Sworn to Silence: A Thriller

Linda Castillo's Sworn to Silence provides nonstop action and excitement. Castillo's Pray for Silence was a Christmas gift and after reading it I ordered Sworn to Silence. Both are excellent reads and are two of the best mysteries I've read in a long time. I highly recommend both.

What a fabulous, fast paced, page turning read!
I have never read Castillo before, & you can bet I will now head back & read the others. I was riveted from the very 1st sentence.
Highly recommend this thrill of a read.
Chris, RN in NJ

The Kate Burkholder series is great, could not set it down. It had me from Chapter 1 till the end! Just ordered number 3! Cant wait to get it and dig in! Would recommend Linda Castillo books to anyone!

This is a wonderful novel that grabs you at the beginning of the book and holds your interest until the very end. I read it while on vacation and had a hard time putting the book down. I look forward to reading more novels written by this author.

Linda Castillo is in top form with Sworn to Silence, about a small town police chief with a hidden past, now investigating a string of truly grisly serial rapes and murders that may or may not be related to her own secret. Enter another wounded cop, a state officer Kate is desperate to keep from finding out the truth and who is on the brink of total burnout himself. Will these wounded souls solve this crime spree or become victims themselves? This and other books are reviewed on my website, some in greater length.

The secrets the Amish police chief are hiding, the burnt-out state cop -- all could be cliches if handled by a lesser writer. But as I stated, Castillo is in top form and you won't regret this page turner. I highly recommend this book for suspense, crime drama, and just enough romance to keep it interesting but not distract from the mystery. Great characters and will certainly keep you guessing.

I'm from Ohio and like thrillers so I was excited to read this book.

I object to the vulgar language in the book. Completely unnecessary and distracting in my eyes.

The beginning went a little slowly but it got exciting toward the end. And, atypically, I didn't suspect who the killer was until the very end.

Nice job, Ms. Castillo. Just clean up the language and I'll continue to read your books.

I'm from Ohio and like thrillers so I was excited to read this book.

I object to the vulgar language in the book. Completely unnecessary and distracting in my eyes.

The beginning went a little slowly but it got exciting toward the end. And, atypically, I didn't suspect who the killer was until the very end.

Nice job, Ms. Castillo. Just clean up the language and I'll continue to read your books.

There is novelty in having someone raised Amish as the lead character so I enjoyed that aspect of the book. But I am weary of mysteries centered on sadistic serial killers and violence directed at women.

Absolutely disgusting. This book needs to come with a warning that it is about a sociopath who kills. rape, tortures 23 women. How in the world did this ever get on a bestseller list? It is not literature, it is trash dressed up as literature. What was the point? Couldn't finish it, left me with nightmares and a sick feeling for days. I am disgusted I spent money on this and contributed to the author undeserved success.

A really disappointing book--trite prose, poorly edited, and with a wholly predictable plot. The main character was unsympathetic and the villain not believable. I will not read Linda Castillo again.

I really liked the sound of this book, the other reviews of this book, the synopsis of this book, the supposed story line. So I was really looking forward to getting it. I even bought one other book from her (that is still in its plastic wrap) to follow up with after reading this one. But after trying hard to get into this story, both my husband and I gave up. I tried three times to follow it, but jumping from first person of the deputies, then third person, then first person of the sheriff, then first person of other characters - often more than once in a single chapter - made it seem disjointed and hard to understand. Also, there were many inaccuracies and impossibilities with the story line.

First, the victim is killed by hanging her upside down and slitting her throat and letting her blood gush out. Yet the killer later transports this victim's body to the middle of the woods and them dumps her (without any blood in the snow leading up to the dump site), only to have copious amounts of her blood then leak out into the snow surrounding her corpse. If she has been bled out completely or even mostly by being hung from her heels and slaughtered, how would there be enough blood in her body to saturate snow so heavily that it is visible all around her body? Especially when no drippings or trails of blood lead up to the body. Secondly, you have this deputy who presumably knows at least a tiny amount about checking for signs of life - who has a flashlight available and who could see with a minimal amount of effort that her throat was slit ear to ear - who can tell that her body is ice cold - who then rolls her over to check and make sure she's dead??? I quote, "I thought maybe she was...alive, so I rolled her over, checked." If you see a person's throat slit ear to ear, or at the very least can feel for a pulse in what is left of their neck and both of their wrists, and can tell that her body is the same temp as the outside, and can see that she has no breaths/zero respirations - what exactly would you be rolling her over to check? Her butt pulse? Again - totally unrealistic and not even comprehensible why a law enforcement officer, or anyone for that matter, would behave that way. Thirdly - the Sheriff is also blessed with a flashlight. She checks the body and the surrounding area herself, even squatting down and observing the details enough to note that, "Looks like she's been here a few hours." Yet she somehow misses the gaping throat wound? The inept deputy immediately assessed, "She's cold. No pulse. There's blood all over the f-in' place" - by the way this is the same deputy that although noting these three attributes, still checked her rear end for signs of life - yet no one can see that the blood is coming from the huge hole in her neck? When the ME gets there, the Sheriff actually asks, "What about cause of death?" as the guy is checking over the body. WTF? Instead of instantly saying, "Well gee, Sheriff, I would say all this blood coming from the area of her neck is probably a good clue," he instead clicks on his penlight (where is his flashlight? he has been looking over the body for a while up to this point, has he been doing it in the dark? suddenly now, when the sheriff asks about cause of death he realizes he needs light?) and looks INTO HER EYES and says, "No petechial hemorrhages." Really? That's because all of her blood has drained into the floor of the room she was murdered in. No wait a minute, that's wrong. Somehow she managed to hold several liters of blood inside until she got to that one place in the snow, and dumped it there. And the astute Sheriff replies, "So she wasn't strangled." By this time, I could barely keep going. This is where my husband threw the book down in disgust and said he didn't want to read it, period. But I still gave it the old college try. So, the doctor keeps assessing the corpse but it is not until he lifts her head up (and they first see a couple of broken teeth) that the two bumbling investigators finally discover her neck was cut. Still wondering how that wasn't visible sooner - even in the dark - when by this point we have three flashlights on scene. Also not sure how the deputy could roll her over to check for signs of life (again, what was he checking back there?) without first checking her neck for a pulse or her chest for respirations, either of which would have instantly shown him the slit throat - or, without him noticing her head flopping around more than it should. Again I thought about stopping, but I kept reading for another fifty pages or so. Unfortunately, it didn't get much better.

This woman can obviously write, and from what I see on here, many people loved this book. I guess I am just a little more skeptical about how crime scenes should be processed and about how these crime scenes ought to make sense to the reader. I also know some readers commented that they loved the constant shifting from first person of whatever individual character the chapter or page was then focusing on - to another character in the same chapter - and also how the book shifts from first to third seemingly at random. I guess this could be a unique new way of writing, but I found it to be erratic and it seemed to break up the pace of the story. I think if Ms. Castillo picks one or the other - first or third person - and then sticks to it at least the majority of the time - it would make for a better read. Also thinking through the details of the murder and the crime scene (like how the victim was supposedly bled out and then miraculously ended up with several more liters of blood to dump on the snow - or why a deputy would look at a woman's back for signs of life instead of at her neck or chest), would seriously help. I would not recommend this book to another reader, but if you are still interested in buying it, contact me. I've got two books of hers I can sell you: Real cheap!

I am slogging through this because I am in France without anything else to read. How this woman makes a living writing is beyond me. The prose is plodding, and the main character is a shallow, self absorbed detective with no emotional intelligence. She treats her family and the people around her like adversaries. If I change my mind when I'm finished, I'll update, but, in the meantime, if I had more options, I'd stop reading now.

Book Club Review
Sworn to Silence
Linda Castillo

Our book club's book for August was the first Kate Burkholder Amish mystery, SWORN TO SILENCE, by Linda Castillo. We chose this book because many of us had been wanting to read Castillo, having heard good things about her. We also decided to start with the first book of a series rather than later books, in that many of us have had rather bad experiences lately with reading later books in a series and being very disappointed in them.

The book's beginning is gory and disturbing; and the level of gore throughout is more than many of us expected. Do know that you need a fairly strong stomach to read this book. (The Amish setting led us to expect perhaps a book that might have been a bit less grisly. However, this was our mistake, as these books are as much "thrillers" as they are mysteries.) The first few chapters are rather slow in getting started, as we are introduced to the town of Painters Mill, Ohio - home to a large Amish population and to Kate herself, who left her Amish heritage behind and is shunned as a result of it. Now she is chief of police in Painters Mill, a political appointment because she knows both the predominant cultures of the town, Amish and non-Amish (or "English," as the Amish call it).

Early on in the book, we learn that a serial killer is at work, doing the usual serial killer things. This was a disappointment to many of us, who avoid serial killer books like the plague, but most of us plowed on.

John Tomasetti, a troubled cop whose family has been murdered, is called in to help Kate with the case. In general, we liked this character: We found him well drawn, and we understood his pain. In fact, most of us liked him much more than we liked Kate, and therein lies our main problem with the book. Kate is really rather immature, barking orders and having emotional meltdowns; much of her behavior seems undesirable in a police chief, and it was rather difficult to grow to like her. One member said, "She's trying too hard to be Eve Dallas," and many of us nodded our head in agreement.

The book does hit its stride when it shows some insights into the Amish way of living, but unfortunately, these moments are few and far between. Most of the book reads like a too-long police procedural, with no real surprises, just the typical "serial killer" plot, with the murderer striking again and again, and putting the heroine in danger. The ending is predictable.

Overall most of us were left with the impression that we wanted to like this book a lot more than we actually did. It's much too long and is, despite the subject matter, rather boring in places. "Humdrum" is a word we used a lot. The writing is average and uninspired, leading us to conclude, as a group, that this is not a series most of us would like to follow. Of the twelve people attending our discussion, two liked the book and ten did not. Those who did like it felt the setting and Amish background made up for the plot problems, and they did like the burgeoning romance between Kate and John.

So, for us, not really a keeper; but of course this is just the opinion of one book club with a bunch of opinionated members.

3.5 stars

"A female chief of police was rare, especially in a small town. An Amish cop was unheard of."

Warning: This book contains Rape, Murder, and gory details about the murders.

Last year I accidentally read the 4th book in this series, so I did end up knowing some things, but it didn't affect the story up until the last few pages.

Kate Burkholder is the chief of police, in small-town Ohio, on top of that she is also ex-Amish and has a secret that she has kept hidden since she was 14. When a woman turns up raped, tortured, and murder with roman numerals carved into her stomach, Kate fears that someone from 16 years ago is back. While this not only shocks the town it also brings back old fears and makes the whole town on edge. But with Kate's judgment impaired with a fear that she knew who the killer is, she doesn't ask for help soon enough and the town council ends up taking matters into their own hands calling in the sheriff's department and BCI.

Overall I love how strong of a character Kate is and how, despite being raised Amish she isn't angry at them and has been able to maintain a pretty good relationship with them even though she is under the Bann. She still has the strong morals that they did and is still slightly naive to what can happen in non-Amish life.
I did struggle at times to believe the person from her past was the one who could possibly be doing the murders though and I found that part of the story to be a wild goose chase since no one had heard from the man since it happened.

