We’re back in Painters Mill, when a dismembered body is found by a few young kids. And then a second body is found in a barrel. When a third body is found, the rotting corpse isn’t the only thing that smells bad. Of course Kate is pursuing the case with full energy and zeal, and she puts herself in danger as she investigates. But while you can probably guess who did it, the why takes a little time to reveal itself and it’s worth every page.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

After three Amish children discover a dismembered body in the woods, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder starts an investigation that uncovers more bodies. As Kate works to find the link between these murders, she finds herself in dangerous situations.

This is book #17 in this series. I have read and loved all the previous books and look forward to reading a new installment each year. I recommend starting with book #1 to get the backstories. Thank you, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read this excellent ARC.

Even though I have not read any other books of this series, this novel had me hooked from the start! The author does an amazing job of developing both the characters and storyline! I loved the organic flow of the book and felt that the storyline was perfectly paced for all of the action that unfolded. I cannot wait to read more of this series now! Note, this book can easily be enjoyed as a stand alone.


I thoroughly enjoyed reading this piece of work
Thank you Net Galley, Linda Castillo and Minotaur Books for allowing me to review this advanced copy of A Deafening Silence. I was not influenced or paid in exchange for this honest review.

4 stars for book 17 in the Kate Burkholder series. While you can read this book as a stand alone, you will understand the characters better if you read the series in order. The book opens with a grisly discovery: two children discover human body parts. Kate is the police chief of the fictional town of Painter's Mill, Ohio. She has a 5 person department, but can and does get help from the Sheriff's department and the Ohio state BCI(Bureau of Criminal Investigation). Kate does solve the case, but not before more deaths.
She is now married to John Tomasetti, an investigator for BCI. There are some things that happen in this book that happen in almost every book in the series: Kate is attacked several times, but miraculously survived a vicious beating, and being hit by car. This is fiction and in real life she would be dead or on disability retirement.
The book examines the dangers of rumspringa, the Amish word for teenagers going wild before being baptized and committing to the Amish way of life.
There is some bad language, no graphic sex and the horrific violence is post mortem.
Thank you Katie Layton at St. Martin's Press for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.

Pub Date Jul 08 2025

Rage, by Linda Castillo keeps the tension going all the way to the end. Like her other books in the series, it features Kate and John as they navigate another horrific crime in peaceful Amish country. I love these books and this one did not disappoint! There's something about the horror of the crimes juxtaposed with rural simplicity and peace that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoy Castillo's books while I'm reading them and when I finish, I find myself looking more carefully at people and wondering what's really going on behind what they choose to present to the world. If you haven't read the series, you can read this one and still understand it, but I recommend following up by reading the series. Great books - you'll love them!

In the 17th entry in the Kate Burkholder series. Linda Castillo continues to write intriguing stories about an Amish community, with a high-quality, propulsive writing style that is appropriate for the mystery genre.

Fans of the series know that Kate is the Chief of Police of Painters Mill, Ohio. Although she had a tumultuous life years earlier that resulted in her leaving the Amish community, Kate is able to maintain a relationship with the residents that is mutually respectful and carefully cultivated. That helps her obtain valuable information when crimes threaten their peaceful culture and the Amish are reluctant to talk about it with English (non-Amish) residents. This time the story begins, as usual, with a grisly murder, quickly followed by another, involving Amish in their later teen years and early twenties who have clearly gotten into a dirty business before realizing that they were in over their heads.

I always enjoy spending time with Kate and her husband, Tomisetti, who have a lovely, mutually supportive relationship. Tomisetti, of course, is always worrying about Kate putting herself in jeopardy as the violence progresses, but Kate is committed to protecting those in the community and bringing the perpetrators to justice. Castillo has come up with a formula that works, and it never seems old. Let's hope she has many more stories in mind for the future.

My thanks to St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

My love affair with Kate Burkholder continues. She’s the best at what she does. Rage was a good entry into the storyline. I was a little taken aback at how quickly I figured out the case before Kate, because that never happens, but she got there, and it all made sense. There were a couple of close moments for Kate in this adventure, and I was on the edge of my seat a couple of times, wondering what could happen. I love these books, and I love Kate. I can’t wait until the next one arrives! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. And thank you to Linda Castillo for continuing to write these books!

