Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not normally a fan of police procedurals, but I liked this one. I like Kate Burkholder as a character. She felt real to me. I put off listening to this for a while because I wasn't sure if I would like it as I didn't realize it was a detective story when I was granted access. I'm glad I finally got around to it. I liked the Amish aspect. That's what really drew me in.

This one kept me guessing. I didn't figure it out. The big twist was a little shocking. I will definitely be checking out some more of the Kate Burkholder series as this was my first one. Although this is technically a series, this one can be read as a stand alone, so you don't have to read all the series in order.

Great audio! I believe the narrator is the same throughout the whole series. She was great. She nailed the Amish accent. All in all 3.75 stars!

I am a true fan of Linda Castillo's books. I grew up near a large Amish settlement in Ohio, and have always been fascinated by their practices and lives. Her Kate Burkholder mysteries are the best! "Fallen" is another top notch story in the same vein and admirably details life with the Amish while pulling the reader into another great mystery.

Kate Burkholder and FBI agent Tomasino catch a case of a brutally murdered young “English/Former Amish” woman. We’ve seen Kate grow into a better cop, better partner and more at peace as a former Amish woman herself.
It’s a grisly brutal murder with so many suspects. There are way too many similarities and parallels between Katie and the victim that she revisits more of her Amish upbringing from childhood and adolescence than in past books. I love the woman that Kate has grown into & look forward to hopefully many more books. This mystery has so many layers—turns on a dime between the multiple suspects and the secrets so well kept. Will Katie be the one in danger this time?

The Narrator was excellent and really added to story. I received an ARC copy from #NetGalley and all opinions in this review are my own. I highly recommend this book

#13 in the Kate Burkholder series. It is an excellent stand alone story but this is one of few series based in an Amish township that always has an excellent story and has characters that you will quickly come to know and care for. That being said, this audiobook really matched my mind's movie of Painter's Mill and Chief of Police Kate Burkholder. Suspense, misgivings, happiness, you see them all while listening. Linda Castillo writes first class mysteries, start with Kate and you will move quickly through her whole back library. Now I have to go check for more audiobooks of this caliber.

5 stars for the latest in the great Kate Burkenholder series! I really enjoy these books, the author is a master at her craft, putting twists and turns In just the right spots, where the reader is genuinely surprised by something being discovered by a character, it gives me a sense of realism, like I'm in the book experiencing all these things for myself. It's fascinating when an author can do that for you.

Anyway, I definitely rec this book, this series, this author. I promise you won't be disappointed! 💯

Thanks netgalley for giving me a copy of the audiobook so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fallen gripped me right from the beginning. This was the first novel by Linda Castillo I have listened to. I thought it was detailed enough, and added in the right enough suspense which kept me listening. The narration was perfect, and made for a great listening experience.

This is book 13 in the Kate Burkholder series by Linda Castillo. When I started reading this book, I didn’t know that it was part of a series, but the author does a great job of bringing enough of the past into the story to allow it to be read as a standalone.

The book begins with a brutal murder of a former Amish woman from Painter’s Mill and a past friend of Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder. Kate is called to investigate the crime scene at a seedy motel.....what Kate didn’t expect to find at the scene was Rachel Swartz brutally murdered!! Kate remembers babysitting and always liking the rebellious Rachel Swartz as a young girl. Rachel left Painter’s Mill at age 17 and left her Amish ways behind.

So.....Why did Rachel come back to Painter’s Mill? What was she doing at a seedy motel? What did she do to cause someone to murder her? Who hated her enough to want her dead? Will Kate bring a murderer to justice?

I’m excited to go back and read some of the earlier books in the series. I really enjoyed the Amish setting and learning about the Amish community. The twist and turns kept me listening to each chapter and not wanting to stop!! If you are a thrill-seeker, you will love this one!

Narrator, Kathleen McInerney added to the authenticity of the story because she had a great handle of the Amish language. Her voice is clear and easy to listen to.

