An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo is book 15 in the Kate Burkholder series. I really like the cover!

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call and discovers an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road. 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.

Linda Castillo does a great job of unraveling the storyline and providing suspense in each scene, drawing to a thrilling conclusion. I've read other books by Ms. Castillo and would recommend this book and this series.

A good addition to the Kate Burkholder series. I enjoyed learning more about the Amish culture.

A solid 4 out of 5 stars.

#NetGalley @StMartinsPress

Thank you NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I couldn’t put this book down! I was hooked from the first scene. The storyline is crafted together that almost anyone could have been the murderer. I extremely surprised who actually committed the murder. However, this book does bring up several questions If the crimes of the murdered victim are so heinous, did they get what they deserved for the vile acts they committed? Was the murderer justified in their actions?

This is the 15th book in the author's Kate Burkholder mystery series. I have read and loved them all. The author is consistently excellent in her writing, her characters, and her settings. I always feel like I am riding along with the Chief of Police as she solves the murders that seem to occur regularly in her county. In this book, Kate investigates the murder of a young Amish man who appears to have no enemies or flaws, a true pillar of the community. When a second body is discovered, Kate begins to discover things about the dead man that raise lots of questions. To complicate matters, the ongoing investigations are happening a few days before Kate and her betrothed, Tomasetti, are planning to marry on Kate's Amish family's farm. I highly recommend this book and the entire series! Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for providing an ARC.

Kate’s marriage to Tomasetti is fast approaching, but Kate must investigate and hopefully solve the murder id a young Amish man, killed by a crossbow. Kate devotes herself full-time to the crime, going through many clues, some good ones and some red herrings. In the middle of all this, another murder happens, a young girl savagely killed and left wrapped in plastic by a stream. Kate thinks they are connected, but is not sure how. During her investigation, she finds that things are not what they seem as far as both victims are concerned. Can she figure it all out in time to make her wedding? Sure hope so—and so does everyone involved.

This was a tough book to read because of the grisly murders and some of the events that occurred during the investigation. However, I kept with it and found the tale to be one of her better ones. I have read all of the author’s books about Kate. This one ranks among the very best, but then, most do. I was thrilled to see the nuptials between her and her guy after all this time. The investigations were true to form and just like I figure Kate would do them. The ending did happen a bit quickly and was a bit of a surprise, as nothing really led up top it, but it did make sense. Once again, the chemistry between Kate and her groom-to-be was ever present. Her crew was, as usual, very professional and well skilled in their jobs (for a small, quiet little town without much real action). I highly recommend the book to any of the fans of the author and the series and to anyone else looking for a new series to latch on to. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

I love this tough gal. I cannot put down these books when I read them. Such a mind blowing series. She really gets to the center of things emotionally. Very heartfelt and then wham she shocks you,
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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐ Another winner by Linda Castillo!

This is the 15th book in the Kate Burkholder series and I swear they just keep getting better and better!

"An Evil Heart" starts with a bang with the gruesome murder of an Amish boy. When Chief of Police Kate Burkholder starts to dig into the investigation, dark secrets about the victim himself are revealed. Things are not always what they seem! Dark and chilling, this was a definite page turner!

I cannot recommend this series enough! I’ve read every single book and I can honestly say this is one of the best out there! I love Kate Burkholder and can't wait to see what the author comes up with next. Let's go book number 16! 👏

A big huge thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

Wow! This is book 15 in this series… And I have read them all and I look forward to each new book
Kate Buckholder has become like family to me and I was there with her for this toughest case to date and for her wedding!!!! ( about time).
I look forward to many more adventures!!!

I give this book 4.5 stars! Another great installment in the Kate Burkholder series. There's plenty of action and twists and turns that keep this book very entertaining. One of the things I love about this author is the personal side of the characters that she isn't shy about including which I feel makes the story rich and believable. The Amish backdrop is very interesting and adds so much to the plot. Like most Burkholder stories there is a bit of gore and some parts of this book may be triggering (sexual assault) for some. I received an ARC of the book - thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher. All comments are my own!

Another winner! Intense and complex murder mystery interweaving the Amish and English communities, beliefs, and lifestyles. This series just gets better and better, with real character who have emotion and history and solid investigations of unique crime. Can be read as stand alone, but this is a series to follow!

Glad that I got to read this early. I've read all of the books in the series and this was a good one. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

The last thing Kate Burkholder needs is a puzzling case the week before her wedding, but that's what she's got. Confronted with the body of a young man killed by an arrow, she must unravel the threads to determine the victim's true nature. Kate has evolved over the series, making tentative reconnections with her Amish siblings, and it's nice to see that she's developed a healthy and happy relationship with Tomasetti. This book is at times both darker and lighter than some of the others in the series, but it's classic Kate Burkholder and Painters Mill all the way through.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press for the ARC Loved the story and the mystery surrounding the characters. Great character development. It grabs hold of you from the very beginning. Love the Kate Burkholder series and with each one they get better and better. Cannot wait to see where it goes from here. The one thing that gets me, one would think Kate would know better by now than to go alone to a suspect's home. But still a very good read.
Highly recommend!

Book fifteen of the Kate Burkholder series…and it just keeps getting better and better!

There are wedding bells chiming in Kate’s near future. But first things first. Before she can walk waltz down that aisle with Tomasetti, she has a murder…or two to wrap-up.

Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police in the town of Painters Mill Ohio. She grew up Amish, and though she left that life behind, many of her cases bring her into daily contact with the very private community.

This latest case for Kate involves a young Amish man, Aden Karn who was on Rumspringa. (A time when Amish teens are entering adulthood. This is the first time they step outside their community to experience an English life. With the understanding that at the end of this journey they’ll choose to either return to Amish life or leave it behind forever).

