3.5 rounding up

This is the first police procedure I've listened to since early 2020, and despite having always been a fan of the genre, I really struggled with this given the nature of everything that has happened the last 18 months. I think it's a solid police mystery if that's your thing.

Kathleen McInerney gave an excellent performance and if I ever get into the series, I know I will enjoy listening to her narration.

The rest of my review is going to contain spoilers and my issues with the book, so beware.

SPOILERS

I'm jumping into a series as a first time reader, with no attachment to these characters, and while I found Kate very likeable, her inherent biases and the responses by other cops were incredibly frustrating, and potentially triggering to a reader. Defending questionable police behavior and dismissing the claims of women who were deemed unreliable is difficult to root for. She also struggled with believing anything negative of anyone who chose to stay in the Amish life and even upheld/justified their patriarchal mindsets. In the end SHE believes the victims which I want to acknowledge as a credit to her character. But I just found the whole story to be a lot of justifying of other officer's actions and clearly I am not in the right headspace for this book at the moment. So long story short, even if you are a fan of police procedurals, you may want to consider keeping this one on the shelf until you are ready to deal with cops not wanting to believe their fellow officers are capable of using their position of power to hurt others.

***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

Really enjoyable mystery! This was my first time reading the Kate Burkholder series and won't be my last. Well written and unpredictable. I definitely recommend!

Fallen by Linda Castillo
Series - Kate Burkholder #13
Narrator - Kathleen McInerney
Genre - Suspense/Mystery
Rating - 5 out of 5 stars
Narration - 5 out of 5 stars

I can’t say enough good about this book! It was excellent. With a lot of twists and turns. Also, although I have read a few of the first books I was able to catch on quickly to what had happened in the books I had not read. It is definitely one that could be read as a stand alone.

This continues the story of Kate Burkholder and her solving of Amish deaths. This one is about a girl the has been shunned from the Amish but came back into town and ends up murdered. There is blackmail and intrigue in every corner.

The narrator who has done all the narrations for all the books is excellent! She keeps you on your toes as you listen and makes you want to come back for more. She is excellent at using the Amish language and makes you feel like you are listening to an actual Amish person while listening.

So I don’t do spoilers but I have to say in this book when you think the mystery is solved don’t quit reading. There is another huge twist that leaves Kate in danger once more.

Will she escape and solve the crime for good or will they beat her this time? I guess you will have to read/listen to see.

Reviewers note: The audio book version has a question and answer session with the author and narrator. It is great although I did not listen to the whole thing because I didn’t want it to spoil earlier books for me. I am not sure this is in the physical version.

Wow! The only problem with finishing this book is that now I have to wait for the next installment in the series to be released. At first I was worried the solution was going to be way too obvious but then there was a twist that reminded me why I love this series so much. Don’t be fooled by the Amish theme or the Amish cover image, these mysteries are intense. While none of the books have had the same punch as the first book of the series, the other 12 books have all been excellent and this one does not disappoint. I am already looking forward to book 14. This book is also great on audio. The narrator is able to pronounce the Deutch phrases with the perfect accent so that they add to the story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me listen to an ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley.com and Macmillan Audio for a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this new installment of the Kate Burkholder series. There are more twists and turns and more intrigue. This book takes you into the past when Rachel was a rebellious Amish teen bringing you along for the ride of uncovering who the murderer is. This is a very twisted tale that makes you question nature vs. nurture, the love of family and when it is time to compromise. I really wish Kate would finally compromise and consent to marry Tomisetti because this hold out is really ridiculous. This is definitely not a stand alone book and you really need to start at the beginning of the series to understand the dynamics between all the main characters.

The narration was great and I always love how Castillo throws in the PA dutch to give the book more of an authentic feel and the narrator does a great job with it. I still haven't tired of this series.

