantime, these short stories gave me great satisfaction!