Sometimes in a thriller or gritty mystery series, the protagonist’, unhappy and dour in the first book, will find a happy relationship in the course of the series and that happy marriage will sort of eviscerate the thrilling and gritty aspects of the books. That hasn’t happened in this series. Although Kate and Tomesetti are happily married, their stories are as exciting as they ever were. This one in particular was a wild, wild ride. Can’t wait to read the next one!

I have been a huge fan of Linda Castillo and have read most if not all of the Kate Burkholder books since I first came across SWORN TO SILENCE. Some were better than others, but I enjoyed all of them. THE BURNING is one of the best in the series and should not be missed.

The story focuses on a recently excommunicated member of the Amish community who was murdered in an incredibly barbaric way. He was burned at the stake in an abandoned field in the middle of the night. What makes this especially interesting is that during the Protestant Reformation members of the Anabaptist movement were regularly burned at the stake because of what was felt to be their heresy. And Milan Swanz was no heretic; he was simply a very evil, cruel man.

Things become really interesting when the investigation comes closer to home for Kate Burkholder. Other police investigation teams are bought into the case and eventually it is decided that Kate needs to be taken off the case. Kate being Kate, although she may have been officially taken off the case, she still works hard to find the persons responsible for this murder—even when it puts her own life in jeopardy.

As one would expect from this author, the book is superbly researched and the reader is given new insights into the Amish world and history. As we would also expect, the tory slowly builds to a wonderful, suspense-filled conclusion.

I highly recommend this book and thank NetGalley for giving me the chance to read it and offer my honest thoughts about the book.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of The Burning by Linda Castillo
I really enjoyed this book, it's the first I've read by this author and now I want to read the whole series. It was fine to be read as a stand alone.
The book was action packed, the story kept me reading, the wasn't a dull moment. Characters were great and well developed and setting was great.
Absolutely recommend this novel

Constant danger for Chief Burkholder😲

3.5-4🌟 stars
The Burning was loaded with action and suspense, initially related to the highly unusual method of victim Milan Swanz's death and then the danger Chief of Police Kate Burkholder draws to herself during the investigation. It's all pumped adrenaline, fight for your life excitement, but for some reason it didn't fully win me over.

I felt Kate was unnecessarily putting herself in danger repeatedly, knowing that the murderer had her in his sights. I mean, what happened to working in pairs and having backup in place when you're roaming around investigating at night and interviewing suspects? I could have done with less action if it showed Kate as a savvier cop.

The information about the persecution of early Anabaptists was interesting, but I did not really get the connection between that and the murderer's possible motives. It just did not make sense to me since the historical victims lost their lives as punishment for their faith. Milan Swanz's life, as the investigation uncovers bit by bit, was not the life of a devout martyr!

So, I give this story high marks for the originality of the murder and the sustained suspense tempered with my misgivings about Kate's recklessness and the genesis of the murder. I also felt the character of Neil Chambers, the BCI investigator who has it in for Kate and her family, was a caricature villain who was just overdone.

The previous book in the series I loved, so I am not done with Kate Burkholder and her Amish murder cases.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

The gangs all back, Kate, Tomasetti and the Painters Mill PD crew, for this 16th installment of the Kate Burkholder series. While the series takes place in Painters Mill, OH and is in the midst of OH Amish country and the MC, Police Chief Kate Burkholder, is formerly Amish, this series is no cozy mystery series! The per capita crime rate in Painters Mill is extremely high and this series illustrates that the Amish community and its faithful are just as susceptible to criminal behavior and impulses (even more so in some installments) as the rest of the human race.

The story revolves around the death of a former Amish man, Milan, who was burned alive, bound to a stake. By all accounts, Milan was a worthless piece of crap and according to the Amish, he was an evil man. Unfortunately, Kate’s brother, Jacob, was seen having a heated argument with Milan a couple of days before Milan’s death. The BCI agent in charge, Chambers, is a total jerk, and definitely has an axe to grind with Kate and probably Tomasetti, now that they’re married and still working together. Chambers gets Kate kicked from the investigation because he considers her brother a viable suspect. Chambers declares Kate’s involvement as Chief of Police, is a conflict of interest. This doesn’t stop Kate – at all!

It’s well into the second half that, in typical Kate fashion, Kate proceeds to go around poking beehives with a stick and gets herself into quite a mess. Kate stumbles upon a fringe group of the Anabaptists (Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites) and the investigation takes a turn for the worse and the story becomes really dark and creepy as well as scary and dangerous for Kate and Tomasetti. The end comes pretty fast after that in a flurry of intense activity. The finale indicates that the danger may not be over and kind of feels like a lead-in to future installments – maybe?

