REVIEW – Shamed (Kate Burkholder #11) by Linda Castillo

Published: July 16, 2019 by Minotaur Books

 

A story of love, loss, murder, and revenge!

This is book number eleven in the Kate Burkholder series and my first read from Linda Castillo.

Mary Yoder is out picking walnuts with her granddaughters, five-year-old, Annie and seven-year-old, Elsie.  Mary thinks she sees something inside the abandoned house and heads over to have a look, telling her granddaughters to stay put. Once inside she turns just in time to see someone rushing towards her.  Mary yells for her granddaughters to run…

“Da Deivel” The Devil. “Run!. Run!”

Kate Burkholder was born in Painters Mill. She was raised Amish but left when she was a teenager. She returned years later and became the towns police chief.  Though Kate left the faith, her knowledge of the Amish is a big help in an area that has a high amount of Amish people. She mainly deals with minor incidents like traffic accidents, petty theft, etc. But unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Kate is now investigating the brutal murder of a local grandmother. She is also trying to locate the woman’s missing seven-year-old granddaughter, Elsie.

The community is devastated. They are mourning the loss of Mary and desperately want Elsie to be returned to them unharmed.

Why did the killer take Elsie?

The majority of homicide victims know their killers. Could a neighborhood boy or a local sex offender be responsible for this horrific crime? Or is the killer even closer to home?

As Kate continues to investigate, more secrets about the family and community are revealed. Not everyone is cooperating with Kate and her own safety may also be at stake.

Will Kate be able to solve this case and bring the little girl home safely?

“Shamed” was a fast read that I really enjoyed. After a shocking beginning, I was engrossed in this story of murder and kidnapping. I think that reading the other novels in the series would obviously give more information about Kate, her relationship with John Tomasetti, etc. But overall, I thought this still worked well as a stand-alone novel.

I will definitely be reading the next book in the Kate Burkholder series!

 

I’d like to thank Minotaur Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.