A friend of mine says she reads books to learn something new. Reading Linda Castillo is a fascinating journey into the Amish of Ohio and in this book, Pennsylvania. This is the third book of hers that I've read and I haven't been disappointed yet. I say read but I listened to an audio of the book. Sometimes it is risky to listen to audio. It's like going to a performance and one's enjoyment is based on the interpretation of the narrator. For the most part, this is good narrating.
However, the prologue -- mystery books all seem to have prologues these days. Not sure I like them --threw me. It was badly written, and overwrought. If I hadn't read Castillo's earlier books, I would have stopped there. I thought maybe it was the narrator. However, there is a scene much later in the book where there is great tension and danger, and the writing breaks down again.
It is too bad. One of the things I like about her books is being brought into Amish life, learning about their ways and the whys of the ways. It all goes smoothly but when this dramatic tension and violence starts, she loses me. I feel like I've been thrown into another book.
These are not egregious enough to not like these books. I really do like them and recommend them for a good mystery in a part of America most of us know nothing about.

It’s always great to be able to read a new installment in the Kate Burkholder detective series! I’ve read every single one (of the 14 books) in the series. The author has a way of making these stories fresh each time. I especially like the storyline in this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced reader’s copy of this book. I also listened to the audio version of this book and enjoyed it, too.

This was my first book that involved the Amish community (however, I am well versed due to documentaries and I also love religious extremist books).

I really had high hopes for the book starting out- Seemed a little Amish Mafia. However, there was then this love line. And we BARELY touched base on a moment that changed the main characters life forever? I feel the character development was just really lacking here. I would also NOT call this a suspense OR thriller story- nothing left me sitting on the edge of my seating, having to read more to know what happens next. BUTTTTT- I did enjoy the storyline.

Kate Burkholder is not only a (solid) police chief, but is also a former member of the Amish community. When an Amish bishop turns up dead, Kate is called in to help with the investigation.

Things are even more complicated in that her former sweetheart, Jonas, is actually accused or the murder.

What could drive someone to commit this act, and as a series of violent acts are taken against Kate, will she crack the case before it is too late?

LOVE the main character of Kate Burkholder, and I enjoyed the main plot line along with Kate’s flashbacks. An awesome read with the perfect female lead!

This book may be part of a series but it certainly serves well as a stand-alone.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!!

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of The Hidden One. By Linda Castillo. This is a part of a series that follows an Amish community, suspense and murder.

As a huge fan of the Kate Burkholder series, I was excited to receive the audio version to review. The story was just as expected from reading the previous books but I had difficulty listening due to the narrator. She wasn’t enjoyable to me and her use of different voices especially the males, wasn’t likable. I am looking forward to the release in July so I can read the physical book.

The Hidden One is the 14th Kate Burkholder procedural thriller by Linda Castillo. Due out 5th July 2022 from Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 320 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a very well written murder mystery and although it's number 14 in the series, it works well as a standalone. All the background character and setting information is provided in the book itself. There is an ongoing, multi-book, partnership between formerly-Amish small-town police chief Kate and her significant other, a retired cop as well as an ensemble cast of colleagues. I do recommend reading the previous books, they're all solid. The series is well plotted and full of believable characters and inter-agency police stories.

The sense of place is palpable. There are a number of Amish characters (the small town where Chief of Police Kate Burkholder works is a rural agricultural area inhabited by a number of Amish families). The author's descriptions are nuanced and believable. I found some of the dialogue jarring because it's liberally sprinkled with Pennsylvania Dutch, but the author is adept at translating, and most of it is understandable from context. This is another (very) cold case mystery, surrounding the disappearance of an Amish bishop from a different Amish area than the town where Kate lives and works and involving people she herself was involved with almost 2 decades previously. She's cut off from her support network and this is almost exclusively an off-the-books solo investigation on Kate's part, without official sanction or access.

