Been the 15th in a series you would expect repeats. Not so Linda Castillo managed again to produce a unique mystery. As in the past we see Kate Burkholder trying to come to terms between her Amish past and her current lifestyle. Family ties with her siblings are slowly getting repaired and they have come to accept Kate and her Husband to be as part of the community.
A horrible murder of a young man is derailing Kate’s wedding planning. Makes you even wonder if she will have time to get married.
Who was hating the victim so much that they would kill him in the manner they did?
For all we can see the victim was good, hard working & loved by everybody. What is missing?
Kate is having a challenging time seeing the logic of it all. Read the book and see if you can guess the why and the who prior to finishing it.
A day after I finished the story, I listened to the audio version narrated by Kathleen McInerney. Sometimes it is better to read a book, other times it is better to listen to a narrator reading it. In this case I enjoyed both equally and both versions deserve a solid four. I hope to read more of Kate in the future.

Another installment of the Kate Burkholder series. I love this series and this one seemed darker but also brighter than the more recent ones. Kate is finally marrying her long time partner Tomasetti on her family farm. Despite not being Amish anymore Kate still loves her family farm and wishes she had a closer relationship with her sister and brother.

I love that Kate straddles two worlds and you see how much the Amish mean to her even if she can't be a part of them. The work that her family puts into her wedding brought Kate and me to tears. This is a great installment of this series. I'm not sure you can read these as standalones but they do fill you in on who some of the people are as they are introduced. You just don't get the full feel of the relationships.

The narration was good, I had an issue with how they portrayed the medical examiner but other than that one voice I was very pleased with the whole book.

Thank you to NetGalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was my first Linda Castillo book and I am now hooked! If you're a fan of thrillers, crime novels and mysteries check this book out! It is set to release on July 11th.
This roller coaster ride started quickly in the first chapter and continued to have twists, turns and some big drops! She did a great job with character development and I was invested from the start.
This one will surprise you and you won't regret grabbing your copy today!
4 solid stars

4.35⭐
Genre ~ police procedural
Series ~ Kate Burkholder, #15
Others in the series ~ Can't list them all, so here's the series link
Publication date ~ July 11, 2023
Page Count ~ 311
Audio length ~ 9 hours 25 minutes
Narrator ~ Kathleen McInerney
POV ~ single 1st & 3rd
Featuring ~ murder, references to r@pe, se*ual assault

How is it that I've aged 14 years and Kate has barely aged at all 🤣. I hate that I have to wait a whole year before I get my next fix of this wonderfully graphic series.

Kate is back solving another brutal murder in Painter's Mill, while simultaneously getting ready to finally marry Tomisetti. Long time readers will agree that we've been waiting ages and ages for this moment.

We open up with Aden getting shot with a crossbow and thus sets forth the investigation into his death. We've got another murder thrown into the mix to keep us on our toes.

Overall, another fast paced, great addition to the series. Yes it's technically a standalone, but Kate's life is progressing even though there's a new murder to solve each time.

I was fortunate enough to have a kindle and an audio copy.
Narration notes ~ a bit robotic, but a fine job. It's not the voice I picture in my head for Kate, but it'll do.

4.5⭐
One of the best in the series! I don't know how I'll wait until next year to revisit Painters Mill, Ohio. Painters Mill is an Amish town where our Police Chief Kate Burkholder grew up. Kate left the Amish life in her late teens and has since returned to protect and serve.

In An Evil Heart, Aden Karn, a young Amish on Rumspringa was murdered in the early hours on his way to work. He was cruelly killed with a crossbow. As Kate investigates, the hardworking and kind young man was beloved by those who knew him. His fiance, Emily is distraught. Meanwhile, Tomasetti, Kate's husband to be has a kidnapping case to solve.

