Wow. Wow. Wow. Kate Burkholder, former Amish, now Chief of Police in Painter's Mill comes face to face with her past... or does she? She and her team race the clock to solve the brutal murder before the serial killer takes his next victim. Really well written book and I'm definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

it was a good pull style read. the story relies a bit too much on shocking depictions of the crimes than what i usually am into. i found the interplay between amish and “english” culture i interesting and wish that had been more of the focus. i also wasn’t into the procedural side of the story as much. it felt uninteresting and cliche at times

I guessed who the killer was, but over all this story kept me interested

Though Kate long ago left the Amish community, her background lends her unique qualifications for her role as the Chief of Police of the mixed culture community of Painters Mill, Ohio - and throws up an obstacle when it seems like a serial killer has resurfaced after sixteen years.

I don't usually read hard-boiled procedurals, as I find they often end up bogged down in technical detail, but I was intrigued by this series' unusual lead and setting. I thought the writing was fluid and enjoyed the way the intersection of the "English" and Amish communities was portrayed.

I also liked the cast of characters at the police station and that the police investigation was described with the right amount of detail to be interesting and not tedious. Kate herself felt a little like a stock character with a dark backstory, but she was enjoyable enough to follow as a lead. 

However, I really did not enjoy the romance between Kate and John - indeed I was dreading it from the moment he appeared on the page. While I see why these characters might work in a relationship (after a great deal of therapy!), I felt that the romance came on very abruptly and was extremely out of place in the events of this book. I would have preferred it if the romance was built up more gradually over a few books, as I think it would have felt more natural then.

I also wish we had got a better look at Kate's complicated relationship with her siblings, especially how the secret they share affected them, and her relationship with the broader Amish community too.

Well written with better than average characters and the Amish factor adds interest (this seems carefully researched and sensitively written). I wish it was something other than a serial killer trope though. For something so uncommon in real life it's sure common in fiction.

The killer is always just sadistic/crazy/perverted. There's always a sexual dimension to the crime. The corpses are usually women, generally young attractive women. We are forced to be voyeurs at some disturbingly detailed torture scenes as well as grief scenes of parents. I just don't enjoy any of that. My least favourite thing is when the female cop gets abducted by the killer and also tortured. I particularly don't like it when her fighting back is useless and she has to be rescued by the love interest. I have read that plot too many times and would usually give it one star.

What redeemed it for me to some degree was Kate's complexity and toughtness throughout the book and the warm relationships with her officers. Her being thechief was nice. I am never sure whether US politics/law is really as cooked as what is portrayed in these sorts of novels but I am not discounting that maybe it is an accurate representation. I'm sick of that stuff but here it mostly had purpose and was partially undermined by the warm relationships. The Amish component was interesting and added something unique. The romantic entanglement (you can find out who for yourself) was respectful, equal (apart from the rescue) and pretty good. Everyone in the book was heterosexual and mostly of the marry and have kids variety but it's just one book I suppose.

Before I read any more I will see whether the author moves to something more original/interesting than serial killers or whether this is just another Kay Scarpetta (who I admittedly initially liked and also admittedly I think Kate is better than Kay). I do like the whole team in this one (not so much the stupid politicans who....should be facing serious disciplinary action actually).

It was so gory and graphic. I got to the autopsy and then I had to stop. Too bad because I though the premise of the Amish sounded interesting.