The characters are impressively nuanced. It takes a quite a lot of technical expertise to write characters who do bad things but aren't necessarily bad people and subtlety to allow readers to arrive at their own conclusions. The denouement and resolution were well written and satisfying and although I had guessed the overall theme of the crimes and motivations underlying, there were some really surprising twists at the end.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours and 18 minutes and is narrated capably and well by Kathleen McInerney. She has a warm and rich clear alto voice and does a good job delineating the widely varied accents of a range of characters of all ages and both sexes including elderly and children's voices. Sound and production quality are high throughout the recording.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Though these books are always similar, the author is good at introducing relevant characters from the main character's past, making the stories interesting. This story was a little predictable as I figured out the hidden secret immediately and felt that Kate should have as well.

I was really looking forward to book 14 in this series and I listened to it all in one day. I enjoyed it until right before the very end. The solution turned out to be an old trope that I’m tired of hearing about. It did explain why it was a cold case from 18 years ago but I won’t say more. Still, it was a minor disappointment because I still like Kate and Tomasetti even though he barely appeared. I enjoyed the progression in their relationship. I especially like the way that he treats her as an equal. So maybe not the best book in the series but I still enjoyed it.
Kathleen McInerny was, always, excellent.

Name of Book: The Hidden One
Series: Detective Kate Burkholder #14
Author: Linda Castillo
Audiobook Narrator: Kathleen McInerney
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Amish/Suspense
Pub Date: July 5, 2022
My Rating: 4+ rounded up

I like Amish stories. I find the culture very interesting; in this case, Kate is trying to leave her Amish past, ( If you are new to this series, Kate was born Amish but left the congregation when she was eighteen and although she is trying to leave her Amish past, she states she misses home. )

Kate is the Chief of Police in Painters Mill a (fictional) small Northeast Ohio town where most the residences are Amish. She is in a relationship with John Thomasetti (I don’t blame her, as he is easy to like!) Thomasetti is an agent with Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and often helps Kate with investigations.

In this story, three Amish elders seek Kate’s assistance in Belleville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (the town where she grew up) to help in the investigation of an eighteen year old ‘cold case’. It appears the skeletal remains that were recently found belong to bishop Ananias Stoltzus, who went missing many years ago. A rifle is found near the remains. Kate is willing to help but states she has no jurisdiction. ~They understand but want her assistance since she speaks . ‘Deitsch’ (Pennsylvania Dutch) the Amish language and understands the culture.

Kate’s child hood friend, Jonas Bowman who later was her high school boy friend is in custody. (We learn more about their friendship in flashback chapters.) Jonas admits that the rifle found near the remains is his but has no idea why it was there.

When Kate meets with Jonas, she is sure he didn’t do it ~ even though he was known to have arguments with the bishop.
The details of ‘Whodunit’ sure kept me curious and the twist at the end was awww!
I like Kate and Tomasetti and anxious and looking forward to #15.

This is my favorite in the series. Narrator, Kathleen McInerney did a great job in performing all the characters! Although she has narrated many novels to me she IS Kate Burkholder!


Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for my honest opinion.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 5, 2022

I am a big fan of Linda Castillo and read all her books from the Kate Burkholder series. So, of course I enjoyed listening to this one. Can’t wait for another installment!

For those who are new to this series, the plots take place within the Amish community and the mysteries are are gory and mind blowing. Linda does not hold back.

Thank you #NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen to this.

Also, a big shout out to the narrator, Kathleen McInerney! She makes listening to the audiobooks worth it!

The Hidden One is the 14th in the Kate Burkholder series, by Linda Castillo. Kate Buckholder is the police chief of Painter’s Mill. One day, she gets a visit from two Amish bishops from the town where she grew up. The skeletal remains have been uncovered of bishop Ananias Stoltzfus along with a rifle. The remains have been missing for over 18 yrs.

A man ( Jonas Bowman) that Kate knew since she was 6 yrs old, and as a teenager, had a romance, is the prime suspect based on circumstantial evidence.

Kate has insight into the Amish ways. She was raised Amish and can speak their language. And Kate’s reputation to solve crimes in the past with the Amish has been notices, so when the bishops of Belleville ask her to come and help with the investigation, she can't turn it down, even though she knows this will be terribly emotional seeing Jonas again. Not being able to work in an official capacity, may also be a hinderance (she knows she most likely won't be welcomed). But Kate was raised Amish, can speak their language, and knows their ways even though she left the church.

