I do love a good mystery series, and normally I like to start from the beginning, even if reviews etc say they can be read as standalones. But this Kate Burkholder series by Linda Castillo has been recommended to me multiples times so when I had the opportunity to jump into it (at book #14!) I threw caution to the wind. I'm glad I did - I think - because now I want to go back to the beginning and read the previous 13 - more books to add to my TBR pile!
The mystery here takes Burkholder away from her small Ohio hometown when she's asked to look into a cold case from 10 years prior in an Amish community in Pennsylvania. Her help is requested because she has a connection to the man who's been accused of the murder. It's an interesting case and while I suspected the motive, I didn't guess who the murderer was until it was revealed. Kate's an interesting character, and knowing so little about her it was nice to get a look at her teen years in flashbacks. And I can tell I'll enjoy the cast of quirky characters that seem to surround her when she's in her home territory, as well as more insights into Amish life. I listened to the audio version and that was nice when the Deitsch dialogue came in - my German and Dutch, always shaky, is very old and rusty these days and pronunciations would've been butchered even in my head.
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

This was fine there’s nothing wrong with it there’s nothing great about it I can see recommending us to certain people I know but I’m very middle for it

I have read every book in this series and I think its getting a bit repetitive as its 14th book in the series. Linda Castillo has found out what has worked with her readers and she applies the same formula with every one. Here are some cliches:

- Kate mentioning she is a cop
- There is a point in any investigation
- Few near misses/ attempt to kill Kate before the climax
- Kate not waiting for back up and putting herself in dangerous situations

I wish John Tomasetti has more roles in these books. He is described as a strong character in every book, but almost does nothing to the investigation part other than being Kate's useless boyfriend.

I used to love this series for the Amish culture part, but I think I am growing out of it. Unless Linda Castillo tries anything different, I think I am done with this series.

THE HIDDEN ONE
Kate Burkholder series #14
Linda Castillo
Kathleen Mcinerney
Mystery/Thriller

This is another intense Amish thriller featuring Kate Burkholder. This time the Amish elders from another town have asked her to come help investigate a murder that her first love has been charged with.

Linda Castillo is truly an amazing author. Once again I was sucked into Kate’s world almost immediately. With all it’s twists and turns I really enjoyed this book. I kinda guessed the ending but when the whole story fell into place, it was amazing. This was definitely a 5 star read for me. I love the combination of the Amish culture and murder.

Narrated by Kathleen McInerney. Ms. McInerney does an excellent job as narrator, and properly gets the character emotion and story across.

This was an interesting read, and my first by the author . I do love the details and descriptions of Amish life and the characterization of Kate.

14th book in Amish series, does not disappoint. I liked the flashbacks, gave one a better understanding of Kate Burkholder. Always, keeps the reader on the edge of the seat, what will happen next. The history between Kate and Joanas Bowman was like a story, within the main story. My only criticism would be, how can Kaye get beat up so much and walk away? I did miss the dynamics between Kate and Thomasette.

The Hidden One is #14 in the Kate Burkholder series and once again, Linda Castillo has penned an engrossing, gripping story. This edition finds Kate investigating a case where an old friend has been arrested for murder. The Bishop and elders from the Amish Community in Pennsylvania where Jonas Bowman lives, have come to ask Kate to see what she can do to clear Jonas Bowman in the 20 year old murder of Bishop Ananias Stoltzfus. Although Kate has no authority in Pennsylvania, she remembers Jonas from their teenage years, and is sure that he couldn't have killed anyone. She has an in with the Amish Community and knows what to ask, and how to talk to them. Will she be able to find the evidence and convince the local police to look elsewhere?