I love reading novels with Amish themes and this is a special, AMISH THRILLER that I love so much!! I love that this series is so different from my normal Amish romance and cozy reads. Kate Burkholder series can be pretty dark and gruesome. There's a bit of faith mentioned from the Amish family's point of view and does not feel preachy. I enjoy reading about the Amish way of life. I'm already looking forward to listening to the next one. Kathleen McInerney is fabulous and I'm sticking with the audiobook for every novel in this series.

The small Amish town of Painter's Mill has hardly any crime., so when Kate Burkholder finds herself called away from wedding planning to work the scene of a gruesome murder, she knows she has to act quickly to find the killer.

I love everything about this series. Kate is a very unique character. The way she is simultaneously an outsider to the Amish and the Police's best link to the tight-knit community makes for very interesting investigations. Her relationship with Tomesetti is also interesting because their histories are so different. This installment of the series, especially, gave us more back story on him than we've had previously, and I really liked seeing glimpses of the younger, less perfect version of him. I also really enjoy the uniqueness of the cases in this series and the twists and turns the case gets as Kate gets the run around from certain members of the Amish community.

The only thing I don't love about this series is that the explanation of the police radio codes and of the Amish words that are basically English. I feel like the vast majority of it doesn't need explicit explanation, it could just be inferred from the context.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes mystery but is tired of how similar a lot of them are.

This is one of my fave series and this particular installment is one that I’ve wanted to read for a looonnnggg time😊 The book summary lays out the premise for the primary storyline: the investigation of a brutal murder of a seemingly nice Amish man, Aden Karn. Well…..anyone who is familiar with Linda Castillo’s Painters Mill knows that in this Amish community, the crime per capita is shockingly high!

Most of the story revolves around the investigation of Aden’s death. While many in the community sing his praise, a couple of the people in his life don’t share the same positive feelings about Aden. It’s revealed pretty early in the story that some know that Aden, who was on Rumspringa, was not the sweet Amish man that everyone else is making him out to be. Yeah, that whole Rumspringa thing can be a set-up for chaos. It’s basically a free pass for Amish teens to cut loose and go crazy.

It is around the halfway point that not only is another dead body discovered, but Kate also receives a report of Aden raping a 16yr old Amish girl. Yeah, that’s not really a shocker. Once again, for those of us who have been invested in this series from the get-go, we all know that some Amish (male & female) are not the upstanding, law-abiding, religious, God-fearing, morally bound people that everyone seems to think they are. They can be just as criminally minded as the general public. This whole premise has allowed Castillo to produce some REALLY great stories over the years! 😊

Anyway, the investigation begins to go in a different direction that leads to some pretty intense and life endangering incidents for Kate and her team along with Tomasetti. The end of the investigation comes pretty quick after that. The ending was one that this devoted Kate Burkholder fan had been waiting for a looonnnggg time, and actually brought tears to my eyes!!! 😊

As always, Kathleen McInerney was a wonderful narrator. I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #MacmillanAudio #AnEvilHeart

So, this was my first book by this author and the first book I have read in this series. However, this is book #15 in this series. I was able to understand what was going on and keep up with the story with no problems.

I did get an early audio copy of this book from Netgalley so I listened to this book and that's why I took a star off. The voice was very robotic and hard to listen to. I don't know if it was because it was on Netgalley or if that is the way she is but it was hard to connect with the story.

I loved how she explained all the different police codes, that was unexpected and really nice. The other thing for me is I have actually been to Holmes County, Ohio and will be going back there in a couple years on my 20th anniversary trip. I love the area, it is beautiful and the people there are so very nice. With that being said, the guy who was murdered was not a nice person but that doesn't mean he deserved to die. No one deserves that. I know I know it's not a real story but it felt real. I have to read the first 14 books now. I loved this book and the location is one of my favorite places in the world to visit.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced audio copy. This review is all my opinion!

Linda Castillo and Kate Burkholder are simply top of the game. Fans of the series will be delighted with this installment. A disturbing crime fiction plot with plenty of suspects and a surprise ending. From a characterization perspective, Kate takes some major steps forward in this book, which, again, fans will love. The narrator is very, very good.