It was a huge contrast to see John Tomasetti (BCI) how he was in this book as an alcoholic, pill-popper who, is on the verge of losing his job. It was actually sad at times since I already knew what kind of person he has become now.

I really did enjoy seeing how their relationship came to happen and why they both act the way they do.

I never once thought it would be who it was though, I figured it would have been someone from the Council since they were always getting over-involved and trying to take over the case.
I did start having suspicions though right before Kate figured it out, so it was nice to know that I wasn't too far-off. I could have done without some of the details from a few of the crime scenes since they can get pretty graphic at times.

But overall I still enjoy this series and I can't wait to read the next one.

Update: I finished the book, and thought about lowering my rating to 2 stars. I did not figure out the bad guy until Kate did, so that kept this at a solid 3-star. The resolution of Kate’s work-related issue rated a short 2 sentence mention, and that was unfortunate. I think the author could have foregone a torture scene to show us how the situation was resolved, and help the reader understand Kate’s motivation behind acceptance of the same.

I have not finished the book, and I may update my review when I do.

I have read a ton of “Amish” fiction, and have done a fair amount of non-fiction research into that religion. Unfortunately, one cannot say the same of Ms. Castillo, and the inaccuracies have bothered me. For instance, shunning only is imposed on baptized members. Kate was not baptized, thus would not be under the bann. Second, Amish women do not wear print dresses.

Even if one overlooks the inaccuracies regarding the Amish, the torture porn is truly nightmare worthy. I am not sure I will be able to make it through this book, much less the remainder of the series. I am disappointed in that because I was ready to start a new-to-me author.

A solid 4 stars
This is book 1 in the series about a small town Ohio police chief in Amish country. Kate Burkholder was raised Amish, but left the community and became a police officer in Columbus, Ohio. She has returned as chief, hired because of her Amish background. The book opens with a gruesome torture/murder scene. It reminded me of the opening scene in the tv show Criminal Minds.
When the body is discovered, there is a Roman numeral carved on the body, the same as a series of serial murders that stopped 16 years ago. Kate has a secret. She believes that she killed that murderer 16 years ago. The mystery mounts as more bodies are found with the same signature, and I could not put this book down. I did not suspect who the killer was was until near the end.
I discovered this series when I won book 8 in a GR giveaway last year and resolved to read more. Both my wife and I enjoy this series.
There is some graphic violence. This is not a cozy mystery.
Some quotes:
Kate--"I groan inwardly at the power and speed of the Painters Mill rumor mill. If it could be harnessed to generate electricity, no one would ever have to pay another utility bill again."
Ohio BCI(Bureau of Criminal Investigation) agent Tomasetti describing Kate -"A gun toting, cursing, former Amish female chief of police. I'll be damned."
I read this library book in 3 days.

BEWARE SPOILERS****BEWARE SPOILERS****BEWARE SPOILERS

Okay, you've been warned!!!!
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Kate Burkholder is the current Chief of Police in the idyllic little town of Painters Mill, Ohio, which also has a sizeable Amish community. She grew up in an Amish family but left the community when she was eighteen years old, pushed along in her decision by traumatic events she suffered at age 14. Her unique position in straddling two worlds - English and Amish - means that Kate is well suited to her job. But when the horribly mutilated body of a young woman is found on a cold winter's day, Kate is suddenly not sure if her past is well and truly behind her.

As a protagonist, Kate is fairly solid and though I do like her overall, I didn't care at all for some of the decisions she made early on in the murder case. I understand her reasoning but it still smacks of intentional negligence - and given the extremely high stakes involved, I can't quite absolve her. During her investigation, Kate also meets Agent John Tomasetti of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). Like Kate, Tomasetti has a tragic past that haunts him. Seriously, these two have enough emotional baggage to outfit an entire 3000 square foot luggage store. And herein lies my mostly minor issue with this book. As emotionally damaged as Tomasetti is when we first meet him, [I can not buy that he's jumping into bed with Kate in the last third of the book. Just...no. It's too much, too soon. This book should have been about establishing a grudging alliance between the two and ending with mutual respect. The second book, assuming Tomasetti is around for the duration, could've moved the relationship into more friendly waters with romance blossoming in maybe the third/fourth book. And during that time, Tomasetti could have been slowly finding his way back to the land of the living in a much more believable way. (hide spoiler)] I would have eaten that up with a spoon. The way things transpired with these two characters in this book? Not so much.

But, as I said, those particular dynamics between Kate and Tomasetti make up a small part of the book and it in no way overwhelms the real meat of the story. This was a well paced book with increasing levels of violence on the part of the killer that kept the suspense factor pretty high. I also really liked the rural-esque setting and getting some insight into Amish culture. The secondary characters who make up the rest of Kate's small but competent police force were also all very likable. So, overall, I'd rate the murder plot and characters an A and the romantic elements a C, which more or less comes out a B+. I plan to continue with the series.

**Possible spoilers** Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo is a serial killer thriller. This book follows Kate Burkholder, the local town’s police chief, as she tries to solve the serial killer case in picturesque Painters Mill, Ohio. Kate soon learns that the good guys aren’t always the good guys.

I absolutely loved this audiobook! I had never even heard of Linda Castillo before checking out this audiobook at my library, but I’m really glad I took a chance on it. From the first chapter, it sucks you in and buckles you in for an intense ride.

The characters are perfect. Kate Burkholder and John Tomasetti were my favorite characters in the book. Kate is a tough cop with a unique history. Born and raised Amish, she left the life and accepted the ban. As the police chief in her hometown, she totes a gun and cusses—quite the difference from her Amish roots. John Tomasetti is a gruff cop with a sad and jaded past. While rough around the edges, he’s a good cop, an excellent profiler, and develops true feelings for Kate. I liked the romance between Kate and John. It felt natural—not contrived.

The killer is creepy and deranged. He makes you squirm, shudder, and hesitate when you turn off the lights at night. The crimes he commits are atrocious and nauseating. Once you find out who the killer is at the end of the book, your jaw drops. At least mine did! It certainly wasn’t who I was expecting.

The plot is great. The whole book is a wild ride worth taking. I’m very happy that this is book one of a series of Kate Burkholder books. I’ve grown rather attached to the characters and am looking forward to reading (or listening!) to the next book soon.

Painters Mill, Ohio is a sleepy town in Ohio farm country. Years ago a serial killer targeted the area, striking fear in the hearts of the inhabitants and then the killings suddenly ended. Now the killings have resumed and it’s up to Kate Burkholder, chief of police to catch this killer. Kate is struggling with demons in her past and a very limited police force, who are encountering difficulties in the investigation. As a multi jurisdictional task force is formed, Kate finds herself at the epicenter of a political battle. Can she fight off her detractors and find the killer before it’s too late?
I really enjoyed this book. The plot was unique with a female chief of police and the Amish culture. The killer also wasn’t glaringly obvious until the very end of the book.
Kate was a fascinating character to read about. She grew up in Painters Mill as part of the Amish community there but after a brutal rape, she left the community only to return years later as chief of police. Kate struggles with the banishment of her community as she investigates the murders. It was interesting not only to get a glimpse into Amish culture but to see the loyalty that her all male police force had for her.
The cast of supporting characters were almost as well developed as Kate was. To me they seemed very real and a good example of people you might find in any small town.
Sworn to Silence is the first book in the Kate Burkholder series. Castillo does a fantastic job writing well developed characters and a twisting plot line that will keep readers guessing until the end. Fans of Karin Slaughter and Gillian Flynn will want to check this thriller out.

I really loved this book. I had read another Kate Burkholder book first and then start with one as it is the first in the series.

Kate Burkholder is a small town chief of Painters Mill, Ohio. About 5300 people with a third of them being Amish. Kate was brought up Amish and left after a rebellious stint following a very tragic and horrific event. She eventually ended up going through the police academy and after several years on the force landed a job back in her home town.

The story starts with Kate getting a call as one of her officers found a dead body of a young girl. Kate wonders if it has ties to the event that happened to her as a young girl. As the investigation begins another body shows up and they realize there is a serial killer on the loose.

John Tomasetti with the state crime lab has someone of a checkered past. He was a highly decorated detective who some say went rogue after his family was killed. John was transferred to the state to work there. The head guy in charge wants John gone so he assigns him to help assist on the case in Painters Mill and once he messes up he can be let go.

Kate is a bit leary of John and the other outside agencies as they tend to want to come in and take over the case and receive the praise for solving the crime. Kate also has to deal with her past and her siblings as she has been 'bann' to talk to as she left the Amish life.

I really enjoyed this book. It was full of action and I didn't want to put it down, in fact I finished it in less than two days. Be warned there is some graphic description of the murders and what has been done to the bodies. The characters are great and you feel them coming more alive as you read more about them. About midway I had an inkling as to who I thought the killer might be and why I came to that conclusion. I wasn't totally sure but pretty positive I knew. Even though I had figured it out--though my reason was not related to howthe killer was caught. The ending was very good and did leave room for anot her book which I plan on getting at the library and reading.

Sworn to Silence is a suspense/thriller, part of the Kate Burkholder Series, and my second novel by Linda Castillo.

The book leads in with a violent scene as a young Kate fights off a would-be rapist. There’s a struggle Kate fires a gun killing her assailant. Or, did she?

Fast forward to present day and a serial killer resurfaces in rural Painters Mill, Ohio. The townspeople are restless and soon Kate Burkholder is hard pressed to find answers before the killer strikes again.

**Spoilers**

In Painters Mill, the ‘Amish’ and ‘English’ have lived in relative harmony for centuries. Many years ago, however, a series of brutal murders rocked the peaceful farming community.

Kate Burkholder, the protagonist, is the Chief of police in Painters Mill. Formerly Amish, Kate’s able to bridge the gap between these two distinct worlds. Burkholder is competent, smart and tough and pliable and empathetic when she needs to be; her officers and staff have great respect for her.

A cop gone rogue, John Tomasetti, is reassigned to help Painter’s Mill police force apprehend a killer. John’s family was murdered years back and ever since he’s a ticking time bomb; he’s ill-tempered, a drunk, and has a chip on his shoulder.

When the sleepy town is faced with a series of gruesome murders surface Kate's reminded of the brutal killings that took place when she was young. Further complicating the situation is that Burkholder has kept a horrible secret hidden for many years and she now believes that her past has come back to haunt her.

I think Ms. Castillo is highly skilled at weaving a suspense novel. The plot is fascinating and the story line moves steadily. Now, I agree with other reviewers in that there’s a lack of character development, John in particular. I also agree with the POV issue. Ms. Castillo has Kate narrate in first person, while the rest of the book is in third person omniscient. Albeit an interesting approach, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I would have had Sworn to Silence been written entirely in one POV or the other. Lastly, I would have like to read more about the murderer and the reason behind the brutality of the crimes. Either way, the story kept me reading page after interesting page. And, I didn't figure out the identity of the killer until the same time Burkholder did; this is not an easy feat for an author.