I always love catching up with Kate and the gang and this was no exception. While the characterization of Kate, Tomasetti and Kate’s crew at the station are pretty well developed by now, I did enjoy seeing more of the relationship between Kate and her brother as well as the relationship between Kate and Rasmussen and Aggie. The pacing and storyline were steady and interesting, respectively. Castillo’s writing is as good as ever too. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will be rounding down to a 4star rating. I flipped back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook and always enjoy Kathleen McInerney’s narration of the series. I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #TheBurning

St. Martin's Press provided an early galley for review.

At PLA in April 2024, I listened to Castillo talk about this 16th book in the Kate Burkholder series. When she read from the introductory chapter, I was drawn in and wanted to know more.

She has clearly done her research when it comes to police procedures as well as the Amish ways of life. Elements in this novel ring very true. I ended up learning lot.

I haven't read all of the books in Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder series, but I'm working my way through them because I love the characters, especially the MC, Kate Burkholder, and the writing is such that they are a very quick read. Kate is the Chief of Police in a small town which includes a large Amish population, and Kate is uniquely qualified to deal with them given the fact that she was brought up Amish herself.

In this book, Kate is freshly married and is called to a very gruesome crime scene in the middle of the night where a man has been chained to a stake and burned to death. Because he is Amish, she's going to have to do everything is her power to find the culprit and bring them to justice, which is not an easy task given how private the Amish are and how loathe they are to go the police for anything. This one hits a little close to home for Kate, as well, which is even more reason to solve the crime as quickly as possible.

I really enjoy this series because all of the characters are so unique and the insight into the lives of the Amish is very interesting. The setting is very well written, and the mystery keeps you guessing from beginning to end.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Linda Castillo for the opportunity to read and review The Burning.

Kate Burkholder is a police chief who grew up Amish so she has some insight into the Amish beliefs and community. In this book, a man who was formerly Amish is burned on the stake and Kate has to find the killer.

I want to start by saying that I did not realize that this was such a long series when I started. I don't think it took away from my experience of reading but I probably will go back and read some others because I liked this book a lot and would love to see more of Kate and her backstory.

I really liked this book! This book was fast paced and had a lot of action throughout. There was never a dull moment in this. I liked how Kate used her Amish background to investigate this crime. It was interesting to read about some of the Amish history.

I loved all of the characters as well. Kate and her husband were really cute together. I also liked the other cops as well. It explored some family dynamics as well.

The crime itself was really brutal and I enjoyed watching Kate find out who killed him. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes police procedurals!

I listened to this one on audiobook as well as reading it at times and I really loved the audiobook! The narrator was great and I couldn't put it down. I think all of the action was great to listen to on audio.

Thanks so much to netgalley, Macmillian audio, and St. Martin's Press for the arc (and audiobook) of this one in exchange for an honest review!

A call to a gruesome crime scene after midnight brings Kate Burkholder to her sixteenth murder investigation in THE BURNING.

An Amish man who was excommunicated from his community was found tied to a stake and burned to death. All everyone in the Amish community will say is that Milan was a "troubled man," but no one is willing to speak ill of the dead.

Kate begins her investigation and learns that Swanz was a drunk, abused his wife and children, held grudges and acted on them. However, his grudges and abuses were contained in the Amish community, and the Amish are rather famous for being nonviolent and for turning the other cheek.

Swanz even argued with Kate's brother Jacob which makes him a person of interest to the various agencies investigating this murder. And it makes Kate someone who should recuse herself because of her brother's involvement. No one else is better at getting information out of the Amish though since Kate was once a part of the community.

Being placed on administrative leave doesn't stop Kate from her investigations which are turning up a part of the Anabaptist history that she hadn't know. At one time there was a group known as the Schwertlers who were not opposed to violence. Over time, this group has become almost a legend and a boogeyman from scary stories -- but if they exist, they might be to blame for Swanz's death.

So, Kate has to track down a legend who knows about her and who has threatened her if she wants to clear her brother's name and solve the murder.

This was another excellent episode in the Kate Burkholder series. I like the characters and the setting which provides lots of information about the Amish while telling a fast-paced and action-filled story.

United States Publication: July 9, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Stumbling home down a rural road, Milan Swanz is offered a ride. It ends in him being burned at the stake. When Chief Burkholder and her team arrive at the scene and start investigating, they are disturbed by the violence and apparent message burning someone at the stake sends. But why? As they begin to delve into Swanz's life, a picture starts to emerge. Swanz was a deviant, recently excommunicated from the Amish order, and very troubled. It seems someone, or a group of someones, decided to punish him according to their own standards. Kate starts connecting the dots and realizes that there is an Amish vigilante group meting out their own form of justice against various people they deem unredeemable. Things take a turn when Kate's brother becomes a suspect, and she's pushed out of the investigation on the grounds that she's taking things too personally. But Kate isn't about to stop following the clues that she's uncovered, so she presses on, and what she uncovers changes what she's known of her old Amish life and the pacifist beliefs they claim to live by.