Kate’s life is threatened several times as it appears someone is trying to kill her and get her out of the way. Is it the killer? Or is it any one of the Amish, because she is perceived as interfering, and therefore not wanted there.

She uncovers many shocking secrets during her investigation. The conclusion of the story fits together perfectly. The story's characters bare so much human emotion!

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

Linda Castillo's, Kate Burkholder Series, continues to be one of my personal favorites in book series.
4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My profound thanks to NetGalley, Macmillian Audio, and Linda Castillo for an AAC in exchange for my honest review.

Linda Castillo does it again with The Hidden One. As a fan of the Kate Burkholder series, I always anticipate the next installment; this did not disappoint. She changes things up here a bit as I'm typically met with the assault and murder of an Amish woman during my dissent into this series, however this one begins with the murder of an Amish male. And although Kate continues her stint as Chief of Police in Painter's Mill, Ohio, this places her in a town in Pennsylvania, out of her jurisdiction and off duty in support of a childhood friend whose banishment from their hometown many years ago highly involved Kate. As usual, Kate gets in over her head and finds herself on the receiving end of several attacks. And although her beau, John Tomasetti doesn't come to her rescue in this one, we do still get to see their relationship evolve. That was perhaps the most exciting part of the plot for me. Although this could easily be read out of sequence to anyone who has yet to experience the nail-biting suspense that this series delivers time and time again, the investment in the characters lives and relationships are just as enticing a reason to return to the series. I have a hard time putting down a Linda Castillo book and am hooked right from the intro. I look forward to more about Kate & Co. in the future!
#TheHiddenOne #Netgalley

I've never read a kate Burkholder book, So this was a fun book

Painters Mill Police Chief Kate Burkholder is out of her comfort zone in the Hidden One, the latest in this character driven, never disappointing series by mystery expert Linda Castillo. Religious leaders from Belleville in the Kish Valley of Pennsylvania have asked her to come there to help Jonas Bowman, a former resident of Painters Mill who is now in jail awaiting trial for the murder of an Amish Bishop eighteen years earlier. Kate’s relationship with Jonas goes back years and she cannot believe that he could be guilty. It will not be that easy to prove, however, as some residents of Belleville believe that Jonas had a strong reason to kill the Bishop. When Kate uncovers some long hidden secrets that could prove Jonas’ innocence, she finds herself in danger, danger that could cost her life.

Excellent addition to the series. Read the book as well and enjoined both print and audiobook. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

I enjoyed The Hidden One by Linda Castillo, but my one regret is requesting this one unaware it was BOOK 14 in a series! That alone is a big recommendation to a new reader - any series which continues to be written with that many books means a strong fan base with a talented writer. Since I’m not familiar with the character development in the earlier 13 novels, I can’t say for sure if you must read them all, but as a newbie, I liked this novel.

Centered around the Amish community, this mystery involves a strong female lead, Kate Burkholder, returning to her roots to help her first love from high school now arrested for murder. Knowing nothing about the Amish, I found all of this very interesting and am planning to do the series right and start at book 1.

Narrator Kathleen McInerney is one of my favorites, and, as usual, does an excellent job drawing in the reader with her comforting voice. An audio book depends so much on the quality of the narration, and McInerney is someone with great vocal depths.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen in advance of the July 12, 2022 release date.

The Kate Burkholder series is a great mystery series, and "The Hidden One" is a great series that includes Interesting story lines and mysteries, and unique settings. The narrator of the audiobooks is great and easy to listen to.

I absolutely loved this audiobook! It was thrilling, captivating, and kept me hooked from the very first chapter!

The discovery of the remains of an Amish bishop, missing for over a decade, bring local Amish elders to Police Chief Kate Burkholder for help. Ananias Stoltzfus was beloved by the people of his community and they demand answers. Kate, however, has a conflict of interest when the prime suspect turns out to be Amish man Jonas Bowman, the first man Kate ever loved. Kate has to confront some demons from her past as she learns that Stoltzfus was not the kind, jovial man so many believed him to be; the man had a dark side. And while Kate is searching for answers there is someone else who will do anything to keep her from finding them. Castillo has the best long running mystery series in the business, her characters are sharply defined and her storylines layered and complex