I love the Kate Burkholder books, and Fallen (#13 in the series) is no exception. The book opens with Kate being called to a homicide scene.

As Chief of the Painter's Creek Police Department, dead bodies are an occupational hazard for Kate. This time, the victim is Rachael Schwartz. Rachael had left the Amish life several years before, and never looked back.

So....why did Rachael come back, and better yet, why did she leave? Who hated Rachael enough to beat her to death? Apparently, Rachael had a young daughter. Could the mysterious baby daddy be connected to the murder? And, what happened to cause Rachael to leave the Amish at 17?

I truly enjoyed Fallen and would highly recommend it to mystery lovers, as well as to readers of Amish fiction. Each Kate Burkholder title stands alone; however, I would recommend beginning with Book #1.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free digital copy of this book to review from Net Galley.

#Fallen#NetGalley

As always, I like the writing style and the characters in this series. This one was entertaining, but lacked some of the suspense and excitement of the others. Certain aspects of the story were very obvious and easy to figure out. It was a very quick read.

I enjoyed and I really mean I enjoyed this one in audio. I binged this one in two days because I could not stop listening. Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police, and former Amish, and called to the scene of a brutal murder at a seedy motel and when she arrives she discovers she knows the young woman. It is Rachel Swartz, a woman who she used to babysit when younger when they were both Amish and who left and no one knows why she is back in town. Who killed her and why? There were many twists and turns and digging into her background we are left with questions and even when we think we know who done it, Kate is still left with questions she pursues. I have to say I didn't put it all together until Kate started to piece it together. I have not read the rest of the series and I was not lost at all and deem this one a standalone. I will look for the other ones in this series since I really enjoyed this one.

I love this series. This is the 13th book in Kate Burkholder series and its not slowing down. The series is about Kate Burkholder, a small town cop who was formerly Amish. The stories are set in the Amish county Painters Mill, OH. Reading these books has made me love and learn the Amish culture.
If you are looking for a series, I recommend you start from the first book. However, this does well as a standalone novel as well.

The body of a woman is found horribly beaten in a seedy hotel room. When Kate arrives to investigate the crime scene, she immediately recognizes the victim. Rachel Schwartz. A young woman who left the Amish community and its lifestyle far behind. So, what brought Rachel back to Painters Mill? And what kind of monster would beat her so brutally?

The book has some chapters from Rachael’s time growing up with her best friend and we learn how Rachael just didn’t fit in with a typical Amish lifestyle. Kate interviews people from Rachael’s past, touching on Kate’s past as well.

There’s a great twist at the end that I did not see coming and a very tense ending, I was holding my breath as I turned the pages!

Another brilliant book from Linda Castillo

Fallen by Linda Castillo is a surprising suspense murder mystery. Opening with the brutal murder of a young woman it's startling to realize that the victim was once part of the local Amish community. Police Chief Kate Burkholder, who also was raised Amish, has to immerse herself back into the lives of the Amish that consider her a "fallen" member. As the secrets of the victim unravel so do the ones of the Amish.

Narrator Kathleen McInerney added to the suspense with the fear and tension in her voice during the intensely written scenes. This novel is actually the 13th in the Kate Burkholder series. I had no idea this was a long beloved book series. It's definitely a stand alone book but I am excited to listen to the entire series. Mystery fans will want to add this to their collection.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley for a fair and honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoy Linda Castillo's mysteries. And this book did not disappoint. I love seeing the relationship between the main characters develop with each book. It took me awhile to figure out who the guilty person was. This was one of my first audio books and I really enjoyed it.

I reviewed this title for Mystery Scene Magazine read my full review in the latest issue of Mystery Scene magazine

Good addition to series. Regular major and minor characters are all here. Story was interesting and you won’t guess who did it until it is revealed and wrapped up at the end. Narrator of audiobook is excellent.