This was a very different Kate Burkholder story as Kate was not investigating this crime for work, but took some time off and traveled out of her jurisdiction to do something she felt the need to do for an old friend, something you owed him. I love how smart Kate is, her wonderful instincts, her excellent questioning ability, he understanding of the Amish Community and her persistence. With her working alone in this case, it is no wonder she finds herself in danger and taking chances, which is the one thing that bothers me about this strong female police officer. As Kate investigates and digs into the victim, it seems Bishop Stoltzfus is not the loved Bishop everyone has made him out to be. There are several suspects that need to be investigated. Along with some great leads, there are also a lot of red herrings. Of course, Kate solves the case, but it is a story that hooked me and carried me along right to the end. The murderer was not even on my radar, but it totally made sense when all was revealed. Kathleen McInerney, does a wonderful job with the narration of this audiobook. She reads at a nice pace and has a pleasant, easy to listen to, voice. I have come to identify Kate's voice and enjoy listening to this series. It definitely adds to my enjoyment of the story. You don't need to read all these books in order to enjoy The Hidden One, but it definitely helps understand the growth of the characters and their relationships.

I've read the entire Kate Burkholder series, and this book is one of her best. It was nice to put Kate in a different setting and juxtapose it with her past. In "The Hidden One," she is asked by a group of Amish elders to leave Painters Mill and help with an investigation of an Amish man accused of an old murder. The bones of an Amish bishop, Ananias Stoltzfas, have been found after a decade, and an Amish man, Jonas Bowman has been accused of his murder. It's an emotional case for Kate because Bowman was her first love. The two of them have a complicated history that resulted in Bowman's family leaving Painters Mill.

Kate isn't there long before it's obvious people don't want her to investigate. A violent beating is only one of the clues. Is she listening to her heart over her old love or following the evidence? Did Bowman kill the bishop? The clues sure point to him.

This was a great addition to the Burkholder mysteries. You meet a wonderful family, Bowman's, and hear about a completely different group of Amish characters. I really enjoyed this mystery. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for letting me read it. My views, however, are my own.

I've been reading the Kate Burkholder series since the first book came out in 2009. The Hidden One is book 14 and I still eagerly await each new book in this series! Kate Burkholder grew up Amish. Though she has left the faith, the Amish still touch her life as she is the Chief of Police in Painters Mill where she grew up.

In this newest story, Kate gets pulled into a case involving a Bishop who disappeared a decade before. She travels to another town to investigate. But someone doesn't want her to find out the truth. Someone wants the past buried and kept hidden. As she gets closer and closer to finding out what happened, the danger to her life grows.

Because this is a mystery story and spoilers ruin it for readers, I'm not going to comment on direct plot points or the ending, etc. But I will say that I love the characters, settings and plots in this series. Linda Castillo never disappoints! I look forward to every book, novella and short story in this series....and will continue to read every word!

This story can be read as a standalone in this series. So if you haven't read any of the books but want to try out this series, jump right in and try this new one -- or start at book 1 -- you will enjoy it either way!

I started reading an ebook arc of this newest Kate Burkholder novel, but then switched to the audiobook. The audio book is just over 9 hours long and is narrated by Kathleen McInerney. McInerney always does a superb job of narrating. Her voice is pleasant. She does a good job of voice acting and reads at an even, steady pace. I always enjoy her narration!

Another great book in this series! Can't wait for more!

**I voluntarily read an ebook arc from St Martins Press and an audio book from Macmillan Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. I apologize to my readers and the publishers for the lateness of this review. I just made a 1500-mile move from NC to CO to take a new job,and it put me behind on writing/blogging/reviewing. Things are normalizing now and reviews will return to being always timely.**

I like this book very much. Love the character Kate. She’s very relatable. Now that I’m aware that this is a series I will be reading more of them may be all. It’s a love story is, a story of growing up and a murder mystery. Kate is a law enforcement officer trying to solve a murder. The accused is her first love. She still has feelings for him. She is determined to solve this and find the actual killer. Thank you Netflix and publisher for allowing me to Listen to this

Kate’s back again to help the Amish and English communities solve crimes old and new.

Jonas and Kate grew up together. Certain circumstances took them apart for many years. When Kate finds out that Jonas is in trouble with the law she does what she can to help find the truth. This of course leads Kate into the path of people who do not want the truth to be known. This book isn’t as dark as some of the others but the twists were just as good!

