Jonas Bowman was Kate Burkholder's first love back when she was fifteen years old. It's been over twenty years since she's seen him, but when she finds out he's been accused of murdering an Amish bishop, she heads to Pennsylvania to help out. Because she knows Jonas could never murder anyone.
The Hidden One is the fourteenth Kate Burkholder mystery. She's the Chief of Police in Painter's Mill, Ohio, where most of this series is set. Kate grew up Amish, which helps her navigate between the English and Amish in her community now. In this book, she heads to Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania on her own to look into this murder, putting herself in danger once again.
I find the Amish setting in these books, with their faith, culture and traditions, fascinating; and I always enjoy Kate's interactions with her family and the other Amish. The flashbacks into Kate's teenage years and her friendship with Jonas was also fun. And I thought the mystery involving the murdered Amish bishop was very compelling. I didn't quite guess the twist at the end, but I did like it. But then, I've liked all of Linda Castillo's books. This is one of my favorite mystery series.
Happy Reading!
I haven't read many Amish books, but this series is on my radar. It sounds so good!
ReplyDeleteI love this series! The first book is a little dark with some more language in it, but the other books haven't been as dark. And I so like the character of Kate Burkholder.
DeleteLinda Castillo is very talented. I knew that from the first book. We are in a golden age of mystery writers and their series. The only problem is where to find the time to read everyone I want to read. I am right now reading Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson and it's very good and there are 20 plus books in that series alone. But too many talented mystery novelists to choose from is a nice problem to have
ReplyDeleteI love Victoria Thompson's Gaslight series! I've read almost all of them...I think I'm only behind on the last two books; Sarah and Frank are such favorite characters of mine. But I know what you mean about trying to find the time to read them all. :D
DeleteYet another series to add to my TBR list. I'm never going to catch up!
ReplyDeleteNope! It's the one drawback to loving books as much as we do. We'll never read them all. ;D
DeleteI always enjoy Castillo's writing, and I well remember the time I had lunch with her and three other authors-- one of the many benefits of a book blog and having The Poisoned Pen be my local indie!
ReplyDeleteYou got to meet her? That's so cool! :D
DeleteI've gotten to meet many authors because I'm blessed to have The Poisoned Pen Bookstore as my local indie. The owner, Barbara Peters, has made it a must-stop for authors on book tours, and she doesn't just focus on the big names (Michael Connelly was here recently), she also has debut authors here as well. I am so so so so lucky!
DeleteYou are lucky! I wish I had an independent bookstore like that near me.
DeleteThis sounds great! We have an Amish community here not too far away and Amish mysteries sound fascinating
ReplyDeleteIt's a fascinating setting, that's for sure. :D
DeleteI like the sound of this one too. Nice review, Lark
ReplyDeleteIt's been a really good series over the years.
DeleteI want to read this series. I requested the first book at my library but when it came round I never did get to it. Will have to request again. I too find the Amish culture and such very interesting. Just finished an Amish romance and it was sweet and uplifting. I know this is a very different sort of book, though, but I do love my police procedural/mysteries. Great review, Lark!
ReplyDeleteI like Amish romances, too. Which one did you just finish?
DeleteI've had this author on my TBR for years and am so glad to see how much you enjoy this series. I definitely need to pick up the first book in this series.
ReplyDeleteThis series is worth reading. I liked the second and third books even better than the first. :D
DeleteI've enjoyed several mysteries set among the Amish. This is a new author to me.
ReplyDeleteShe's a really good one!
DeleteI love Amish books as well. I have added the first one of this series to my TBR list :) Great review, Lark!
ReplyDeleteThat Amish setting is a lot of fun to read about , isn't it? :D
DeleteI haven't read a book with an Amish setting before.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting setting!
DeleteI own the first part of this series but haven't read them yet. I do think that this is something that I would really like.
ReplyDeleteThese books have been so good! I've enjoyed the entire series. :D
DeleteThank you for sharing. Regine
ReplyDeleteHi, Regine! Thanks for always commenting on my posts.
DeleteI've heard a lot of good things about this series. Another new one to add to my long to-read list. ;)
ReplyDeleteI know about those long TBR lists! ;D Glad to add to yours; you always seem to be adding to mine.
DeleteI recently saw a movie with Neve Campbell that is based on the first of this series I think and then I rewatched the movie :) The movie was such a solid watch it made me want to look up this series -- do you think it's okay to start from any book in the series?
ReplyDeleteThat movie was really good; I actually liked it better than the book in some ways. Having seen that movie, I actually started with the second book in the series, then went back later to read the first. Things in Kate's life build over the series, so that's the only reason to read them in order. But if you see one with a plot that intrigues you, I say go ahead and start with that one. Then you can go back if you want.
DeleteI also really like this series. Verushka, it is definitely better to start at the beginning due to character and plot development.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I thought I was caught up but am only on book 13. She really manages to keep this series fresh and interesting. I don't like Amish romances but this mystery series is very well done.
She does manage to keep this series fresh and interesting! I think it's because she lets her main characters grow and change with each book.
DeleteI've got quite a while to catch up but I actually just started the 5th book in the series today. Such a good series and so glad to hear that you are still enjoying this one. I know I've given up on some series after a while but when you find one that can still be strong many books in, it's quite a delight!
ReplyDeleteThere are several series I've stopped reading, but I've liked every book in this series so far. And I still love all the characters, too. :D
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