Rage is book 17 in Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder series. Once again it is set deeply in the Amish community. Young Amish children, either on Rumspringa or freshly back from it, are being brutally murdered. Kate and her husband, John Tomasetti have to crack the case before more young Amish are murdered. Linda Castillo is one of my favorite authors. I enjoy that she brings the Amish community and their lifestyle into her books. This is a must read for any of her fans.

In this gripping mystery, shattered by the brutal murders of two young Amish men, and Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is thrust into a dangerous investigation. As the secrets of the Amish community begin to unravel, Kate must navigate a world of hidden darkness, black market dealings, and deadly threats to uncover the truth. Tense, atmospheric, and full of twists, this novel keeps readers on edge until the very end.

Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed it. A strong five stars. Linda Castillo is always a must read for me however this Book is one of her best,

As someone who lives in Ohio, I love this series. Chief Kate Burkholder, a former member of the Amish community, is tasked with solving the murder of a young Amish business owner. She uncovers a dark side to her small town and tries to keep those around her safe while working to solve this gruesome crime. When I think about a series, Linda Castillo is doing it right by coming up with new and engaging plots so you never get bored. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books) for the copy - all opinions are my own. Book comes out July 8th!

This is the 17th in the Kate Burkholder series, and though you could read it as a stand along, I would highly recommend reading the others, as they are all very enjoyable and a rare insight into Amish life. Kate Burkholder has been called to a location where some kids had found what may be a body, turns out it is and it is in pieces. Kate brings in her hubby John Tomassetti of the Ohio Bureau of Investigations, and together they try to piece together who the person is and how they ended up in the state they were found in. Not long after, another deceased person is found, turns out that both individuals knew each other and were friends. The first fellow, Samuel, was on Rumspringa, a type of leave from the Amish life, usually the person makes the decision to return and become baptized into the faith. Samuel was running his own business and seemed to be doing pretty good for himself, it was his friend, Aaron who was the second person found. If you've read any of this series you would know that Kate doesn't like to wait around for others before setting off on her own to track something down, something that usually doesn't end well. That happens a couple of times in this book, but that does not detract from the story, and I really enjoy this series, look forward to the next and hope to see another soon. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Minotaur for the ARC.

I absolutely love this series and I love the author Linda Castillo. Rage her latest in the series had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. When some Amish kids found body parts buried in the wood then two other bodies were found, Kate knows that they either have a serial killer or something far worse. I could not put this book down and I highly recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley for this arc.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur books and Netgalley for an early copy of this book. I truly appreciate it.

Summer has arrived with a vengeance in Painter's Mill, and their is a discovery by three amish children, that brings the grinding to a halt. Chief of police Kate Burkholder arrives on the scene to find a dismembered body of a 21 year old Samuel Eicher, local amish man who owned a very successful landscaping business. What twisted person could do this to someone? The investigation has barley begun, when a couple of miles away another body has been found, it has been stuffed into a barrel and dumped into the ravine. This young man is named Aaron Shetler, Samuel's best friend. What could these Amish boys done to deserve this fate?

With a heat wave bearing down, Kate quickly learns for some reason no one is willing to talk about what happened to these men. Just as she begins to fear that the case maybe hopeless, a mystery women comes forward and reveals the Aaron and Samuel had befriended some very not so great individuals. That could be tied to the black market.

I think that I would round up this book to a 3.5, because I did enjoy it. This is my first Linda Castillo/ Chief Buckholder novel. I have never read any of the books in the series except this one. You don't really need to read the other books to read this one. Only because you don't really get into her personal life in these books, it's mostly just trying to solve a mystery which I like. Sometimes mystery books can get too personal, not this one though. I think what pulled me into this book was it being about the amish, or more of it being around the amish. I would like to continue this series and read some more of it, I just don't know if I want to go all the way back to the beginning, because that's a lot of books. I enjoyed our main character, sometimes a main character can make or break a book. I liked her though she seemed realistic and had a great personality.