Ms. Castillo is quickly becoming one of my favorite suspense authors. I give Sworn to Silence four stars.

Read from April 25 to 26, 2014

4.5 Stars

A quick and entertaining mystery. I found Kate Burkholder to be a fresh heroine. She came from the Amish to embrace the "English" ways after a terrible event that happened to her when she was just fourteen. And when a body of a young woman is found lying in a pristine snow farm field, memories of that night haught her and threaten to tear her world both personal and professional world apart. Could the Slaughterhouse Killer have survived? Is he back for revenge what she and her family did all of those years ago?

As Painter's Mills, Ohio, Chief of Police Kate was hired because of the fact that she has lived the Amish and "English" lifestyles. She even has police experience under her belt - 6 years as a Cleveland beat cop and 2 years as a homicide detectective. Seems like a perfect fit until the murder, so similar to the old killings -iIn fact the very MO.

John Tomasetti is the BCI Agent the town council has brought in. He is on the brink of losing his job. He knows this is his last chance and has a secret himself. He had gone rogue, but got a clean bill from his old police department before landing at the BCI. Together Tomasetti and Burkholder must face their inner demons to ferret out the killer even if their secrets destroy them.

Interesting plot and Linda Castillo knows how to build suspense. Her writing is easy and smart. My only regret is that I figured out who the killer was way before I believe Castillo wanted me too, and that is one of my pet peeves. But this won't stop me from reading more in the Kate Burkholder Series.

I stumbled on this book because I had book #4 (Gone Missing), not realizing it was part of a series. I have now ordered 8 of the 10 books, which I'm hoping was not a mistake. It seems this one and #4 are almost carbon copies just with different characters. Same storyline...killer on the loose, viciously killing women and the main character figures it out and almost gets killed. This one is pretty graphic as was #4 so I'm starting to wonder, is this all Castello knows how to write? I hope I'm wrong because I love series books and I thought after reading Gone Missing, I was in for a treat. I'm getting ready to start book #2 so we'll see.

Painter's Mill, Ohio Police Chief Kate Burkholder is suddenly faced with what looks like the re-emergence of a serial killer who hadn't struck in the last 16 years. The killer's signature is to leave Roman numerals carved on the murdered victim. Kate's conflicted as she's harboring a secret that relates directly to the case. Painter's Mill is a town where the Amish and "English" have coexisted for years. Kate straddles both cultures as she was raised Amish but left when she was a teenager.

I've had this book on my shelf for a long time even though it was strongly recommended by friends. Thinking it was on the cozy side of the mystery genre (not my favorite side), I backburnered it until now. Let me make this clear...this story is polar opposite of a cozy; gritty, gruesome and gnarly.

I really liked this story with its flawed characters and unusual setting. Kate's still trying to come to terms with her past, which shapes her perspective in the present. John Tomasetti, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) agent sent to help Kate, has his own demons and forges an uneasy alliance with her. The cultural aspects of the Amish community are interesting, especially when contrasted with the realities of the coexistence with those outside of their world.

While Kate makes many errors of judgment driven by her personal involvement in the case, she's still an admirable character. The case wasn't easy to resolve and kept my interest through the end. The narration by Kathleen McInerney was exceptional and I plan to continue the series in audio format. I'm officially hooked and could smack myself for putting off reading this book.

5 of 5 stars

This book hooked me in the prologue and did not let go until the very last page. Whew!!!!! Easily a 5 star rating from me and tied for first place (with S.J. Bolton's Now You See Me) as my favorite read (of 45 books) in the last 12 months. Honestly, I cannot recall the last time a book pulled me in so deep that there was not a single break in my attention. Cover to cover immersion. Ms. Castillo has a number of romances/romantic suspense novels under her belt. Sworn to Silence, I believe, is her first attempt at a mystery thriller, which makes the wonderfulness of this book all the more remarkable. Furthermore, I have heard from others that some of the subsequent books in this 6 book (so far) series are even better; I can't imagine!

Why did I like this book so much? As noted above, my attention was unwavering. In addition, the setting was different with the action set in Amish country. The mystery was very well plotted out with the revelation of the bad guy a big surprise to me. I especially loved Ms. Castillo's character development. The protagonist, Kate Burkholder, is an extremely complex being. The author is slowly peeling away the layers of her personality, something that I suspect will continue as the series progresses. I love Kate Burkholder, flaws and all. There was good initial character development of other supporting players who I also suspect we will learn even more about in subsequent books. The pace of the book was perfect, always a big plus. There was no agonizing set up taking the first 15-33% of the pages, yet I did not feel any necessary background was missing. This is a rare find these days, in my experience. There was a small sidelight of romance (couldn't help yourself, could you, Ms Castillo?) which was totally nongraphic and nonintrusive to the story. I personally thought it was done perfectly. One warning, the crime scenes ARE graphic and very dark. To say the villain was deranged is an understatement.

I cannot think of anything I did not like about this book.

I strongly recommend this to all mystery/thriller fans except those who like cozy mysteries only. This is a "can't miss" novel in the genre. I repeat, DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK. I look forward to reading much more of Linda Castillo's works.

Sworn to Silence begins with a horrific murder. A young woman is tortured, raped, and killed - exsanguinated - and her body is dumped in a field where a police deputy finds it.

Kate Burkholder is a young, ex-Amish woman. As police chief in her hometown of Painter's Mill, Ohio, she commands a small force of officers and must investigate the murder. There is a detail, however, that only the police know: Roman numerals carved in the victim's abdomen. Has a serial killer returned? Is Kate in over her head?

Kate hides a deep, dark secret from years ago when she was a 14-year-old girl. Only her estranged brother and sister know the truth. Is her secret related to the brutal murders terrorizing Painter's Mill once again?

Agent John Tomasetti of the BCI could be on his last case. He is hooked on booze and pain pills, and he has declined an offer of early retirement. His assignment to Painter's Mill is a sink or swim situation- and his superiors are betting on the former. Chief Burkholder resents his presence as well. Do they remain at odds, or do they find a way to work together to solve the case?

Two officers of the law with heavy personal baggage and a race against time. Can they catch the killer before more young women die?

Castillo creates tension using wintry scenes with snowstorms and impassible roads, conflicts between Chief Burkholder, the town council and the sheriff, and within Kate's own mind as she struggles with the skeleton in her childhood closet. Overall, Castillo did a good job of keeping me absorbed in the story, and I had only a slight inkling of who the killer might be (almost at the same time Kate begins to put it together).

This was my first time reading Linda Castillo, and I enjoyed this book very much. The major problem for me was that Kate did not seem the least bit Amish to me. Yes, she had rebelled and had been shunned by her community when she was 18. Not infrequently, she is derided as an "Amish bitch." Other than displaying understanding and sympathy for her Amish family and neighbors, I did not detect the remains of Amish-ness in her. It seemed to me that she would feel more ambiguity or seem less "English" than she is portrayed after only a dozen or so years away from the Amish community. However, I did find her quite likable and otherwise very human with both her intelligence and her flaws and the way that she relates to her officers. Tomasetti is even more flawed, but when he teams up with Kate, he begins to find himself again, and I suspect that he reappears in subsequent books.

I definitely plan to read the next Chief Kate Burkholder novel, as I think this is an excellent beginning to a wickedly good series.

Good mystery series. Just the right amount of mystery (reasonable plots), violence (no gore), back story, (no fake drama), and setting (the Ohio Amish area). I like it a lot. But I am so tired of major publishing houses printing books that contain language usage errors. This writer's books are full of three repeating errors that are extremely distracting. She keeps using plural verbs when a singular verb is correct (e.g., when using "none," "neither," and similar terms). She uses "secrete" when she means to use "secret" as a verb, which creates a mental image of someone leaking fluids. And, someone please tell her that the thing you stand behind when you're talking to people is a LECTERN, NOT A PODIUM!!! Is it too darn much to ask writers and editors to have an accurate grasp of the English language? Apparently it is. And it pulls this reader away from the story. In fact, I had to take a break after reading that the lead character had placed her hands on the podium so that I could vent and write this review. Placing her hands on the podium means she had her hands down by her feet with her butt up in the air. Usage errors are so incredibly irritating.

(This review was first published at Goodreads, where I also wrote about my self-set goal of reading 104 books in 2014, this was number 106 read, finished and reviewed at Goodreads).
This writer popped up on my list for books as "other people have bought/lent/stolen this" whenever I searched for certain books or bought a book, so I researched this a bit and finally caved, got a good deal from the store.De (after realizing they sell 2 differently priced eBooks of this, I bought the cheaper one), too.
Also I had an the store Gift Card from XMas, so I did not really pay for it myself.

Great page-turner, a few nice twists, some romance, a short non-explicit, plain sex-scene.
But also rape, lots of blood and very grizzly murders. Not for the squeamish!

Hm, what to tell about the book without spoiling anything? Could have had more twists, but I can live with that.
The information about Amish and their way of life was very interesting and the thrown in language makes this an interesting read (the words and expressions look like Dutch and/or German, but have often a slightly different, special meaning, having evolved from their origin).
Highly recommended book about a serial killer. Bought the next book in the series instantly.

This was probably THE best book I've read in years. I won't give a synopsis of the story or mention spoilers in my review, but as the description states, this is the beginning of a thriller series that revolves around a small Amish town, in which a series of murders takes place. Some of the descriptions of the murders and violence may be disturbing to some, but those are pretty small aspects of the book, and from the very beginning, the writing style is very compelling and engrossing. It's written in such a way that you can see everything in your head very clearly. As the story progresses, it keeps you on your toes at every twist and turn, and I found myself reading faster and faster to see what happened next. I'm definitely going to continue reading through this series, and highly recommend anyone that loves a good murder mystery to check it out as well. If you watch TV shows like Criminal Minds, CSI, etc, you'll love this.

This is the first in what appears to be a successful series, but I wonder what will happen when the material upon which the stories are based begins to fade . While I think the characters are fairly well-drawn it feels a bitt strained as their histories are only gradually revealed through introspection rather than up-front and personal revelations . There are some weaknesses in dialogue which do not allow for a strong build--up to emerge as the story evolves. That said, this is still a good mystery tale with a decent conclusion, but not so great that I would buy any future books with the protagonist of Kate Burkholder. Each book is a stand-alone novel. There isn't any connection between each book, and any future book.

The story moves along quickly but could have used a strong editor's help, especially with verbs, as they relate to nouns, a snare which dooms many stories at their outset .

I read this from soft cover , not kindle. It's okay, just not great, because I could solve this mystery-thriller by chapter 23! So much for a unique yet easily solved tale. 2 stars.

Both main characters in this book have done something that usually ends up putting you in prison or Hell. It has affected them both in their life and their profession - law enforcement. Under the circumstances, I think they did the right thing. I liked them both because of what they did, not in spite of it. This book takes place in Amish country and the lady police chief is Amish. She has left and is part of the "english" world. The insite into the Amish was another thing I liked about this book. That was interesting. The story is a thriller and the police chief is trying to find out the identify of a serial killer before he kills again. The town council doesn't trust her to do her job (Amish female) and that causes her problems - big problems but I don't want to spoil things. There is a little romance but it is incidental to the story as far as how many pages it took up in the book; it's important to the story because of the nature of the two people involved and their history. I'm reading the next book in this series and recommending it to my book club.