RATING: 4.5 STARS
2021; Minotaur Books/St Martin's Press/Macmillan Audio
Narrated by Kathleen McInerney

Every summer I look forward to another Kate Burkholder novel, by Linda Castillo and narrated by Kathleen McInerney. As much as I love Linda Castillo's writing, I also appreciate Kathleen's narration. Her voice is Kate, but also manages to capture every other character and distinguish between them. I was so excited that with the audiobook, there was an author and narrator chat at the end of the story. It was so interesting to hear more about how a narrator preps for each book, and what they think of the story. With this being book 13 in a series (plus 12-ish novellas) you wonder if the narrator actually likes the books they are reading. At times Kathleen reminded me of me asking Linda questions I wanted to know.

Right, the review for the book now, lol. As you know I love reading series in order. One of the reasons I would recommend you to do that for this series, is the character growth. I love seeing Mona achieve her dreams, and Pickles get a bit of recognition. I feel like I say this with every book, but this story was really amazing. The victim, Rachel in this case is formerly from the Amish community, that like Kate decided to live in an English world. Rachel is murdered when she returns home. What is she doing back here? And, why would she be killed here? In this one we see how Kate feels about leaving the Amish community in comparison with Rachel. Sigh, now I have to wait another year for another guaranteed good read.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook & audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

At first I was a little skeptical of where this book would go, built on the premise of murder in the Amish community. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I got hooked and how much detail there was in this story. This is a fast paced read with an interesting setting of a town bordering an Amish residential area. This book is part of a series and works as a stand alone novel but I expect there's some details, etc that have been built out of other books. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

Love the Kate Burkholder series and this didn't disappoint!

I enjoyed the audio version and narrator. The story had likable characters and a surprise ending.

I wasn't sure if I liked this book initially, as it was a departure from the psychological thrillers I tend to be reading, but I found that the more I read, the more I fell for it. It read like a procedural mystery, and the behind the scenes view to the small police department led by Kate Burkholder rang true. Despite the existence of many characters, the author gave you enough depth to get a good sense for each of them, and the narrator gave them all a unique voice.

The plot was fantastic and intriguing, with an ending that was unexpected but made perfect sense once you got there. There was one part that I felt could have been left out of the book, as it didn't fit in well with the storyline, wasn't explained in the end, and it didn't add anything of substance. Outside of that, every part of the book led to an unpredictable conclusion.

If you are worried about reading a book in a series out of order (like I usually do), this book is perfect as a stand alone. There were only two small parts of the book that gave me the impression that there were more books out there, and they were minor, and didn't take anything away from this story. This was a great book to get introduced to the characters, and it will probably make you want to read more from this series!

I listened to this audiobook, and although this is my first Kate Birkholder book, it will not be my last. I'm late to the party on this great crime series!
The narrator did a great job of making each character sound unique, and I loved the layers of mystery pulling me in to question every character in the story, wondering if they were the person who violently killed Rachael Schwartz, a sassy, young, former Amish woman with a long list of people she'd "wronged."
I enjoyed learning more about Amish life, their beliefs, community, and interaction with those outside the Amish community.
Chief of Police, Kate, is a likeable, hard-working, never-give-up kind of woman, and a character I want to know better through her previous books.
I especially enjoyed the audiobook extra at the end of the story where the author and narrator sort of interview each other. It was a good glimpse into the author's process over the years with Kate's stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this interesting novel that kept me guessing right up until the murderer was revealed!

Kate Burkholder used to be a member of the local Amish community but left and became Chief of Police in a nearby town. When a woman turns up murdered, Kate recognizes her as Rachel, a little girl she used to babysit way back when. As Kate tries to uncover who could have done this and why, it becomes clear that Rachel had a major secret that someone is willing to kill for.