I don’t think I will ever get enough of Kate and all the shenanigans she falls into. I love that we get another piece of Kate’s past. Every new insight keeps building Kate into such a relatable character.

I absolutely love the narrator! She does a fantastic job with the different characters! If you haven’t tried out this series I highly recommend you do if you like dark mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio ARC to listen to and review!

The Kate Burkholder series can't be beat in my mind - refreshing easy reads that still have a dark side. I have read the whole series, but each works well as a standalone. Kate is an excellent primary character and I loved the amount of her history we were able to see in this book. I think one of the things I love about this series, and it was perfect in this book as well, is that there is a balance of acknowledging the dark side of humanity and also showing positive relationships. Just as all of the other books have been, this one was very atmospheric. In terms of the mystery, I was able to predict what was going to happen ahead of the reveals. However, it wasn't early enough ahead of the reveal that it spoiled the fun or made me feel like everything was predictable. Can't wait of the next installment!

I want to do 3.5 stars.

I enjoyed this book and it skipped along well. I thought the author folded in Amish culture without clubbing me in the head with it. (No pun intended)

The narrator detracted from the experience a bit as all of the women's voices sounded babyish and the men just sounded mad. I probably would have liked it more if I would have read myself, but then I would not have gotten the accent and pronunciation so it's a wash.

The Netgalley app is also not great for audio. It does not seem to at well w android or android auto which made me not be able to listen to it while on the go. No fault of the author of course.

I would definitely read this author again.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to return to Painters Mill for this latest installment in the Late Burkholder series and it didn’t disappoint. While this story didn’t take place in Painters Mill, so you didn’t get to experience the interaction between members of the police department like in the other books, it was still a fantastic story. The case was excellent and included several twist that kept me guessing (even when I figured out part of the twist pretty early on). Also there were several chapters that were flashbacks to Kate’s early life and that is always interesting to learn about. It just adds to her depth as a character. The narration was excellent, as always. The voices for the characters are spot on and having the pronunciation for the Amish words and phrases helps to really immerse you in the story. This is a fantastic book that can be read as a standalone but is even better when read as part of the series!

First of all, this is my first audio book from NetGalley. I love audio books because I can listen to them while I'm at work or out on walks, etc.

I have listened to 13 of Linda Castillo's books about Chief of Police Katie Burkholder. This last one, The Hidden one is the newest book in the series. I have enjoyed them all. Katie Burkholder is Chief of Police of Painter's Mill a small Amish community. I don't know very much about the Amish life style so these books have been enjoyable. You don't have to read all the other books in order but if you do, you get a sense of the growth and development of the characters which I enjoyed. I also laughed a lot when the Chief Police kept on destroying her vehicles. As other people have said, she does get beaten up a lot in her job and sometimes goes into situations when she should have more back up.

The one thing I missed about this book was the other characters in the book. The author has very detailed descriptions about her characters and I enjoyed reading about them.

Overall, I enjoyed the books and Thank you again NetGalley for the audio books.

I was so excited to be chosen by Netgalley to listen to the audiobook for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley, I loved the book. I also love that the author always uses the same narrators, it makes the series that much special. Lisa Castillo does it again with the 14th book of the Katie Burkholder series. Although a series, a reader can pick up any book in any order as Lisa has her character Katie explain who she is and the background of each characters as well.

Katie Burkholder is the police chief in Painters Mill Ohio, she’s also formally Amish which helps her in knowing the language and the Amish community trusting her as the Amish community plays a huge part in her day to day life.

3 Amish elders visit Katie and need her help, over a decade ago they beloved bishop Ananias Stoltzfus went missing never to be heard from again, his skeletal remains were recently found in the middle of nowhere and an arrest was made. The arrest was of Jonas Bowman, a hard working Amish family man with ties to Katie from days long ago, he was her first true love. Katie leaves right away as she always knew Jonas to be a good person and in her heart knows he’s innocent, but being a police chief she is pulled to find out what happened.