After reading and enjoying Pray for Silence, the second book in Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder series, I wanted to read more of her work, and I chose the first book in the series Sworn to Silence. It's a worthy predecessor. Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police in a small Amish community in Ohio. She was chosen because she grew up Amish in that town and decided not to join the church but to go into law enforcement instead. In this book she is dealing with a case of gruesome serial killings of young women and also trying to protect a secret regarding something that happened in her family when she was a teenager. As the investigation progresses, she finds herself working with John Tomasetti from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, who has similar secrets of his own. I was able to guess the identity of the perpetrator fairly early in the story because the clues were there, but that in no way spoiled anything because I could have been wrong. I was again impressed with the author's storytelling skills; it may be a cliché to say a book is hard to put down, but this one really is. It is not for the squeamish, but mystery fans are in for an outstandingly good read.

I'm really picky about writing style, so there are times where I go weeks without being able to find a book that holds my interest. I was in one of those dry spells when I heard about Linda Castillo's books and that they're often compared to those of my all time favorite author, Julia Spencer Fleming. With nothing to read and Fleming's newest book still several weeks from publication, I gave the first book in the series a shot. I'll start with the things I didn't like, because there were just a few.

Things were often repeated multiple times and characters who'd already been introduced to the reader were described a few pages later as if they were making their first appearance. There were also a strange number of typos (and by that I mean whole words left out, not nitpicky things like comma placement) and some discrepancies such as the main character revealing during an unspoken monolougue that she doesn't have much experience with homicides, then saying something a few pages later that contradicts this. But these issues weren't big enough to take away from the book. For me, the biggest hallmark of a really great book is when I'm not reading it just because I've got a 15 minute wait until the next train and nothing better to do. I found myself picking up Sworn to Silence even when I had a DVR full of my favorite shows waiting to be watched. There wasn't a boring moment in the book, the cast of characters is really likeable, and near the end the main character ended up in a situation that had me really unsure how she was going to get out of it. You won't regret buying this book, and I'm so glad there are 4 more!

A riveting ride from start to finish. Raw and difficult to read in places (the opening almost sent me away,) but the well-drawn characters drew me in, their interactions made me care about all of them, and the backdrop of Ohio in the winter really worked. I felt like I was standing in the snow and feeling the frigid air. I stayed up late two nights in a row and had trouble tearing myself away from this book. The plot really delivered, building momentum and suspense right through to the end.

Every now and then, I find a terrific author and read all of their books as fast as I can. Last year, it was Michael Robotham. This year, it's Linda Castillo and the Kate Burkholder series.

Burkholder is a gun-toting, cursing, former Amish female chief of police in bucolic Painters Mill, Ohio, home to about 5,300 people, about a third of which are Amish. When a serial killer strikes, his signature--Roman numerals ritualistically carved into each victim's abdomen--matches the MO of four unsolved murders from 16 years earlier. The presence of a serial killer shatters the idyllic peace of the town. Council members are convinced that Kate doesn't have what it takes to handle such a case, and bring in help from the sheriff and federal agencies.

Police chief Kate Burkholder, who's reluctant to dredge up the past, must keep secret that she knows why the old murders stopped. Not satisfied with the case's progress, local politicos set up a multijurisdictional task force to assist, including a law-enforcement agent battling his own demons, John Tomasetti. How they get him involved is all too realistic and devious. The added scrutiny and the rising body count threaten to push the chief over the edge. Adept at creating characters with depth and nuance, Castillo smoothly integrates their backstories into a well-paced plot that illuminates the divide between the Amish and English worlds.

Deeply flawed characters in a distinctive setting make this a crackling good series opener, recommended for fans of T. Jefferson Parker and Robert Ellis, whose books take place in very un-Amish settings but who generate the same kind of chills and suspense.

Have I mentioned that I enjoy reading about different lifestyles/religions? Polygamy, harems, leprechauns, eskimos and the like fascinate me (no disrespect intended). A little closer to home are the Amish.

I grew up in a small town in rural Michigan. With few stoplights, very little ethnic diversity (no edible sushi or falafel), one high-school (except for the "academy" to which you were sent if kicked out of public school or pregnant), but there was uniqueness since we had an Amish population. We would pass them driving in their buggys, or visit nearby Indiana for a pie or the spontaneous quilt purchase (thanks, Mom).

I excitedly pulled the first book in the series, SWORN TO SILENCE, from my overflowing TBR shelf. This novel introduces the reader to Painters Mill, Ohio; a small, idyllic town with an English and Plain community. Kate Burkholder is no Kay Scarpetta (though she is a welcome edition to my fictional female badasses), wielding several advanced degrees as she solves crimes, but the first female Police Chief in the town she grew up in, when she was born Amish.

This is an intense thriller in which Castillo successfully weaves several intricate plots without losing the greater thread. Burkholder is a very likable character, facing her own personal demons from a time, lifestyle and family she left behind, while trying to solve graphic and disturbing murders. The supporting characters are well developed without overshadowing the protagonist. The snowy setting and graphic murders remind me of the Finland depicted in James Thompson's SNOW ANGELS, while the tying in of Amish life fascinates me.

I agree with the starred reviews awarded by Kirkus and Booklist when this book was first published, and I'm excited to begin next book, PRAY FOR SILENCE, during the next storm. This thriller really made me appreciate my lamp and air conditioner (aka use of electricity) as I was absorbed in the world of Painters Mill, Ohio.

I've finally gotten around to reading the first book in the Kate Burkholder mystery series and I was hooked after the first 20 pages. Good thing is, there are already more to read from this excellent author, Linda Casttillo.

This thriller is uniquely placed in Ohio Amish country, where the relationship between the Amish and Englishers is a bit strained
already. Kate seems to be the perfect Chief of Police for the small town of Painter's Mill because she grew up Amish but has left their community life. At fourteen, a personal tragedy sent her into the world of hard living, heavy drinking, and a 'take no prisoners' attitude' that found her recovery sending her into the police academy. Now, as Chief of Police, she understands and respects the Amish, but her life is in the English community.

All is going well until a girl's body is found. Her brutal murder resembles that of the four victims of a serial murder from sixteen years years ago. Kate may know facts that could help the case but hurt her. More murders cause the Town Council to become political in their drive to sabotage Kate. They bring in other law enforcement officers, including a rogue officer with a tragic story of his own. Kate and John become strange allies in their determination to solve this case without loosing themselves, but the suspects cause their own difficult issues.

The twists and turns definitely pleased this avid mystery reader! This is not another twist on the same old mystery theme. It's uniqueness and thrills won me over quickly.

Kate Burholder is not your usual Police Chief, being ex-Amish and returning to her childhood home of Painters Mill, Ohio is not the life that most would pick, but she felt that it was the best choice. A choice where she could use her understanding of both the Amish and English worlds and act as a go between when sticky situations arise.

On a dark winter evening, one of Kate's young officers is sent out on a routine call; unfortunately, it wasn't just wandering cows that he found along the road, there was a brutalized body, a body that bore striking similarities to a serial killer that had struck 16 years before. A killer that Kate knew couldn't be back, but yet the proof was written all over his victim's body.

Kate isn't the only one with secrets; John Tomasetti is just one bar stool away from permanently being removed from his official position. His past is just as grueling as Kate's is, but between the two of them, they either solve this case or there is nothing left of their lives for them to live. With their combined expertise and the help of the Painers Mill Police Department, a killer must be brought to justice before they have to tell another family of a tragic loss.

I can usually pick out the killer early on in a book, the author usually leaves enough clues that the climatic moment just usually leaves a lot to be desired, but I can honestly tell you that I didn't pick this one. The storyline flowed, the characters were given their own voices and their own directions, and when a final clue was given, I literally said, "really?".

Very good book, very good conclusion and I look forward to the next book by Linda Castillo.

First Line: She hadn't believed in monsters since she was six years old, back when her mom would check the closet and look beneath her bed at night.

Kate Burkholder was born and raised Amish in small Painters Mill, Ohio, but a traumatic event when she was fifteen made her turn her back on her upbringing and leave her home. Now she's back in Painters Mill as police chief, and although her people tend to pretend she isn't there, she's well thought of in the community, and she's hired good people to work with her. Her job is everything to her.

But the nude, tortured body of a young woman throws Kate's life right back into the nightmare that occurred when she was fifteen. The murder has all the earmarks of the Slaughterhouse Killer who plied his horrible trade in the area sixteen years ago. Whispers begin to circulate, but Kate knows it has to be the work of a copycat. Why? She knows why the murderer stopped killing all those years ago. It's a secret that she has to try to keep while she's working this current case.

Convinced that she alone has the solution to the investigation, Kate is slow to ask for help from other law enforcement agencies, so the town politicians take matters into their own hands and set up a multi-jurisdictional task force with the county sheriff and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent, John Tomasetti, lending a hand. The sheriff is all sweetness and light around anyone in a position of greater authority, but his real agenda is to undermine Kate's credibility. Tomasetti, on the other hand, is an entirely different piece of work, called "dead weight" and a "train wreck" by his superiors. Tomasetti has been sent in hopes that he will fail brilliantly and allow the BCI to get rid of him.

So there are all sorts of things swirling around in Sworn to Silence. The two main characters, Burkholder and Tomasetti, are the type of character that I enjoy reading about: strong, intelligent and flawed. It's how they work past their flaws that makes this book so strong.

The plot is well-paced, and I only had the vaguest inklings of the identity of the Slaughterhouse Killer. Castillo does reveal the killer's identity toward the end, which left me to wonder how long it would be before Burkholder figured it out. This device certainly ratcheted up the suspense.

The depiction of a small town in Amish country was well done, especially in the way that the Amish tried to keep themselves separate from the rest of the community in an attempt to handle situations according to their own beliefs.

The characters were vivid in my mind, especially the graveyard dispatcher, whose role models are Kate and Stephanie Plum. Since the book tends to be grim, humorous tidbits like this added a welcome touch of lightness.

Even the landscape played a part in the book. There can be something more than a little spooky about farm country in the winter:

"My speedometer hits eighty miles per hour on the highway, but I slow to a reasonable speed once I reach Thigpen Road because it's slick with snow. The Huffman place is down a short lane and surrounded by skeletal trees, like bony fingers holding the place together."

Strong story and strong characters mean that this is a series I will be visiting again and again.

This book is on my top 10 list of best books I've ever read. I couldn't put it down. I wasn't sure what to expect when I read the synopsis and the Amish influence in the book, but I was sucked in right away from the very first paragraph. The storyline is fantastic, and Castillo's writing style is easy to follow, and the timeline was great. The fact that the Chief is female was perfect, especially a former Amish girl under the Bann. I loved every person on her team, they were all so loyal and dedicated to Kate it was surprising actually, considering she's a former-Amish female Chief, only 2 years into the job. What she had been through as a teen was horrible and I think made her a better cop. Tomasetti is the perfect match for her, they both have baggage. To be honest, I had no clue whatsoever who the bad guy was until Kate finds the name on the website that gets her cop-sense going about him. I knew he was a cagey guy but just thought he was a worm. In reading the end of the book, I was a little disappointed that we didn't actually get more details about the town council's groveling to Kate about their extremely bad decision, but was pleasantly surprised to read the back cover and learn that Castillo is writing another Kate book. I can't wait to read the new one.