This is a great new installment in the Kate Burkholder series. Castillo doesn't hold back with her portrayals of crime and human nature, even in groups of people who claim to be "set apart" like the Amish. Outside of the crimes, Castillo creates within such a cloaked group of people, I like the side stories and character development of not just Kate and John Tomasetti but of her officers. I have also enjoyed Castillo exploring a reconciled/renewed/rebuilt relationship between Kate and her still-Amish siblings. This series continues to be enjoyable; Castillo keeps writing strong storylines - I'm here for it!

This was another fantastic book in the Kate Burkholder series. It was full of intrigue, it was a little disturbing, and the story flowed effortlessly as all the books have in the past.

The only reason for my 4-star (not 5) review is this: each book follows the usual formula. Something bad happens. Chief Burkholder has to figure out the 5 W's. And in each and every book - at least lately it seems - Kate is attacked physically.

Sure, as Chief of Police, it is bound to happen when dealing with perpetrators of such horrendous crimes. However, in this book, Kate gets attacked more than once, badly enough to be hospitalized.

Twice.

I understand the need for this plot point but this book seemed like it was just too much. I am not sure if this was done to further the character development along as Kate is newly married to her GBI husband John; perhaps the attacks are meant to force her to slow down and think about what she wants out of life. If the progression of the books in the series have shown us anything, it is her character growth.

However for me personally, it read as too unnecessary and incredulous and took away from my genuine joy in reading this book. I am likely in the minority here but felt it needed to be said.

Otherwise, this is another great detective mystery set in a small Amish Community.

I rate this book 3.5 stars rounded up. The book starts out with a gruesome murder, as a man is literally burned alive. There is also some violence when Painter's Mill Police chief Kate Burkholder is attacked 3 separate times by the killer. Miraculously, she survives, as she has in all previous 15 books. In real life, she would probably be dead or permanently disabled, but this is fiction.
Kate does solve the murder, with the help of her team and her husband, John Tomasetti, an Ohio BCI(Bureau of Criminal Investigation) investigator. Kate grew up Amish, but left the community at 18. Her Amish background proves an asset, as the victim was an excommunicated Amish man, and the clues to his killer lie within the Amish community.
While there are no graphic sex scenes, Kate has a salty tongue. The book is told in the first person narrative, with Kate being the main narrator, and occasionally the killer speaks.
One quote from Kate: "Every homicide investigation possesses a unique personality, but there is one theme that all of them share: urgency."
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.

This series is one of my top 10 favorites! I can never wait for the next book to arrive! I read/listened to The Burning in just one day and enjoyed it so much. I love how Kate and Tomesetti work together to solve crimes and love seeing their relationship grow. You definitely need to read these in order. If you love Amish books and murder mysteries this is the perfect match!

As usual, Kathleen McInerney does an amazing job narrating this series!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 9 July 2024

As with the past books I've read in the Kate Burkholder series, I can safely say that I will continue on with this series until there is no more books left to consume.

The opening scenes of these books are always that of the crime in action, often disturbing but hooks me right away to see how Kate gets called onto the scene. This time it was an intense opening that's befitting of the title of The Burning.

Following the homicide of an excommunicated Amish man via burning at the stake, Kate Burkholder goes through an investigation where too many of the Amish she interviews... seem off and even more stoic than usual when they receive the news of his death. Because of this and the suspicion that there's more to the story than the victim's ex-wife, Kate's own brother Jacob, and even the Bishop is letting on. Perhaps even dangerous.

This novel takes place two months after the last novel and the short story in between the novels, of which I read before jumping into this one. But it doesn't matter if you don't read the short stories in between, they are more for small and less intense cases meant for fluff entertainment.

There is a time or two where something is explained where it had been explained chapters earlier but as I read this over the course of a twenty-four hour period, this may be because the book is meant to be taken slower and not everyone can remember details that come up, I would've probably forgotten if I wasn't reading so quickly.

An Amish man is found burned at the stake. Who is responsible for his murder? Chief of Police Kate Burkholder uses her Amish background to investigate within the Amish community, even while those inquiries place her life in danger. What effect, if any, will these threats against her have on the investigation? A real roller-coaster ride, especially when it's not just Kate's life that is on the line. A gripping, intense police-procedural thriller!

4⭐
Genre ~ police procedural
Series ~ Kate Burkholder #16
Others in the series ~ #1-16 + .5's
Setting ~ Ohio
Publication date ~ July 9, 2024
Est Page Count ~ 320 (p+ 29 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 31 minutes
Narrator ~ Kathleen McInerney
POV ~ single 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ brutal murder, references to domestic abuse and assault

There has been another brutal murder in Painter’s Mill and Kate and her team are on the case. This time someone has been burned alive. Can’t get much more brutal than that. Was this a random attack on a snowy night? Or did Milan deserve it?

