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Summary
Summary
A deadly fire exposes the dark side of Amish life in A Gathering of Secrets , a harrowing new thriller in the New York Times bestselling series (July 2017) by Linda Castillo.
When a historic barn burns to the ground in the middle of the night, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to investigate. At first, it looks like an accident, but when the body of eighteen-year-old Daniel Gingerich is found inside--burned alive--Kate suspects murder. Who would want a well-liked, hardworking young Amish man dead? Kate delves into the investigation only to find herself stonewalled by the community to which she once belonged. Is their silence a result of the Amish tenet of separation? Or is this peaceful and deeply religious community conspiring to hide a truth no one wants to talk about? Kate doubles down only to discover a plethora of secrets and a chilling series of crimes that shatters everything she thought she knew about her Amish roots--and herself.
As Kate wades through a sea of suspects, she's confronted by her own violent past and an unthinkable possibility.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Castillo addresses the topic of sexual assault in Amish communities in her riveting 10th mystery featuring Painters Mill, Ohio, police chief Kate Burkholder (after 2017's Down a Dark Road). When 18-year-old Daniel Gingerich's death in a barn fire is ruled a murder, Burkholder searches for a motive. His family and friends insist he was well-regarded and had no enemies, but conversations with his peers gradually reveal another story. As Burkholder learns more about Gingerich, she grapples with painful memories from her own adolescence and finds herself empathizing with his killer, while her partner, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent John Tomasetti, offers a countering view. Castillo's sensitive handling of her subject matter builds a nuanced, often troubling picture of insular, patriarchal communities in which silence allows predators to thrive. Details of Amish crafts, family life, and commerce contrast with the ugliness of the crimes, and despite a convoluted resolution and cursorily resolved subplot, armchair travelers should find this a satisfying outing. Author tour. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Kate Burkholder (Down a Dark Road, 2017, etc.), police chief of Painters Mill, Ohio, is called to the scene of a fire at the home of Miriam and Gideon Gingerich, a well-regarded Amish couple with four children.Their barn has burned to the ground, and their eldest son, Danny, is missing. Kate's lover, John Tomasetti, an agent for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, accompanies her to the scene, which the fire chief pronounces suspicious. The family is hoping that Danny, who is passing through Rumspringa, the time when Amish teens sow some wild oats before settling down, is out with friends, but their hopes are crushed when his body is found in the barn. Not only was the fire deliberately set, but Danny had been locked in the tack room. Everyone says Danny was a hardworking, easygoing young man, but as Kate looks for motives she uncovers some very nasty secrets. The next-door neighbor is a felon with a bad temper. Danny was virtually engaged to marry lovely Luane Raber, yet Kate senses she is holding something back. Luane's father says Danny had had a fight with his best friend, Milo Hershberger, a horse trainer under the bann for his wild ways, who admits that Danny was not always a nice guy. "You want to know about Danny the Saint?" he says. "I'd suggest you talk to Emma Miller....But I reckon it's a little too late." The Amish are very closemouthed about their lives, and Emma's parents are unwilling to speculate as to why she might have killed herself six month earlier, though her former boyfriend suggests that Danny may have raped her. Kate knows all too well from her own life what the veil of silence and the blame attached to a woman's sexual behavior can do to a person. Certain that revenge is the motive, she wonders whether Danny may have had more victims than Emma.Another rewarding crime novel that looks beyond the idealized image of the Amish. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This is the tenth Police Chief Kate Burkholder mystery (following Down a Dark Road, 2017), and it finds her in a comfortable romantic relationship, with a hint of a wedding in the air. But she still grapples with issues from her long-ago break with the Amish as well as debilitating memories of a traumatic sexual assault in her teen years. When the body of a 19-year-old is found during Rumspringa, the Amish running around time the young man was burned alive in the locked storage room of a historic barn Kate determines that the cause of death was murder and ponders who would want the well-liked victim dead. Further crimes heighten the complexity and suspense. The Amish tenet of separation from the rest of society always makes Kate's investigations difficult, but this time it escalates into a conspiracy to hide a truth that no one wants to talk about, with the lines blurring further between the sin of pride, to be avoided at the soul's peril, and the practices of shaming, shunning, and revenge. Another strong entry in a New York Times best-selling series.--Murphy, Jane Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Painters Mill police chief Kate Burkholder is sent in to investigate the burning of a barn belonging to an Amish family; when the incinerated remains of 18-year-old Daniel Gingerich are found, she suspects murder. As Kate questions the boy's friends and family, no one seems willing to help her solve the case. Kate used to be Amish, and knows that the Amish are often wary of assisting the police because of their tenet of separation. But Kate's insights and instincts are telling her that the Amish community doesn't want this killing solved. As she investigates, other crimes and secrets come to light, and she wonders if the community's unwillingness to help is because of their beliefs or if it's something much more heinous. Verdict Castillo's tenth series outing (after Down a Dark Road) is a true thriller, full of plot twists that will grip readers until the very last page. With brutal murder and mystery abounding against a picturesque small-town backdrop, this tale of suspense will excite Kate Burkholder fans, as well as mystery lovers new to the series. [See Prepub Alert, 1/8/18.]-Kristen Calvert, Marion Cty. P.L. Syst., Belleview, FL © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.