Linda Castillo's newest book is set in January in northeastern Ohio, a cold and at times forbidding time of year. As the book opens, a dead body is discovered, in indescribably brutal and hideous condition. When the local police department is called in, they fear it is not the last one they will find, as it is horribly reminiscent of a series of murders committed in nearly identical fashion sixteen years before, all the victims being young women or girls, four in all, over a two-year period and, because of the manner of death, dubbed the work of The Slaughterhouse Killer. The case was never closed, and the cops cannot believe that he has struck again after all this time. Especially in a peaceful town like Painters Mill, where one-third of the population is Amish.

The Painters Mill, Ohio Police Department is comprised of the following: Kate Burkholder, its Chief, now thirty years old, born and raised Amish but having left the church at eighteen, when in accordance with tradition she had the choice of being baptized or not and chose the latter, and shunned by the Amish in town ever since, including by her own siblings. Kate's professional background was as a cop in Columbus, six years in patrol, two as a homicide detective. Under her are three full-time officers and one auxiliary officer. They are each well-drawn and interesting, as follows: T. J. Banks, young and inexperienced, with, Kate thinks, "the makings of a good cop . . . diligent and serious about his work;" Rupert "Glock" Maddux, former marine and the most experienced, as well as being the first African-American, on the force; Chuck "Skid" Skidmore; and auxiliary cop Roland "Pickles" Shumaker. Called in to assist in the investigation is John Tomasetti, from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). On the brink of forced retirement, he is a cop with a haunted past. His reactions to meeting Kate are varied, surprised to find her "a gun-toting, cursing, former Amish female chief of police . . . [with] secrets nearly as dark as his own."

I had some misgivings about the book, which tended to detract from an otherwise gripping and suspenseful novel. The author tended to spell out and hammer home the same points, often in nearly identical verbiage, a tad more than necessary. The prose, lyrical and brutal by turn, as befits a tale of predominantly peaceful people living in a gorgeous landscape, in which a monster has been turned loose, at times becomes clunky, e.g., a description of the wind whining "like an injured dog;" midnight descending "with the cold stealth of a nocturnal predator;" a woman being struck with a "fist like a sledgehammer making nice with the bridge of my nose;" a cop being told "I want you to drop everything" and then asking, on the next page, "This a priority?" That said, I was drawn into the unfolding tale, with suspense and tension building to a slambang denouement, and almost despite myself found it a satisfying read.

Note: This review is from the unabridged audiobook.

Kate Burkholder is many things. She is the chief of police in the small town she grew up in. She is a former member of the Amish community. She is, perhaps, a killer. She's also in charge of the investigation to find an apparent serial killer--maybe the person she believes she killed when she was just a girl.

When a body turns up with every indication that it is the work of a killer who preyed in Painters Mill sixteen years earlier, Kate's first thought is that she killed the original killer when he tried to rape her. However, since she was Amish at the time and her family chose to dispose of the body rather than alert the police, only she and her family know the secret, one that she wants to keep buried for a long time, even though keeping the secret seems to hinder the investigation. But the problem is that she's not even sure the man she shot died. Her family says so, but she is not so sure. There's also the fact that the victims have Roman numerals carved into them, and there seems to be a significant gap between those from sixteen years earlier and the current batch. Meanwhile, victims keep piling up, and the town insists that Kate bring in outside help.

For the most part, I enjoyed "Sworn To Silence" and wanted to keep going, and I found the ending reasonably satisfying. The reader, Kathleen McInerney, does a very good job. Her voices are consistent and sufficiently differentiated to make it easy for the listener to know who's who, and she avoids many of the difficulties readers have in portraying the opposite gender. In fact, I think this book was far better in audio format than it would have been for me in print. The author switches tenses repeatedly, telling most of the story in the first-person, present tense, but a significant portion in the third-person, past tense. This switching back and forth was OK on the audio but probably would have taken me out of the story in print. Also, the writing is functional, but too often grammatical errors grated on me. For instance, Ms. Castillo really has to learn how to use introductory participial phrases. (I recognize that most people probably don't care about such things, but I do.) There are abundant lie/lay confusion and a few presumably unintentional tense shifts.

In the end, the book does take a turn toward predictability, but for the most part, the ride is a good one and the story works well.

A smart no-nonsense female detective, a great cast of secondary characters, brutal murder -- set in Amish Country. If that doesn't sound like the making of Book One in the series, I'll be very disappointed. Born in Ohio in the rolling fields of Amish Country, Kate Burkholder's quiet rural existance is shattered by a sexual assault. The assault happens at a time when the town itself is under siege and the residents terrified by a serial killer. It turns out that 14-year-old Kate's attacker is an Amish man. After the attack, Kate kills the man and her father hides the body. Rape in those days could stigmatize the victim more than the attacker, and the family keepa the entire incident from the police and from all outsiders. In an odd coincidence, The Slaughterhouse Killer seems to disappear immediately afterwards. Kate grows up and becomes the chief of police in her small town, and another serial killer is on the prowl. Almost twenty years later, the town is again cowering in fear as someone tortures and rapes a number of women...leaving his mark -- Roman numerals -- carved into their flesh. The crimes bear a striking similarity to those committed decades earlier by the Slaughterhouse Killer. Is it the same man -- and the same man who raped her? Kate has to face her own fears and her own secrets in order to stop the killer from mutilating more women. This is just one good mystery from beginning to end. It gives us an interesting and realistic look at Amish life -- which is always fascinating. It gives us a believable new heroine, right up there with the best (Kinsey Milhone and Kate Scarpetta before she went werewolf, X-Files and batty on us). The only time the book flags is where it always does in this kind of mystery...when our brave heroine feels a tug at her heart and takes her attention off the game and on a boyfriend. The mystery is tight, well written, and very readable. Can't wait for the next in the series!

Police Chief Kate Burkholder is sure it can't be happening again and for a very good reason. Winter has gripped the small town of Painters Mill, Ohio and a serial killer is at work. Sixteen years ago he struck four times and Kate Buckholder is pretty sure he can't be back now. The dead woman at the household of the Stutz place seems to belie that idea. Not only was she brutally murdered in the same savage way as before there are other signs linking the killings from sixteen years ago to the killings now.

Raised as Amish until she became rebellious and was, for all intents and purposes, disowned by her family, Kate Burkholder has seen quite a lot over the years. But, nothing prepared her for the sight of the dead woman with roman numerals carved into the skin of her stomach. Just as the killer did sixteen years ago.

Clichés and stereotypes exist for a reason. They do have a kernel of truth in them and resonate for readers both in terms of real life and in the world of fiction. They abound in this book in the form of Kate Buckholder and the outsider John Tomasetti of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Investigation. Both are flawed characters, hiding secrets from their past which could very easily destroy them, and both hold themselves apart from others. It isn't surprising when the two make a connection on various levels and unite in a case that becomes increasingly violent and political.

This is one of those books that are hard to review. As a writer and editor, there were places in the book where it was stunningly easy to predict exactly what was going to happen. The same was true as a reader because I read so many books. For this reader, the who-dunit was no surprise once the triggering event became very obvious. It was also obvious where there were occasional continuity issues and plot point problems.

At the same time, despite the predictability and the clichés, Texas author Linda Castillo has created a highly suspenseful and atmospheric book. Much of the criticism that has noted the plot point problems and continuity issues will not impact the casual reader who allows the story to take over and doesn't analyze the work. The book works because it is highly atmospheric, the main character isn't run of the mill and the setting using the Amish in the area is a bit different. The author manages to hook the reader quickly and pull one deep into her world where it all does make sense and everything works. Not only is the book, which is very violent and very graphic in several spots, worth your time and effort, it serves as the foundation of what could be an entertaining series.

Not only is the book, which is very violent and very graphic in several spots, worth your time and effort, it serves as the foundation of what could be an entertaining series. "Pray For Silence" is the second book in the series and is currently scheduled to be released this June.

Book provided by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2010

"A gun-toting, cursing former Amish female chief of police."

That quote belongs to John Tomasetti, one of the characters in Linda Castillo's debut thriller. It refers to Kate Burkholder, the 30-year-old chief of police in Painters Mill, Ohio, a fictional rural municipality set in real-life Holmes County. Castillo is a much-revered author of romance novels; with SWORN TO SILENCE, she demonstrates an ability to cross genre lines with astounding ease.

Burkholder is an eight-year veteran of the Columbus, OH police force who returned to her native Painters Mill to accept the job as police chief. She knows the town and most of its residents, given that she was raised in the Amish community there. Though under the Amish tough-love proscription of the bann due to her leaving Amish life, she still has her foot in the worlds of both the Amish and the English (those outside of the Amish world). Her job in Painters Mill for most of two years has consisted primarily of arresting drunk drivers and citing farmers for letting their cows roam onto the rural roads that crisscross the town proper.

All of that changes abruptly, however, when the horribly mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in a field. The method of the murder awakens dormant memories in a number of the townspeople, no more so than Burkholder. A similar series of crimes had occurred in the community 16 years before, when four young ladies were murdered. The killings abruptly stopped; now, it appears, the killer is back. Burkholder, however, is almost certain that it cannot be the same person, due to a secret that she and two others have kept since she was 14 years old. If the same killer has returned, then everything she knows is wrong; yet if the past murders are reopened, she risks not only her own career, but also the lives of those who have kept her secret. Burkholder is hesitant to call in assistance from other law enforcement agencies, as she does not want other investigators uncovering what has gone before. Yet the investigation required into the new murder is clearly beyond the resources of her department.

When another young woman is killed, the city council brings in John Tomasetti, an investigator for the state BCI. Tomasetti is badly bent, if not totally broken, an alcoholic with a short fuse and a penchant for following his own rules. Burkholder, for her part, remains damaged from events that occurred before; when the two meet, their working relationship is not made in heaven. They do gradually acquire a mutual if uneasy respect, as well as a slowly developing attraction that both fear and neither entirely welcomes. The killer, though, is still out there, and his violence is escalating. When a third victim is discovered, Burkholder is summarily fired, but she stays on the case on her own time, continuing her investigation while seeking the identity of the real killer and thus putting herself up as the field's next victim.

Linda Castillo is a resident of Texas, a world away from what is known as Holmes County Amish country. Yet her description of Amish life, as well as the tolerant if occasionally prickly mix between the Amish and English, is as spot-on as if she had lived there all of her life. What makes SWORN TO SILENCE a one-sit read, however, is her ability to engage in subtle contrast, to describe the quiet and tranquil surface of life in the rural county with the undercurrent of violence that dramatically reveals itself without warning. Castillo's descriptions of what was done to the unfortunate victims is unflinching --- there is one scene where my stomach went upside down, and I have been reading descriptions of graphic violence for decades --- but her ability to describe a romantic interlude with all of the details we know and love certainly doesn't suffer from her foray into a different genre.