Phenomenal book!
Although this is book #15 in the series, it is the first I’ve read of hers. (So apparently, it CAN be read as a stand-alone!)
Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police in a small town in Ohio that is predominantly Amish. Although she grew up Amish, she grew out of it, and therefore lost touch with family and friends because of it. But she is getting married soon… to Tomasetti, who works for the Criminal Bureau of Investigation, and she is finding her way back to family and her Amish ties…at least a little bit!
The book opens with a young Amish man (Aden), on his way to work on his bicycle, when he is intercepted and brutally murdered. (Some very gory scenes ensue, so if you are feint of heart, you many want to skip a few pages…)
Burkholder is called to the scene and investigates. She realizes that she knows the family and is heartbroken to have to give them the news. From all accounts he seems to be an all-around nice guy. Everyone loves him!
But then Kate hears one story that is horrifying. Can this be real?
As she continues to investigate, the story unfolds… and you will be gripping the edge of your seat!
And through it all, looms her upcoming wedding!
Great story! Terrific characters! Pulls you right in and you won’t be able to put it down until you get to the bottom of it!
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars for me!
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC of the audiobook!
Please look for this one. Release date is in 10 days!

A big thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo. Linda Castillo is one of my favorite authors and I always enjoy listening to Kathleen McInerney narrating. I have listened to most of the series on audio and Kathleen does such a great job switching in and out of character and with such emotion. She also does so well flowing between English and Pennsylvania Dutch.
In An Evil Heart, Kate Burkholder responds to a gruesome crime in which an Amish man has been violently killed with a crossbow. Seemingly well liked and from an upstanding local Amish family, Burkholder can’t fathom who would do such a thing.
However, the more she digs into the young man’s life and gets to know those closest to him, she realizes not everything is as what it seemed. Aden Karn was funny, hardworking, had a fiancé, but hard a dark side that no one could have ever imagined.
In the days leading up to Burkholder’s and Tomasetti’s wedding, the case spirals out of control and Kate is put into dangerous circumstances.
This book was fantastic! It was all the things I love Linda Castillo’s books to have: a good mystery, some grisly spots, suspense, some added twists and turns and of course Kate and John’s love story. I was so happy to hear the underlying story of Kate and her siblings in the days leading up to her wedding. I felt the emotions alongside her, as I have been on this ride since book 1.

An Evil Heart the 15th book in the Kate Burkholder series captured me from the first page. A gruesome murder and Kate has to solve it with her wedding to Tomasetti is right around the corner. As Kate is investigating this murder, Tomasetti has a case of 2 missing children that he is working on.

You will find plenty of surprises in this one and the whodunit was unexpected for me. There were enough twists and turns for me to want to keep reading and not put the book down.

It was great seeing the characters which we have come to love in this series and Mona where she is in the filed and has to make a quick decision.

5 stars

On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road. Aden Karn was just twenty years old, well liked, and from an upstanding Amish family. Who would commit such a heinous crime against a young man whose life was just beginning?

The pros:
- This book has a beautiful cover
- The premise is right up my alley

The neutral:
- It's what I would call a "cozy police procedural", which isn't usually my style

The cons:
- Unfortunately this was a series, but it’s not noted as such anywhere on the cover, which is a huge peeve of mine
- A lot of the characters felt very wooden and flat, while they may serve a purpose in a past or future book, they felt useless in this story

Overall, the story flowed well, and mostly held my interest. I can't say how it would be if I read the whole series, but the backstory for Kate felt forced. The ins and outs of her pending wedding and relationship were so one dimensional, and it felt like such an afterthought. It served zero purpose to the story, and I think I'd have enjoyed the book much more if it were left out.

3.5 stars

A thrilling Amish murder mystery with a dark side.

I seem to be coming in late to a lot of series and this is no different. This is my first book in this series but the author did a good job of hinting at the past but not letting it guide the story too much.