I really loved this read - especially the Amish aspects of it. I loved that we got to hear the traditional Amish vs. regular English language and the ways the society differs. To me, that was one of the most interesting parts about this read. I was pretty invested in the story line, but towards the end it felt a little bit dragged out for me. There was a twist at the end that I didn't see coming, which was a nice way to tie up the story. Overall, this was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A gripping tale of an Amish girl gone wild in her youth and ends up dead back in the town she left so many years ago. A wonderful narration by Kathleen McInemey while providing some local emphasis with an Amish accent where appropriate. Chapters and characters were easily discernable throughout and pacing was great.
The story of Fallen is book 13 in the Kate Burkholder series. Though backstory is always good to have, Fallen does well as a stand alone, too.
Rachael is a shunned Amish woman who left Painter's Mill and her Amish roots many years ago. When she is found brutally beaten to death back in town, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is tasked with finding her killer. Burkholder remembers Rachael as a young girl, wild and reckless but doesn't know anything about the grown woman she's become. Both the English and the Amish are working at hiding their dealings with this young woman and will stop at nothing to keep the secrets hidden.. Enjoyable audiobook.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an early copy. All opinions are my own

I always look forward to a return to Painters Mill and the latest mystery for Kate Burckholder. I enjoyed this latest ((13th) installment in the series. The overall story was good, but the actions of the murderer were a bit unbelievable. I’ll look forward to the next book in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this AUDIOBOOK in exchange for an honest review.
My rating: 3.5 stars for story and 4.0 for narration.

𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯!

I was nervous with this one, Fallen is the 13th book in a series and my first one, but I had no problem following the story at all, it starts with a bang and I couldn’t stop reading, it was twisty, dark and fascinating!
This is my first book from this author and it won’t be my last!

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 NetGalley 𝘢𝘯𝘥 Macmillan Audio 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘓𝘊.

𝙁𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙮 Linda Castillo 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙮 6, 2021.

Read if you like: police procedurals, amish fiction, suspense, murder mysteries.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

When Chief of Police Kate Burkholder arrives at the Painters Mill motel the already horrific crime that occurred there becomes personal. The victim is Rachel Schwartz, a former Amish girl like Kate.
Why was she in Painters Mill? Who knew she was here and why was she killed?
Once again, Author Linda Castillo delivers an intriguing mystery. Relying on her excellent research of the Amish community, Castillo writes a completely believable and excellent book of Painters Mill and its inhabitants, good or bad. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio version of this ARC. The comments and review are my honest opinion.

This is my first book by the author - defiantly interested in more!
Rachel is found brutally murdered in her hotel room. So much violence and strong emotions.
Kate works to solve the case - unveiling Rachel's checkered past.
As an excommunicated Amish, Rachel worked hard to build a life for herself. One without limits, rules or requiring good behavior. After writing a supposed tell all book about the Amish, Rachel could not have upset the community more - or made more enemies.
Kate works through the community's anger, trying to piece together the truth behind the book. With so many suspects who hated Rachel, will Kate uncover the truth?
Great writing and story. Loved the characters.
I received a copy of the audiobook- lived the narrator. Very engaging and kept my attention.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new audiobook, Fallen, by Linda Castillo. I really like the Kate Burkholder series and always look forward to another mystery in Painter’s Mill. This Amish community always feels familiar to me, as I’ve come to know and love many of the characters. This story is about a “fallen” Amish woman named Racheal Schwartz, who left the fold and moved away to live her life outside their community. When she is found brutally murdered in a nearby hotel, the Amish community is shocked and horrified to think that one of their own may have committed this awful crime.

As the story unfolds about Racheal’s life and her rebellion against the Amish lifestyle, many think that she may have brought this on herself by connecting with the wrong kind of people. The story transitions from the present to the past, in order to give a history of Racheal’s younger years as she grew up in the Amish community. Always a wild child, she was often caught doing things she shouldn’t be doing. As she got older, she was sneaking out, drinking, and smoking…..things that were not appropriate for a young Amish woman. Sometimes this behavior put her at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and resulted in serious consequences.

There were several suspects in Racheal’s murder and each one could have had reason to kill her. I have to say that I was totally surprised to find out who the murderer actually was in the end. There were also several twists I did not see coming and I liked how it all came together in the end.