Burkholder is an impressive, believable and, yes, vulnerable heroine, and Castillo is an immensely readable recorder of her fictional exploits. I can't wait to see more of both of them.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

*******
The prologue starts with the thoughts of the killers victim as she is contemplating her fate. The details are so vivid i am scared and not so sure i could keep reading!

Kate Burkholder, a former Amish, is the chief of police of Painters Mill, Ohio. Officer for only 6 mths. TJ Banks stumbles on a horrific scene and Painters Mill hasn't seen anything like this in 16 years. Rumors fly, is it a copy cat crime? Or has the Slaughterhouse killer come back. Kate has a secret and she must find out the truth . In doing so she needs to talk to her family, who she rarely visits..... You'll have to read the rest to find out what happens!

I'm very intrigued by the Amish and love the Amish history and this murder mystery intertwined with the Amish was an awesome read. The characters were easy to follow and connect to and each page so full of description , making you feel like your right there. It was hard to put the book down, always wanting to know what was going to happen next and the end was soooo scary and riveting that i didn't stop reading until it had ended. So if you enjoy a good murder mystery, this one is perfect!

An intense, riveting thriller, definitely worth 10 stars!!!

On the back flap it says that she is currently working on her next book in the series and i will definitely be first in line to get it.

Book Flap:

A Killer Is Preying on Sacred Ground........

In the sleepy rural town of Painters Mill, Ohio, the Amish and "English" residents have lived side by side for two centuries. But sixteen years ago, a series of brutal murders shattered the peaceful farming community. In the aftermath of the violence, the town was left with a sense of fragility, a loss of innocence. Kate Burkholder, a young Amish girl, survived the terror of the Slaughterhouse Killer but came away from its brutality with the realization that she no longer belonged with the Amish.

Now, a wealth of experience later, Kate has been asked to return to Painters Mill as Chief of Police. Her Amish roots and big city law enforcement background make her the perfect candidate. She's certain she's come to terms with her past--until the first body is discovered in a snowy field. Kate vows to stop the killer before he strikes again. But to do so, she must betray both her family and her Amish past--and expose a dark secret that could destroy her.

Sworn to Silence is a chilling new series debut by Linda Castillo. The audio book is read by Kathleen McInerney. She does a fabulous job with different voices in this thriller. The reader should be warned up front the the book can been pretty gory and there is a lot of violence toward women described.

Kate Burkholder grew up in the quaint town of Painters Mill, Ohio where many Amish residents still drive buggies, shun electricity, and distance themselves from the complications of modern life. A serial killer, dubbed The Slaughterhouse Killer, shatters the peace of this little town and leaves the residents terrified and on guard. During this time, young Kate's life takes a fateful turn when she was just 14. She was sexually assaulted by an Amish man named Daniel Lapp. She shoots the man and seeing him lifeless on the floor, she is certain he is dead. Her father drags away the body, and the family never speaks of the incident again, and it is never reported to the police. She and her family are "Sworn to Silence". The area murders cease around the time that Lapp is killed, and the residents begin to live somewhat normal lives once again.

Some 16 years later, Kate now 30, is the police chief in Painters Mill. She must deal with a series of brutal crimes in which the female victims are tortured and raped, and Roman numerals carved onto their stomach. These crimes are very similar to those that occurred when she was a young girl. Is this a copy-cat? Kate begins to asks herself if Daniel Lapp is really dead. She is determined to track down this killer before he strike again.

My Thoughts: This is one thriller that I thought I had figured out early on, but I was wrong. It wasn't until the last third of the book that my second guess was correct. (I like when this happens in a thriller). I thought this book was very good. There was a part where some romance was woven into the story, and my personal feeling was that this aspect, took away from the story instead of enhancing it. Despite this I would still recommend this novel I you enjoy a good thriller.

SWORN TO SILENCE is honestly a breath of fresh air. So many books are plugged and raved as the next best thing but it seems lately that many writte works have fallen short of expectation. The opposite holds true here. I have never read any of Linda Castillo's romantic novels so this is my first introduction to her. I would never guess that this was her first attempt at a thriller novel. She succeeds on so many levels with this exceptional work.

The book is a police procedural and it is a serial killer thriller but it is so much more. We are introduced to our main character Kate Burkholder who is the new Police Chief of Painters Mill, Ohio. The story is very unique and strong in its characterizations. All are three dimensional, believable and have much baggage which makes them all true to life. Painters Mill has a large Amish community and Kate's family is Amish. She was raised that way and later left the fold for a different life. The inclusion of the Amish people works splendidly. They are not mere props or parts of a storyline. They all come to life the same as all the other characters. And Kate's story which includes a deep secret is very serious and revealed slowly throughout the book which adds great dramatic depth. All the characters are shown living their day to day lives but as we experience this we learn about all the aspects of the characters. The strong character development makes these people you have strong feelings for.

The story is that there is a serial killer torturing, raping and murdering young women. The worst part is the style is very common of a serial killer the area had 16 years ago. Many believe it is the same man. Could it be? Are there reasons we learn it couldn't be? The story works exceptionally well as a police procedural that follows these crimes and the communities reactions in a very straightforward way. Some have said here that the violence was a little too gruesome. I didn't find this to be the case. For me it was believable, sadly realistic and not in any way grtuituous. I didn't have to suspend belief reading this one. It was all too real which made it that much better.

Linda Castillo provides here a novel that is not mere pop fiction and is an excellent piece of literary work. All the pieces of this novel - story, character development, atmosphere and pacing - gel together for an exceptional reading experience. Be prepared to be fully engrossed by the story and its people. This book will have you up nights and strongly awaiting the next release to have Kate Burkholder as the main character.

High kudos to Linda Castillo on her excellent addition to the thriller and crime genre. Highly recommended.

Kate Burkholder, a good, hard-working Amish girl in Ohio, survives a horrible attack that nearly kills her and forever changes her family. She eventually decides to leave the Amish community and make her way among the English. Her future holds the police academy and eventual placement as chief of police in the tiny town of Painters Mill.

Chief Burkholder continues to work hard to earn the respect and trust of the Amish and non-Amish citizens. She is admired by the town and by her deputies. And then a savage killer enters this small, mostly peaceful town. He rips up his victims and tosses them away like garbage. Kate is immediately thrust back into the past to her own attack and has to fight to solve the murders while simultaneously grappling with her own secrets.

I was completely engrossed in this story from the first few words of the audio version. This was a gruesome and captivating book. I truly enjoyed the suspense, and I especially liked the fresh approach of setting a story like this in Amish country. It's a classic story of good versus evil.

Kathleen McInerney is superb as the narrator and brings this story - told from the alternating points of view of Kate in the first person and other characters in the third person - to life. Yes, there are elements to this story that have been used quite often in the suspense thriller genre, but the telling of this story is quite engrossing. This gets a solid thumbs up from me, and Castillo gets added to my "must have" wishlist. I look forward to the next book in this series.

I really enjoyed reading Sworn to Silence. It was fast-paced and hard to put down. Linda didn't hold back with the gruesome details, and at least for me as a reader, it was completely on par with any other serial killer novel I've read. I enjoyed the characters, and though some we didn't learn much about, hopefully more books will be written and we can then delve a little deeper into what makes them tick.

Obviously we learned the most about Kate Burkholder, the protagonist. I loved the fact that she was previously Amish and now working as the police chief in a community with a large Amish population. And I could really see the countryside, as I live in Ohio, not far from where all this took place and have been to Millersburg and the surrounding community. I want to read more about her and what the future brings her in trying to relate to her Amish relatives.

John Tomassetti is a character I completely loved. If you know the story of Frank Castle, Marvel Comic's Punisher, Tomassetti brings some parallels. I certainly hope to read more about him. He's a character that Linda Castillo could create another series around.

The plot kept moving and as Kate pieced together the identity of the killer near the end, the action ramped up to a frantic pace. This is the sort of book that keeps you reading through the night or could cause you to miss your bus stop. It's that exciting and that good. Another plus was the writing. The sentence structure and pace was easy to read and very appropriate for this type of fiction.

Probably the must frustrating thing with this book is that now I have to wait until the next one comes out.

"Sworn to Silence" by Linda Castillo is definitely a book you should pack for a long airplane ride or just as a can't-put-down read on a rainy weekend. Castillo's prologue catapults the reader into the story right from the first sentence with an intimate description of the initial victim's final minutes. From there the story escalates as more victims are found and the peaceful Amish-English community of Painters Mill, Ohio becomes a secondary victim of the sadomasochistic serial killer in its midst. Fanning the fires of fear is the memory of a string of identical murders sixteen years ago whose perpetrator was never caught. The Chief of Police Katie Burkholder, herself an estranged member of this same Amish community, has her own dark secrets about those murders. She must now struggle with how to reconcile what only she and her siblings believe they know about that murderer, with how she will proceed in the current investigation. Is this the same killer? Or is it a copycat? Katie has her own reasons for clinging to the copycat theory, but she dare not share them with anyone. Local politics, conflicting cultures, and outside law enforcement agencies all create obstacles to Katie's quest to find the killer. Added to this mix is a romantic attraction in the form of John Tomasetti, a rogue state criminal investigator who has been assigned to the case with the intent of driving him out of the agency.

"Sworn to Silence" is a well-written, fast-paced police procedural with a fascinating setting and characters you will want to encounter again. I'm most definitely looking forward to the next Katie Burkholder mystery.

[...]

I certainly wouldn't make as good a detective as Kate Burkholder,`cause even though I saw the picture of this book, with the discs showing, I thought I was getting a book you had to read and not one you had to listen to. When I got it and opened the package, I thought, "My goodness they sent me a "Big Little Book". Have you ever heard of a "Big Little Book"? Now, if you admit that you have, you are going to be telling your age somewhat, because they have not been around for 50-60 years. See, I told you MY age. Only, I'm a bit older than 50-60 years. They were sold at the "Dime" store, and were about 3 inches by 4 inches and quite thick because they told fairly long stories aimed at us "Kids". Well, yeah I was a kid once.

The narrator on this audio book is Kathleen McInerney, and she has more different voices than you can believe. She can't speak in the male lower registers but she does a good job of sounding mannish, imitating the gruffness of a Clint Eastwood. There is a Clint Eastwood type character in this story, who has been sent from a state agency to help the Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder, our heroine. She was born to an Amish family, but because of a traumatic sexual experience she left the Amish Church and learned to live outside that sect, with the "English" as all non Amish are called. She works her way through college and becomes a police woman. The City of Painters Mill asks her to take the job of chief of police and she accepts.

There is a deep dark secret in her Amish past, however, and in the process of trying to solve some gruesome murders in and around the Painters Mill area she is very close to having the past exposed. It's quite exciting and intriguing the way author Linda Castillo works through the story. It's a bit on the gruesome side and I wonder how a nice girl like Linda can come up with her ideas, but she does, and it is very entertaining.

I think you will get a kick out of this Audio Book......Richard.