It starts out as a sad murder wondering what’s going to happen and ends in something much darker than I would have expected. It’s not glorified darkness, just dark in general.

I like the characters and the inclusion of the Amish. It created a unique background to the story as well as the MCs personal background. There were enough twists and turns to keep me listening and the story was clearly well written.

If you can stomach the content and the needless language, it is a good, semi-suspenseful mystery!

Note: Quite a bit of strong language in this one and mentions of rape, drug use, and sexual assault.

My rating: 4*

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this gifted audio copy. All opinions are my own.

The Title "An Evil Heart" really hits the nail on the hammer (is that the saying? Fact check me people) But yes, the "bad guy" in this book is bone chilling evil. I received this book as an ARL from Netgalley and to be honest, I went into it blind. I did the whole, Love the cover and I want something to listen to that involves a mystery. So I requested it and got it! But case in point as why Net Galley is awesome, because NOW I am going to work through the first 14 books in this series. I really enjoyed getting to know Kate Burkholder (Amish girl turned cop--yes I know its a troupe, but I love all things Amish) and her crew (Especially Pickles-the cop!, her fiancee Thomas Eddie (hate that name though) and her family)
Most police procedures I do not care for but I thought Castillo did a great job of guiding the reader through the process of solving this brutal crime and providing just enough detail that I felt like I was riding along side (I think I have now mastered all the 10-4s, 10 87s basically the police jargon) Kate.
The actual crime that opens the book a man shot with a bow an arrow then shot in the mouth-pretty graphic there, but the sinister events leading up to that scene unfold in a very dramatic way.
The sexualization of the young men did irk me, references to toys and their behavior around women was gross and a bit of a characterization, but I think that was just what the author was going for.
The young Amish women came off as pretty "naive" and maybe would have liked to see a little bit stronger representation of the ladies (not that I am pro girl power or anything...but Castillo could have done the female population a little bit of a curtosy by adding a few more french fries to their happy meal)

If you are worried about needing the previous 14 books (which I did not read, but now I for sure am!) this book you can totally dive right in, Castillo weaves in enough detail to pick up with the back story of Kate and her community,

Thank you Net Gally and Linda Castillo for allowing me to spend time in this creepy Amish Town full of murder and intrigue. I was not influenced for this honest review!

This book was amazing and I really enjoyed it! Thank you so much for giving me a read. I would absolutely buy this book!

Linda Castillo is one of my all-time favorite authors, and Kate Burkholder is one of my favorite characters. I actually finished this book last week in two days, but I could not decide what I wanted to say. I loved this book so much! As usual, Linda Castillo keeps us on the edge of our seats. I love how she tells the language used with this area's Amish community, and then she will tell what it means in English. I loved seeing Kate and Tomasetti getting married! It has been such a joy to see their growth in their relationship, on all levels, and see their love blossom. It is not a romance book though, do let that fool you. This is a crime book for sure, and is one that can be rather graphic. However, I LOVED this book and I cannot wait to recommend it with all my family and friends.

I really love the narrator for this series, she does such a wonderful job. You can see the characters really come to life.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was overjoyed to receive an advanced readers audiobook of this 15th installment of the Kate Burkholder series with Linda McInerney as narrator.
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Linda Castillo builds a story that pulls the reader or listener into the action and heartache of this suspense filled and at times very disturbing tale.

We follow along with Chief Burkholder as she and her team gather evidence to solve the violent death of a sweet Amish man meeting other interesting, and sometimes not so nice, characters. I particularly enjoyed the interactions of Kate with her family.

An Evil Heart does not disappoint.

I haven't read any of the other books in this series but I thoroughly enjoyed this one as a stand-alone. I've always been fascinated by the Amish and an Amish who done it was right in my wheel house.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Linda Castillo for the ARC!

Kate Burkholder is back and finally marrying Thomasetti. Before that can happen she has to solve the strange murder of an Amish man. Does being Amish mean you are above evil?