I wouldn’t expect anything but non stop action when Kate is involved and the action doesn’t let up. Kate seems to always get herself into dangerous situations and these were top tier in the danger department.

What I appreciate about Linda’s writing is that there isn’t any repetition. We get the information once and when it’s time to relay it to others she simply just tells us she filled them in or something to that effect. Way to save time and not bog us down.

Overall, another fabulous addition to the series.

Side note ~ I like the budding romance that seems to be developing within the team. I suppose since Kate and Tomassetti are finally married we need another couple to root for, and I’m all for these two.

I was lucky enough to have both the ebook and the audio. Both worked perfectly.
Narration notes:
She’s a bit robotic, but does a fine job. It's not the voice I picture in my head for Kate, but I’ve grown accustomed to it.

Series notes:
I think you should read them all in order because they’re great, but I suppose it’s not absolutely necessary. Each book follows a different murder, but Kate’s life is progressing.

From the first page to the end, the action is non-stop, if not brutal, in this new mystery by Linda Castillo. Perhaps because I live near a thriving Amish community in Ohio, I have always been interested in reading this series about Police Chief Kate Burkholder, and this book I feel surpassed her other suspenseful book. This thriller is not to be missed, even if it is your first by this author. Chief Burkholder’s Team has great respect for her and Kate herself will not stop until each case is solved. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for an early copy. This review is my personal opinion.

Book 99 of 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

How is it we are 16 books deep in this series & I’m still this invested? There is just something in the way Linda Castillo writes that completely draws you in. Every single story of hers flows so effortlessly. They’re both easy and enjoyable to read.

Several books in this series deal with dark and heavy themes, but this one was one of the heavier books. The book centers around a man named Milan who is burned at the stake. The crime is violent, but you quickly discover that Milan is a difficult man to find any sympathy for. He is a horrible human being, so while you want to see Kate solve this crime, you struggle to accept getting justice for Milan. It definitely makes you think deeply in that way.

We get a lot of Kate & Tomasetti in this one! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 They work together for the vast majority of the novel, which I just loved. They’re newly married, but the relationship continues to grow in this one. Seeing Kate verbalize just how much Tomasetti & their life together means to her was a huge wall we’ve been looking to see broken down.

We also get a lot of Kate’s brother in this book, too. There’s still so much struggle and tension in their relationship. I thought Castillo did a great job fleshing out their dynamic in this story.

I quickly gobbled this one up & loved it. Are there some repetitive elements here (ex: Kate getting injured)? Yes, but we come to expect them in these books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Be sure to check this out when it releases in July!

Am a longtime fan of this series which, in this case, means I have read every entry in the Kate Burkholder series plus several of the short entries. I would rank <i>The Burning</i> among my top five. It is a bit darker than previous titles and starts out with the gruesome and unsettling murder of a Painter’s Mill resident. Once past the grisly details, the plot follows Chief of Police Burkholder as she doggedly pursues hunches and clues through investigative twists and turns.

The setting, characters and themes are familiar to those that follow the series but new readers can still jump in at this point. Castillo is highly skilled at weaving Amish culture, as well as Kate’s own Amish upbringing, into the stories. This time she introduces aspects of Amish history and folklore into the case.

One downside to having read the previous entries is identifying similarities – either patterns or coincidences – from earlier books. A noticeable example from <i>The Burning</i> was that, once again, Kate is the victim of two physical attacks, potentially life threatening, but with few noticeable or lasting after effects. Two distractions to the flow which I hope get noticed in the editing stage in the future.

Even after 16 episodes, this series continues to grab my interest and keeps me turning pages. And after some obvious foreshadowing on the last few pages, I’m already looking forward to #17!


FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Burning is the story of Chief Kate Burkholder trying to solve a gruesome murder within the Amish community of which she used to be a part. Themes of Amish culture’s aversion to gossip and dislike for sharing much information with the police are repetitive and seem to be the largest plot in the story, not necessarily the murder itself. The story seems to dwell excessively on these themes, which takes the reader on an endless loop of talking to the same suspects over and over and getting little information each time. While there is a unique setting with some very intriguing lore, it unfortunately falls short in terms of plot. The storyline leaves too many questions unanswered, making the narrative feel incomplete. Additionally, the conclusion comes across as rushed and haphazardly stitched together, leaving gaps in the overall story. For readers who have not followed the series about Kate Burkholder from the beginning, there might be elements that are missed. However, the book can be read as a standalone novel without prior knowledge of the previous books. Those looking for a more comprehensive and satisfying plot may find it less enjoyable.