I enjoyed getting a glimpse of the amish life and seeing what the people are like. It was interesting. I think that this book would be a great read for the fall time. Even though this book is based in the summer and it says that it is super hot. Something about this book gives me fall vibes, if I read this book again I will definitely be reading this book in the fall.

I think that if she wrote a book on just the amish, I would still read it and love it. I do love her writing in this story. I love that the chapters weren't long and it was an easy book to read.

Pick up your copy on the Publication day which is July 8th, 2025. It is worth the read and I think most people will enjoy this book.

Happy Reading!!! I hope you enjoy this book or any book that you are currently reading!!!

This is another fantastic Kate Burkholder novel by Linda Castillo. This is book 17 in the series. I have read them all and loved them all. It can be read as a standalone novel, but I would recommend starting with the first in the series, Sworn to Silence.
This series is a winning police procedural with Amish culture strewn in.
Unlike other long book series, Linda Castillo's characters are always fresh, and she does a fabulous job keeping them alive and engaging.
In this book, a group of kids find a dismembered body, and things twistedly progress from there, with Police Chief Kate Burkholder unraveling the mystery.
This particular book focused more on Kate, but you still get a peak at the other characters in the series. I do wish there would have been more personal interaction between Kate and her husband (Ohio Bureau of Investigstion agent), but it was still a captivating Amish mystery novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Linda Castillo for an advance reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

ARC copy
Book: 4 stars

Kate Burkholder, formerly Amish, is the police chief in the small Ohio town of Painters Mill. When children playing discover a dismembered body of a local Amish man, Kate’s investigation leads to uncovering shocking and sordid goings on in the community, as well as danger for her. She is assisted by her small but reliable staff and husband John Tomasetti, employed by the Ohio Bureau of Investigation.

Well written, with good character development and a solid plot, this is an engrossing, suspenseful read. I read it in a day as I couldn’t put it down. Set during the summer, the atmospheric descriptions were so vivid I could feel the uncomfortable heat and humidity. Be forewarned, though, no cozy mystery this; the crimes are pretty brutal.

I like Kate. She is a strong, well adjusted, endearing protagonist who does seem to get herself into dangerous predicaments. I know she is short staffed, but when will she learn to always have back up with her during an investigation?

I like the author’s use of and translation of deitsch. Where else can you find a police procedural, thriller, and insight into the Amish culture? This is the 17th in the series. Although I have read some of the prior installments, this can be read as a standalone. I look forward to the next Kate Burkholder story.

I was so excited to receive this ARC of Rage by Linda Castillo. I really like all of her books featuring Chief of Police Kate Burkholder. This is her 17th novel set in the Amish areas. As Kate was brought up Amish she adds an understanding of the Amish people. It is a suspenseful read. I have read many of her books in the series, but even if you are not up to date if you get a chance to read - do. I can highly recommend reading this book or any of her early books. You won't be disappointed. Thank you NetGalley!

Rage is the latest Katie Burkholder mystery. Body parts are found in a remote area. Soon another Amish man is found murdered. No one knows anything. Chief Burkholder and her team have their hands full finding the murderer.
I have read a few books in this series and I always enjoy it. It is well written. The story flows. The characters have depth.

When young men from an Amish community are found dead Kate and her police force have to figure out if they are connected. Who did it and why. No one wants to talk to them. This is a good suspense book, good plot, interesting characters and plenty of suspense. The book is part of a series but it could easily be read as a stand alone. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy..

I was delighted to see Kate Burkholder again! Wow! It's been awhile.
I loved the many twists and turns as Kate tries to find out what happened to the two young Amish men.
I couldn't put this book down! I finished well into the early morning hours it was so good.
I think this will be my favorite Castillo novel.
I loved the guessing in who done it mystery and sometimes it even made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
I love a good mystery/murder story and this one was no exception. I highly recommend it.
5 stars for a job well done.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.