Name: Among the Wicked
ISBN: 9781250130242

Linda Castillo

A Kate Burkholder Novel

Among the Wicked

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called upon by the sheriff's department in rural, upstate New York to assist on a developing situation that involves a reclusive Amish settlement and the death of a young girl. Unable to penetrate the wall of silence between the Amish and "English" communities, the sheriff asks Kate to travel to New York, pose as an Amish woman, and infiltrate the community. Kate's long time love interest, State Agent John Tomasetti, is dead set against her taking on such an unorthodox assignment, knowing she'll have limited communication - and even less in the way of backup. But Kate can't turn her back, especially when the rumor mill boils with disturbing accounts of children in danger. She travels to New York where she's briefed and assumes her new identity as a lone widow seeking a new life. Kate infiltrates the community and goes deep under cover. In the coming days, she unearths a world built on secrets, a series of shocking crimes, and herself, alone... trapped in a fight for her life.

This was an okay read. Did it have some good twists? Sure. Would I read it again? Doubtful.

The plot itself held great promise: the death of a teenager in an Amish community, a police chief with an Amish upbringing posing undercover, missing girls... It seemed like the perfect recipe for a great mystery, and at first it was. Our MC, Kate Burkholder, was walking "among the wicked" for certain, but the devil's in the details, and that's where things started to sour my opinion of this story. 

The plot started out interesting, but was somewhat predictable. The bombshell twist that Suggs was involved in the smuggling and rape situation seemed a bit far-fetched. I can believe that not everyone on the police force is a good person, but there was next to no evidence throughout the story to hint at Suggs' involvement. At the big reveal, it felt as if Linda Castillo had simply thrown it in as a shock factor without actually building it into the plot. 

My main criticism is with Kate herself. In all honesty, I spent most of the book either rolling my eyes at her naivety or bracing myself for whatever disaster would befall her next. Despite the fact that she's going undercover and is instructed to keep a low profile, she can't seem to help but make poor decisions that nearly blow her cover. She can't sew to save her life but thinks it a brilliant idea to join a local Amish quilting circle. It's no surprise that her attempt to make simple potholders is a complete disaster and earns her unwanted attention from the Amish ladies present. Kate even goes so far as to forget her cover as a submissive Amish widow and directly confronts the bad guys...all while using her authoritative "chief of police" voice, no less. But still, she sees no issue with this and believes she is doing a good job of not arousing suspicion. Oh, dear Kate...

It also didn't sit well with me that she was undercover for only a few days and already the people in the Amish community trust her enough to tell her their deep, dark secrets and fears.

The writing itself was alright, but repetitive wording here and there irked me. I swear Kate described different people taking "a long pull" from their drink canisters at least three times in the same chapter.

Honestly, I was done by the last third of the book. The perpetrators were caught well before the end, yet there was still more to read, leaving the ending feeling slow and unnecessary. Perhaps some other time I'll try again with the Kate Burkholder series. But for now, I'm happy to set this one aside and move on.

Moira

This was an okay read. Did it have some good twists? Sure. Would I read it again? Doubtful.

The plot itself held great promise: the death of a teenager in an Amish community, a police chief with an Amish upbringing posing undercover, missing girls... It seemed like the perfect recipe for a great mystery, and at first it was. Our MC, Kate Burkholder, was walking "among the wicked" for certain, but the devil's in the details, and that's where things started to sour my opinion of this story. 

The plot started out interesting, but was somewhat predictable. The bombshell twist that Suggs was involved in the smuggling and rape situation seemed a bit far-fetched. I can believe that not everyone on the police force is a good person, but there was next to no evidence throughout the story to hint at Suggs' involvement. At the big reveal, it felt as if Linda Castillo had simply thrown it in as a shock factor without actually building it into the plot. 

My main criticism is with Kate herself. In all honesty, I spent most of the book either rolling my eyes at her naivety or bracing myself for whatever disaster would befall her next. Despite the fact that she's going undercover and is instructed to keep a low profile, she can't seem to help but make poor decisions that nearly blow her cover. She can't sew to save her life but thinks it a brilliant idea to join a local Amish quilting circle. It's no surprise that her attempt to make simple potholders is a complete disaster and earns her unwanted attention from the Amish ladies present. Kate even goes so far as to forget her cover as a submissive Amish widow and directly confronts the bad guys...all while using her authoritative "chief of police" voice, no less. But still, she sees no issue with this and believes she is doing a good job of not arousing suspicion. Oh, dear Kate...

It also didn't sit well with me that she was undercover for only a few days and already the people in the Amish community trust her enough to tell her their deep, dark secrets and fears.

The writing itself was alright, but repetitive wording here and there irked me. I swear Kate described different people taking "a long pull" from their drink canisters at least three times in the same chapter.

Honestly, I was done by the last third of the book. The perpetrators were caught well before the end, yet there was still more to read, leaving the ending feeling slow and unnecessary. Perhaps some other time I'll try again with the Kate Burkholder series. But for now, I'm happy to set this one aside and move on.

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called upon by the sheriff's department in rural, upstate New York to assist on a developing situation that involves a reclusive Amish settlement and the death of a young girl. Unable to penetrate the wall of silence between the Amish and "English" communities, Kate infiltrates the community and goes deep under cover. In the coming days, she unearths a world built on secrets, a series of shocking crimes, and her, alone - trapped in a fight for her life. Print run 75,000.

Among the Wicked A Kate Burkholder Novel

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