This is the beginning of a projected series featuring Kate Burkholder, the 30 something Police Chief of Painter's Mill, Ohio. The small town is actually two communities, a typical small town American one and a sizable Amish one. Kate has ties to both groups, born and raised in the Amish community she had been shunned by them when she declined to join the church as a teenager. She set out to find her place in the confusing ' English' world where she found herself drawn into the field of law enforcement. After completing a degree and working in a city homicide department Kate had been offered the job of chief in her home town. All was going well when the discovery of a dead body late one snowy night had made it all too clear that a serial killer was on the loose. A killer that Painter's Mill was all too familiar with, one they had hoped was only a terrible memory. A killer that Kate crossed paths with herself and that had been instrumental in her decision to leave her world behind all those years before. Now the question was whether or not the same killer would once again destroy her world.

This is an exciting thriller, one full of twists and turns that will keep the reader/listening riveted until the exciting climax. The characters are well written, and interesting. The town of Painter's Mill and it's diverse citizenry holds a great deal of promise for subsequent novels. If the following stories have as many twists and this one it should be a long running series.

I listened to the unabridged audio version. When I first saw the running time (over 11 hours) I was doubtful that it would hold my interest that long but by the time I listened to the first hour or so I was totally committed to finishing the story and found myself wishing my trips were longer so I could find out what would happen next.

I was surprised on how much I really liked this read. A friend and fellow the store buddy suggested the book to me and I'm glad she did.

The story is about a chief of police, Kate, who has to deal with a murder that takes place in the Amish community, who was born in the same Amish community. She left the Amish life and lived on the wild side for a while. I wont' tell you what lead Kate to do that, you'll have to read the book to find out. As the story unfolds, Kate thinks she knows who the killer is, but she also knows it's impossible. Kate's past coms back to haunt her. I don't want to say to much about it, because I don't want to spoil anything.

The writer has a fantastic writing style. She has the ability to have such a great writing style that it hooks the reader and doesn't let you go. The characters are fantastic and have a lot of depth and you just want to find out everything you can about them. All of the characters are fantastic and life like. There's a few nice plot twists that will keep the reader guessing right up to the end. Fantastic!

****SPOILERS****

I did have one small problem. There was a bit of romance in it, but for me, it seemed forced. If you took the romance out of the book, you really wouldn't lose any of the plot. Like I said, it just seemed forced and didn't seem to fit.

****SPOILERS END***

This is a gritty, violent thriller that will keep the reader glued to the very last page. I highly suggest you start it. If you do, I promise you won't be sorry. Great Read!

This book is the first in what will become a series featuring Kate Burkholder, a most interesting lead character in that she was born into an Amish family and later leaves the amish community and becomes chief of police in the same small village that she grew up in.

The book opens in Painters Mill, Ohio with a murder that has an eerily similiar "m.o." to one that occurred 16 years ago that happened in Amish country-a murder that brings back memories for Kate, who was a teen at that time. Her collegues know that she was once amish but they have no idea of some of the secrets that she and her family still hold. As one murder turns into another, Kate must try to beat the clock and catch the person responsible-is it a copy cat, is the original murderer still alive, and if so why was there such a gap in the killings?

This book's main character was one of the most interesting in quite some time, a tough talking, likable, Chief of Police with a past. Shunned by her amish family when she leaves the comfort of their lifestyle she strikes out on her own. She is uniquely qualified for the position since she has lived the life and is also able to converse with the amish in their language of Pennsylvanian dutch as well as knowing and understanding the culture of the people.

This book has a nice pace to it, and is perfect as an audio book, enough characters to make it interesting, but not so many as to get lost in too many characters. The reader is excellent as well, which also makes the book enjoyable.

I will be looking forward to the next installment with Kate Burkholder.

If you are looking for an interesting, suspensful, thriller, I would definitely give this one a try.

I discovered Linda Castillo with this book, Sworn to Silence: A Thriller. This is one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time, and it was during the wee hours when I was reading and finished this.

Kate Burkholder is chief of police in the small town of Painters Mill, Ohio and she once was a member of the Amish community there. Kate left her Amish roots and was banned from that community. Back when Kate was still young and still with her Amish family, Painters Mill was paralyzed with fear when four young women were brutally and gruesomely murdered by the Slaughterhouse Killer. The killings stopped and no more happened for sixteen years. That is, until all these years later another body is found with the same kinds of wounds and the same markings made on the body that the Slaughterhouse Killer left, but were never made public. The cause of death is the same.

Kate's small police department is reluctantly made to accept help from other jurisdictions, with some interesting people brought onto the case. Kate wants this case for herself because she has a secret that could be related to the new murders that are starting to build up. Kate's secret is a big part of the storyline and could jeopardize her job and her future if anyone finds out.

This is such a good thriller that I couldn't put it down. I was just as anxious to find out who the perpetrator was as the Painters Mill PD. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way through, and now I can't wait to read the next in this series. I'm a BIG fan of Linda Castillo after reading this one! She keeps the suspense going all the way through the book, right up until the last page, and the settings for these murders are dark, quiet and bleak. There is a lot of gruesome detail in the crimes, but they are believable, which makes it even more edge-of-your-seat scary. The character of Kate Burkholder is very likeable and realistic in her search for the truth and justice in this series of horrible murders that she insists on solving, even at the expense of her job.

I loved this book.

This book is on my top 10 list of best books I've ever read. I couldn't put it down. I wasn't sure what to expect when I read the synopsis and the Amish influence in the book, but I was sucked in right away from the very first paragraph. The storyline is fantastic, and Castillo's writing style is easy to follow, and the timeline was great. The fact that the Chief is female was perfect, especially a former Amish girl under the Bann. I loved every person on her team, they were all so loyal and dedicated to Kate it was surprising actually, considering she's a former-Amish female Chief, only 2 years into the job. What she had been through as a teen was horrible and I think made her a better cop. Tomasetti is the perfect match for her, they both have baggage. To be honest, I had no clue whatsoever who the bad guy was until Kate finds the name on the website that gets her cop-sense going about him. I knew he was a cagey guy but just thought he was a worm. In reading the end of the book, I was a little disappointed that we didn't actually get more details about the town council's groveling to Kate about their extremely bad decision, but was pleasantly surprised to read the back cover and learn that Castillo is writing another Kate book. I can't wait to read the new one.

Linda Castillo's newest book is set in January in northeastern Ohio, a cold and at times forbidding time of year. As the book opens, a dead body is discovered, in indescribably brutal and hideous condition. When the local police department is called in, they fear it is not the last one they will find, as it is horribly reminiscent of a series of murders committed in nearly identical fashion sixteen years before, all the victims being young women or girls, four in all, over a two-year period and, because of the manner of death, dubbed the work of The Slaughterhouse Killer. The case was never closed, and the cops cannot believe that he has struck again after all this time. Especially in a peaceful town like Painters Mill, where one-third of the population is Amish.

The Painters Mill, Ohio Police Department is comprised of the following: Kate Burkholder, its Chief, now thirty years old, born and raised Amish but having left the church at eighteen, when in accordance with tradition she had the choice of being baptized or not and chose the latter, and shunned by the Amish in town ever since, including by her own siblings. Kate's professional background was as a cop in Columbus, six years in patrol, two as a homicide detective. Under her are three full-time officers and one auxiliary officer. They are each well-drawn and interesting, as follows: T. J. Banks, young and inexperienced, with, Kate thinks, "the makings of a good cop . . . diligent and serious about his work;" Rupert "Glock" Maddux, former marine and the most experienced, as well as being the first African-American, on the force; Chuck "Skid" Skidmore; and auxiliary cop Roland "Pickles" Shumaker. Called in to assist in the investigation is John Tomasetti, from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). On the brink of forced retirement, he is a cop with a haunted past. His reactions to meeting Kate are varied, surprised to find her "a gun-toting, cursing, former Amish female chief of police . . . [with] secrets nearly as dark as his own."

I had some misgivings about the book, which tended to detract from an otherwise gripping and suspenseful novel. The author tended to spell out and hammer home the same points, often in nearly identical verbiage, a tad more than necessary. The prose, lyrical and brutal by turn, as befits a tale of predominantly peaceful people living in a gorgeous landscape, in which a monster has been turned loose, at times becomes clunky, e.g., a description of the wind whining "like an injured dog;" midnight descending "with the cold stealth of a nocturnal predator;" a woman being struck with a "fist like a sledgehammer making nice with the bridge of my nose;" a cop being told "I want you to drop everything" and then asking, on the next page, "This a priority?" That said, I was drawn into the unfolding tale, with suspense and tension building to a slambang denouement, and almost despite myself found it a satisfying read.

Note: This review is from the unabridged audiobook.

Kate Burkholder is many things. She is the chief of police in the small town she grew up in. She is a former member of the Amish community. She is, perhaps, a killer. She's also in charge of the investigation to find an apparent serial killer--maybe the person she believes she killed when she was just a girl.

When a body turns up with every indication that it is the work of a killer who preyed in Painters Mill sixteen years earlier, Kate's first thought is that she killed the original killer when he tried to rape her. However, since she was Amish at the time and her family chose to dispose of the body rather than alert the police, only she and her family know the secret, one that she wants to keep buried for a long time, even though keeping the secret seems to hinder the investigation. But the problem is that she's not even sure the man she shot died. Her family says so, but she is not so sure. There's also the fact that the victims have Roman numerals carved into them, and there seems to be a significant gap between those from sixteen years earlier and the current batch. Meanwhile, victims keep piling up, and the town insists that Kate bring in outside help.

For the most part, I enjoyed "Sworn To Silence" and wanted to keep going, and I found the ending reasonably satisfying. The reader, Kathleen McInerney, does a very good job. Her voices are consistent and sufficiently differentiated to make it easy for the listener to know who's who, and she avoids many of the difficulties readers have in portraying the opposite gender. In fact, I think this book was far better in audio format than it would have been for me in print. The author switches tenses repeatedly, telling most of the story in the first-person, present tense, but a significant portion in the third-person, past tense. This switching back and forth was OK on the audio but probably would have taken me out of the story in print. Also, the writing is functional, but too often grammatical errors grated on me. For instance, Ms. Castillo really has to learn how to use introductory participial phrases. (I recognize that most people probably don't care about such things, but I do.) There are abundant lie/lay confusion and a few presumably unintentional tense shifts.

In the end, the book does take a turn toward predictability, but for the most part, the ride is a good one and the story works well.