Coming from a place of not having read/listened to the previous books in this series, I did feel at a slight disadvantage, but I still really enjoyed the book. This book combines an Amish history with a current day murder mystery. The victim and the detective are linked, which makes the story all the more interesting. I definitely recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this book for an honest review.

A young woman is found brutally murdered in a dumpy hotel. When police chief Kate Burkholder arrives, she is shocked to recognize the victim. She used to babysit Rachel and always like her. Both women had left the Amish community behind. But why had Rachel returned? And more importantly, who killed her?

First off, I need to do a better job when requesting ARCs, lol. I did not realize this was a series. Coming into a series at book 13 is not something I like to do. However, the book read ok as a standalone. I didn't really feel like I was missing any pieces- I could just tell there were some backstories that I was missing.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The Amish connection was interesting and there were definitely plenty of red herrings to distract you. If I have the time, I will likely go back to the beginning of the series and see if that helps me love it instead of merely liking it.

I enjoyed the narration. Kathleen McInerney always does a good job. Clear, well paced, easy to listen to.

I received a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐. I must say I was very surprised on how this book turned out. With a murder of a fallen Amish community member this book has its twist and turn s. I must also say the book does move slow but does not disappoint. Give it a try. The audio book from A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books was great to learn to as well.
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Castillo's Amish setting is intriguing, I didn't see the resolution of the mystery coming, and I was kept engaged while listening to narrator Kathleen McInerney.

A rebellious young woman who left her Amish culture behind and became estranged from her family has returned to Painters Mill, Ohio. But her homecoming ends almost immediately in tragedy: she is brutally murdered in a motel on the outskirts of town.

Chief of police Kate Burkholder, who was once part of the local Amish community herself, is called in and is shocked to identify the victim as Rachael Schwartz, a fun-loving, mischievous free spirit Kate babysat years earlier.

The crime against Rachael is so vicious as to seem personal, and Kate must try to determine why Rachael returned to town, uncover her buried secrets, and figure out who would have wanted her dead.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book--the first I've read in Castillo's thirteen-book Kate Burkholder series (all of the books are set in Amish country), although they've been on my to-read list for a long time. I wondered if it was fair of me to first dive into the story so late in the series, but in an illuminating interview between Castillo and her longtime narrator Kathleen McInerney, Castillo noted that each book is meant to stand alone, while readers following the books in order will note character development over time.

I thought the characters sometimes seemed slow to catch on to the implications of events, but the story kept a steady pace. Brutal violence is at the heart of the mystery--and there's enough bashing people over the head that it seems unlikely the injured party could possibly survive. But Castillo's Amish setting is intriguing, I didn't see the
mystery's resolution coming, and I was kept engaged while listening to narrator Kathleen McInerney's German dialect given to the Amish characters.

The title Fallen seems to refer to Rachael's fall from grace, but the matter of determining who is pure and deserving of grace, who is forgivably faulted, and who is seemingly respectable yet driven by desperation to commit murder is more complex and surprising than it initially seems.

I received a prepublication audiobook of this title courtesy of Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

Fallen by Linda Castillo is the first book I have read in the Kate Burkholder series and I am now excited to read the rest of the story to learn more about the background of Kate and the rest of the characters in the series.

Kate Burkholder is Chief of Police and is also grew up Amish. This is the 13th book in Kate's series and I fell right into the story without having read the first 12 books.

A young woman is found murdered and turns out, Kate knew her. Rachael Schwartz was a rebellious Amish girl who had left years ago and Kate is left reeling about why she returned. More importantly, who killed Rachael and why?

Kate sees herself in Rachael and the similarities are something she has a hard time ignoring. Kate uncovers more about Rachael's life and it seems that someone out there is none too pleased with Kate poking around.

This was a brilliant and vivid thriller that kept my constant attention. I'm looking forward to diving back into Painter's Mill with Kate Burkholder and the gang in the first 12 books and in future installments of the series.