When Aden is found murdered on the side of the road it’s up to Kate to find the killer. Why would anyone target an innocent Amish teen that everyone seemed to love?

The deeper Kate digs into her investigation, disturbing and ugly secrets are un-rooted.

I absolutely love this series. Always look forward to the latest release every year! Linda Castillo provides such detailed insight into the Amish community, while delivering a dark, pulse-pounding thriller.

At the risk of flagrant gushing, I can’t recommend this series enough! But make sure to start at the beginning to get the full experience, as each release builds on the previous. Now I have to (im)patiently wait for next years’ release!😫

A buddy read with Susanne.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates the brutal death of a young Amish man in this book. Twenty year old Aden Kern was killed with a crossbow and his body left for dead in a ditch. Aden came from a good Amish family and both English and Amish people loved him because he was hardworking, funny and nice. Only days to be go before Kate marries Tomasetti, she works hard to get this case settled. The more Kate digs, the more she realizes that Aden has a dark side and may not be the wholesome young man he projects himself to be. As Kate tries to make sense of all the rumors and tries to figure out what is fact and fiction, she has to be careful for her own life as the as she investigates. This book has a lot going on and you just want to keep reading to the end to find out who the murderer is.

I look forward to the next book in this series because they are all great mysteries with great characters.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book..

This is the upcoming Kate Burkholder series novel. Great mystery with good twists and for longtime readers of the series an anticipated change for Kate’s domestic life. As a longtime reader of the series myself, tongue in cheek, I always wonder at the crime rate in tranquil Painters Mill. I always wondered the same for Craig Johnson’s Longmire series. As a dutiful reader, of course, the novel holds its own, may easily be read as a standalone, and I’ll let the good citizens of Painters Mill figure that out. There’s lots to lose yourself in for the latest addition. This review is for an Advanced Reader Copy of the novel.

The fifteenth book in the reliable Kate Burkholder series starts with the grisly murder of a young Amish man by crossbow. The killing appears to be planned and the target deliberate, but everyone tells formerly Amish Chief of Police Burkholder that Aden Karn was polite and charming. He was planning to marry his girlfriend soon, and although he was on rumspringa, he was going to be baptized into the faith when that phase ended. Kate's investigation reveals that there was more to the victim than the face he showed to the Amish, which opens up new potential perpetrators and motives.

The disturbing search for the killer contrasts sharply with the last few days of planning for Kate's wedding to her longtime boyfriend, John Tomasetti. The couple has forged a strong bond despite their respective troubled pasts. Will Kate close the case in time to get married without endangering her life?

The books in this series have a predictable pattern. Someone is murdered in Kate's jurisdiction, she enlists her small, loyal team of officers and dispatchers, and she interviews suspects or other persons of interest. Throughout the process she is uncomfortably reminded that, although she speaks German and knows many of the Painters Mill residents, she voluntarily left the fold many years ago, and is now viewed with mistrust. The case in An Evil Heart is one of the most horrifying to date, but the emotional core of the story is Kate's dawning realization that she does have a place in the Amish community, albeit not quite the one she envisioned as a young girl.

Let's hope that Kate and Tomasetti at least get to enjoy a brief honeymoon before the next murder is committed. ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.

Do we ever really know anyone? Are some people just so adept at hiding the evil within that only those closest to them can know the dark details of their thoughts and deeds? An Amish young man has a wonderful, good boy reputation throughout the Amish English communities alike. Yet he was found shot to death with a crossbow on his way to work on a typical sunny day of the work week. At first glance, no suspects can be found, no one has a bone to pick with him, and by all outward appearances he is an innocent, gentle soul, which makes this case even more puzzling. Who shot Aden Karn? As the story unravels, perhaps you too will see that an evil heart heart can lurk within anyone. Thank you to NetGalley for the Advance Read Copy of this great book!

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this eARC. I’m grateful. I’ve read all of them, and was so excited to get the chance to review the new one. This is by far one of the best procedural and detective and mystery series out there, and one, if not, my only, favorite series of all time.

Linda Castillo’s, “An Evil Heart,” is the 15th book in the Kate Burkholder series. This series continues to be exciting, fresh, and human. This installment find our Chief of Police investigating the death of a young Amish man. The young man was violently attacked with a crossbow, and as with each of the prior novels, not all is coming up roses and is what it seems. Additionally, Kate is preparing for her wedding to Tomasetti, and along the way, another body pops up. So, with many things going on, the story moves quickly and comes to a satisfactory, tense, but tender ending.

Castillo, writes with such description and emotion that when you are reading her novels you are right there in the story. All the characters keep growing and changing with each subsequent novel. Now some of those changes may not be what we like or expect, but that is what makes these novels worth waiting for and reading.

I cannot recommend this novel, this series, enough, I anxiously await each year for the newest installment.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Love this series! A young Amish man found dead on a little traveled road and a body of English woman found wrapped in plastic and left in a ditch days later has Chief Burkholder perplexed.. Are the two murders connected? Are the guys at the garage involved? A tangled web of evil and deceit will reveal that someone has a very dark soul. And finally Kate's wedding is on the horizon. Love the ending. Looking forward to the next in the series. Recommended!

This book was a fabulous entry in the Kate Burkholder series! Kate and Tomasetti are finally (FINALLY!) getting married - their wedding is a handful of days away - when a murder investigation is dropped into Kate's lap and a kidnapping investigation is dropped into Tomasetti's. Will they be solved? (Positively, in John's case?) Of course they will, and it's a doozy. I loved revisiting all of my favorite characters, and I loved seeing Mona in action as a cop finally - she's worked so hard for this! She's green, but has potential. All in all five stars and I can't wait for book 16.