I really love the narrator and she always does a fantastic job! She really brings out the personality of each of the characters. She also does a fantastic job of speaking Pennsylvania Dutch. Be sure to listen to the author and the narrator doing a commentary at the end of the book. I learned a lot about how the author comes up with the story line and how long it takes to write a book, and then how the narrator brings life to it.

I received an audio copy of Fallen from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is my first Linda Castillo book. Kate Burkholder is the chief of police for Painter Mills and was raised Amish. Rachael Schwartz left the Amish sect like Kate and was found dead in the local motel
I enjoyed the story and found it fast moving with a surprised ending. The narrator was wonderful. She narrated all. Kate Burkholder books

I thought the narrator for this story was excellent. She added to the story with her voice and inflections, and I was very pleased to listen to her.

This is another wonderful installment in the Kate Burkholder series. As usual, Kate finds herself deep in muddy waters surrounding a death. This time, a formerly Amish woman, is found beaten to death in a local hotel. As Kate untangles the woman's turbulent past, she also tries to understand who this woman had become.

A couple of things I didn't care for; Castillo comments again and again how peaceful and good the Amish are, while at the same time showing how they are not in many ways. Her comments, via Kate's thoughts, sound like the typical sterotype painted of Amish people and they seem forced, as if Castillo is trying to cover all her bases so she's not accused of making the Amish look bad.

The other thing was the twist at the end and the ultimate killer. The twist came too late and felt like it had just been stuck in there. The reveal of the killer also felt rushed and was not believable. So, I read through the bulk of the mostly good book and felt let down by the end.

One positive, is that I like how Kate's relationship with John is growing. It is realistic and enjoyable to watch them navigate putting together their lives. We see Kate's reluctance to take the next step starting to waiver, and as a fan of the series, I am looking forward to that next step.

Amish-focused books have been pretty popular over the past few years but mostly they have been Amish romances. Since I don't read a lot of romance, I haven't really gotten into this fascination. Though I have been interested in the Amish as I remember driving through "Amish country" when we traveled to see family in Indiana. So when I saw a suspense novel featuring the Amish I figured it was a good opportunity to try Amish fiction.

Fallen is book 13 in the Kate Burkholder series. I have not read any of the books in this series, and I didn't have any problems figuring out the characters. Also, there is a quick info dump at the beginning of the book to tell you who Kate Burkholder is.

The next thing I realized after figuring out it was the middle of a series was that it was a police procedural. I'm really picky about police procedurals and don't like most of the ones I have tried. However, I really enjoyed this book. Enough so that I'm hoping to find the previous books at the library so I can catch up.

The characters are great. I really liked Kate Burkholder. She seems pretty straightforward but you can tell that there is a complex character beneath the surface. The minor characters are interesting as well.

I liked the setting of a small town in Amish country. I like small rural towns where there is a country store and farmers' market. There is something wholesome about it, which might be a strange choice for a story about murder. But I think the juxtaposition is perfect - a possible outsider killing in this close-knit community. That is often more frightful than a murder in a gritty city where violence can be found around every corner.

I typically prefer character-driven stories, but the plot of Fallen was so intriguing and really showed off Castillo's writing ability. I think I might want to read the other books in the series more for the plotlines rather than the characters, which is super rare for me when reading a series. I definitely didn't figure out "whodunnit" and a few times I was biting my nails as danger approached.

Kathleen McInerney is great as the narrator. I had no problem telling the different characters apart - if I didn't know there was only one narrator I would probably have thought there was more than one. There is also a conversation between McInerney and Castillo at the end of the audiobook that was a lot of fun. I finished the audiobook just before my bedtime but I stayed up the extra time it took to listen to the whole conversation.

If you are looking for a book you won't want to put down, then you need to get this book.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Thursday, July 1 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/07/fallen-by-linda-castillo-review.html