Traveling to Pennsylvania’s Kishacoquillas Valley, Katie quickly learns that although loved by his parishioners, Bishop Stoltzfus had a very dark side. Someone doesn’t want her to find out the truth but she’s determined to find answers, nothing is going to stand in the way of her figuring out the truth.

Filled with character development, suspense and an unexpected ended, The Hidden One by Lisa Castillo is not to be missed.

The Hidden One AUDIO by Linda Castillo is the 14th book in the Kate Burkholder series and my first contact with Kate. She is a mid-thirties, ex-Amish woman working as the police chief in her home community of Painters Mill, Ohio. She lives with a man she loves, Thomas Eddy, on their farm outside of town. She has a birthday present for him that she is anxious to pick up and get home with. The dispatcher calls and tells her there are some men there to see her and so, despite the fact it is her day off, she goes to the station to meet these men, who turn out to be a trio of Amish church elders from Pennsylvania, who have come to tell her that someone she knows has been arrested for murders and request her help. The someone turns out to be Jonas Bowman, who had been her first love. His relationship with her had caused his parents to pick up and moved to Ohio days after they were discovered. She would have no authority there and was hesitant to go, but remembering Jonas and the kind of young man he had been told her she had no choice.

Kate Burkholder is an excellent cop and an excellent character. This is a somewhat different view of the Amish community than is normally portrayed in popular fiction. She is focused, relentless, and very clever, seeing things before anyone else and having the knowledge to follow up. The mystery was a good one, although complicated and deeply rooted in the past. Seeing Jonas in jail shook her but also amazed her as she saw a man with faith so deep that his only concern was his family. God would put this all right, he knew that. Kate hoped she could help and started to talk to anyone who would talk to her. These talks provided leads for her to follow, and some of those provided more leads. Sometimes lapsing into the old German that the Amish spoke helped as she tried to build trust in a very closed situation. Everything she discovered did point Jonas as the killer of Anias Stoltzfus, eighteen years earlier, but she kept going, not believing it.

Kathleen McInerney was the narrator and was a good choice to portray Kate Burkholder. She was no nonsense, just like Kate. She did a credible job with the other characters, never resorting to silly voices. I was a good job.

I was invited to listen to a free a-AUDIO version of The Hidden One by MacMillan Audio, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #netgalley #macmillanaudio #lindacastillo #kathleenmcinerney #thehiddenone

I liked this audiobook. I have read this series before and enjoyed it.
Kate's character is unique and well-developed. Although this is the 14th book in a series, it stands well alone. Kate was raised Amish but left the community and now works as a police chief. This story involves a relationship she had a teen with another Amish boy, thus developing more of Kate's backstory.
The mystery is interesting, though it is fairly easy to figure out who the murdered man really was. His hidden identity was as much a part of the mystery as who killed him. Determining who committed the crime was not as straightforward. This provided a satisfying balance in the novel. I had some of it figured out and was pleasantly surprised by the rest.
I would definitely read more novels in this series.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fantastic - another slam-dunk by the author! I so love this series and this author! I really appreciate learning things about other cultures and religions and having them meshed into a murder-mystery is my idea of amazing! I also love watching the evolution of Kate and John and their relationship. Plus I adore the fact that Kate is a kick-ass, take no prisoners, woman who still has emotions and isn't just a super-bitch. Totally breaking that mold. Can NOT wait for her next book!

#TheHiddenOne
#LindaCastillo
#NetGalley

I loved this 14th book in Linda Castillo's "Kate Burkholder" series!
One of my all-time favourite series!
Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police in Painters Mill. One day she is approached by two Amish bishops from the town in Pennsylvania where she grew up. Skeletal remains of a bishop that disappeared 18 years earlier have been uncovered and Kate has been asked for her assistance with this cold case investigation. She agrees and quickly discovers the man charged with the crime is her childhood first love.
A captivating plot and suspenseful read!
It is always a pleasure to revisit the characters I have become quite attached to in Painters Mill. However, this novel focuses more on Kate than any of the others.
I can hardly wait for the next Kate Burkholder novel.
Once again narrator Kathleen McInerney does a superb job telling this story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.