A smart no-nonsense female detective, a great cast of secondary characters, brutal murder -- set in Amish Country. If that doesn't sound like the making of Book One in the series, I'll be very disappointed. Born in Ohio in the rolling fields of Amish Country, Kate Burkholder's quiet rural existance is shattered by a sexual assault. The assault happens at a time when the town itself is under siege and the residents terrified by a serial killer. It turns out that 14-year-old Kate's attacker is an Amish man. After the attack, Kate kills the man and her father hides the body. Rape in those days could stigmatize the victim more than the attacker, and the family keepa the entire incident from the police and from all outsiders. In an odd coincidence, The Slaughterhouse Killer seems to disappear immediately afterwards. Kate grows up and becomes the chief of police in her small town, and another serial killer is on the prowl. Almost twenty years later, the town is again cowering in fear as someone tortures and rapes a number of women...leaving his mark -- Roman numerals -- carved into their flesh. The crimes bear a striking similarity to those committed decades earlier by the Slaughterhouse Killer. Is it the same man -- and the same man who raped her? Kate has to face her own fears and her own secrets in order to stop the killer from mutilating more women. This is just one good mystery from beginning to end. It gives us an interesting and realistic look at Amish life -- which is always fascinating. It gives us a believable new heroine, right up there with the best (Kinsey Milhone and Kate Scarpetta before she went werewolf, X-Files and batty on us). The only time the book flags is where it always does in this kind of mystery...when our brave heroine feels a tug at her heart and takes her attention off the game and on a boyfriend. The mystery is tight, well written, and very readable. Can't wait for the next in the series!

I listened to Sworn to Silence on CD and got a little too involved in the narrative, sometimes hearing a honk and realizing the light had turned green on me. So I guess I'd have to admit it is an absorbing story.

Kate Burkholder is the chief of police in Painters Mill, Ohio, a small town in an area with a heavily Amish population. A serial killer starts torturing and murdering young women in the area and Kate finds herself in the middle of a moral dilemma when she ties the killings to a horrible incident from her own past. When outside law enforcement is called in to assist because of Kate's seeming inability to jump-start the investigation, we meet John Tomasetti, the hard-drinking man with an equally tragic past who becomes the love interest in the story. When Kate figures out who the serial killer is, and her own life hangs in the balance in an almost painfully suspense-filled face off with the killer, John is her only hope. But first he has to overcome his own doubts about Kate's solid investigative skills before it's too late to stop the killer.

I thought the book was well paced and the plot and its direction pretty straight-forward, but I had trouble with the two main characters, Kate and John. I thought the drinking and prescription drugs were a little too cliche and over done as a way of handling their respective ghosts from the past, and I didn't really feel a whole lot of chemistry between them that the author didn't force. Hopefully, if this is to be a series, that major problem can be rectified first. Either that or bring in some other male characters for her to choose from. Other than that criticism I would say that if you enjoy J.A. Jance you will like Linda Castillo's work. Also reminiscent of Mary Higgins Clark woman-in-danger books, but with sex and swearing thrown in.

Police Chief Kate Burkholder is sure it can't be happening again and for a very good reason. Winter has gripped the small town of Painters Mill, Ohio and a serial killer is at work. Sixteen years ago he struck four times and Kate Buckholder is pretty sure he can't be back now. The dead woman at the household of the Stutz place seems to belie that idea. Not only was she brutally murdered in the same savage way as before there are other signs linking the killings from sixteen years ago to the killings now.

Raised as Amish until she became rebellious and was, for all intents and purposes, disowned by her family, Kate Burkholder has seen quite a lot over the years. But, nothing prepared her for the sight of the dead woman with roman numerals carved into the skin of her stomach. Just as the killer did sixteen years ago.

Clichés and stereotypes exist for a reason. They do have a kernel of truth in them and resonate for readers both in terms of real life and in the world of fiction. They abound in this book in the form of Kate Buckholder and the outsider John Tomasetti of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Investigation. Both are flawed characters, hiding secrets from their past which could very easily destroy them, and both hold themselves apart from others. It isn't surprising when the two make a connection on various levels and unite in a case that becomes increasingly violent and political.

This is one of those books that are hard to review. As a writer and editor, there were places in the book where it was stunningly easy to predict exactly what was going to happen. The same was true as a reader because I read so many books. For this reader, the who-dunit was no surprise once the triggering event became very obvious. It was also obvious where there were occasional continuity issues and plot point problems.

At the same time, despite the predictability and the clichés, Texas author Linda Castillo has created a highly suspenseful and atmospheric book. Much of the criticism that has noted the plot point problems and continuity issues will not impact the casual reader who allows the story to take over and doesn't analyze the work. The book works because it is highly atmospheric, the main character isn't run of the mill and the setting using the Amish in the area is a bit different. The author manages to hook the reader quickly and pull one deep into her world where it all does make sense and everything works. Not only is the book, which is very violent and very graphic in several spots, worth your time and effort, it serves as the foundation of what could be an entertaining series.

Not only is the book, which is very violent and very graphic in several spots, worth your time and effort, it serves as the foundation of what could be an entertaining series. "Pray For Silence" is the second book in the series and is currently scheduled to be released this June.

Book provided by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2010

"A gun-toting, cursing former Amish female chief of police."

That quote belongs to John Tomasetti, one of the characters in Linda Castillo's debut thriller. It refers to Kate Burkholder, the 30-year-old chief of police in Painters Mill, Ohio, a fictional rural municipality set in real-life Holmes County. Castillo is a much-revered author of romance novels; with SWORN TO SILENCE, she demonstrates an ability to cross genre lines with astounding ease.

Burkholder is an eight-year veteran of the Columbus, OH police force who returned to her native Painters Mill to accept the job as police chief. She knows the town and most of its residents, given that she was raised in the Amish community there. Though under the Amish tough-love proscription of the bann due to her leaving Amish life, she still has her foot in the worlds of both the Amish and the English (those outside of the Amish world). Her job in Painters Mill for most of two years has consisted primarily of arresting drunk drivers and citing farmers for letting their cows roam onto the rural roads that crisscross the town proper.

All of that changes abruptly, however, when the horribly mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in a field. The method of the murder awakens dormant memories in a number of the townspeople, no more so than Burkholder. A similar series of crimes had occurred in the community 16 years before, when four young ladies were murdered. The killings abruptly stopped; now, it appears, the killer is back. Burkholder, however, is almost certain that it cannot be the same person, due to a secret that she and two others have kept since she was 14 years old. If the same killer has returned, then everything she knows is wrong; yet if the past murders are reopened, she risks not only her own career, but also the lives of those who have kept her secret. Burkholder is hesitant to call in assistance from other law enforcement agencies, as she does not want other investigators uncovering what has gone before. Yet the investigation required into the new murder is clearly beyond the resources of her department.

When another young woman is killed, the city council brings in John Tomasetti, an investigator for the state BCI. Tomasetti is badly bent, if not totally broken, an alcoholic with a short fuse and a penchant for following his own rules. Burkholder, for her part, remains damaged from events that occurred before; when the two meet, their working relationship is not made in heaven. They do gradually acquire a mutual if uneasy respect, as well as a slowly developing attraction that both fear and neither entirely welcomes. The killer, though, is still out there, and his violence is escalating. When a third victim is discovered, Burkholder is summarily fired, but she stays on the case on her own time, continuing her investigation while seeking the identity of the real killer and thus putting herself up as the field's next victim.

Linda Castillo is a resident of Texas, a world away from what is known as Holmes County Amish country. Yet her description of Amish life, as well as the tolerant if occasionally prickly mix between the Amish and English, is as spot-on as if she had lived there all of her life. What makes SWORN TO SILENCE a one-sit read, however, is her ability to engage in subtle contrast, to describe the quiet and tranquil surface of life in the rural county with the undercurrent of violence that dramatically reveals itself without warning. Castillo's descriptions of what was done to the unfortunate victims is unflinching --- there is one scene where my stomach went upside down, and I have been reading descriptions of graphic violence for decades --- but her ability to describe a romantic interlude with all of the details we know and love certainly doesn't suffer from her foray into a different genre.

Burkholder is an impressive, believable and, yes, vulnerable heroine, and Castillo is an immensely readable recorder of her fictional exploits. I can't wait to see more of both of them.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

*******
The prologue starts with the thoughts of the killers victim as she is contemplating her fate. The details are so vivid i am scared and not so sure i could keep reading!

Kate Burkholder, a former Amish, is the chief of police of Painters Mill, Ohio. Officer for only 6 mths. TJ Banks stumbles on a horrific scene and Painters Mill hasn't seen anything like this in 16 years. Rumors fly, is it a copy cat crime? Or has the Slaughterhouse killer come back. Kate has a secret and she must find out the truth . In doing so she needs to talk to her family, who she rarely visits..... You'll have to read the rest to find out what happens!

I'm very intrigued by the Amish and love the Amish history and this murder mystery intertwined with the Amish was an awesome read. The characters were easy to follow and connect to and each page so full of description , making you feel like your right there. It was hard to put the book down, always wanting to know what was going to happen next and the end was soooo scary and riveting that i didn't stop reading until it had ended. So if you enjoy a good murder mystery, this one is perfect!

An intense, riveting thriller, definitely worth 10 stars!!!

On the back flap it says that she is currently working on her next book in the series and i will definitely be first in line to get it.

Book Flap:

A Killer Is Preying on Sacred Ground........

In the sleepy rural town of Painters Mill, Ohio, the Amish and "English" residents have lived side by side for two centuries. But sixteen years ago, a series of brutal murders shattered the peaceful farming community. In the aftermath of the violence, the town was left with a sense of fragility, a loss of innocence. Kate Burkholder, a young Amish girl, survived the terror of the Slaughterhouse Killer but came away from its brutality with the realization that she no longer belonged with the Amish.

Now, a wealth of experience later, Kate has been asked to return to Painters Mill as Chief of Police. Her Amish roots and big city law enforcement background make her the perfect candidate. She's certain she's come to terms with her past--until the first body is discovered in a snowy field. Kate vows to stop the killer before he strikes again. But to do so, she must betray both her family and her Amish past--and expose a dark secret that could destroy her.

Sworn to Silence is a chilling new series debut by Linda Castillo. The audio book is read by Kathleen McInerney. She does a fabulous job with different voices in this thriller. The reader should be warned up front the the book can been pretty gory and there is a lot of violence toward women described.

Kate Burkholder grew up in the quaint town of Painters Mill, Ohio where many Amish residents still drive buggies, shun electricity, and distance themselves from the complications of modern life. A serial killer, dubbed The Slaughterhouse Killer, shatters the peace of this little town and leaves the residents terrified and on guard. During this time, young Kate's life takes a fateful turn when she was just 14. She was sexually assaulted by an Amish man named Daniel Lapp. She shoots the man and seeing him lifeless on the floor, she is certain he is dead. Her father drags away the body, and the family never speaks of the incident again, and it is never reported to the police. She and her family are "Sworn to Silence". The area murders cease around the time that Lapp is killed, and the residents begin to live somewhat normal lives once again.

Some 16 years later, Kate now 30, is the police chief in Painters Mill. She must deal with a series of brutal crimes in which the female victims are tortured and raped, and Roman numerals carved onto their stomach. These crimes are very similar to those that occurred when she was a young girl. Is this a copy-cat? Kate begins to asks herself if Daniel Lapp is really dead. She is determined to track down this killer before he strike again.

My Thoughts: This is one thriller that I thought I had figured out early on, but I was wrong. It wasn't until the last third of the book that my second guess was correct. (I like when this happens in a thriller). I thought this book was very good. There was a part where some romance was woven into the story, and my personal feeling was that this aspect, took away from the story instead of enhancing it. Despite this I would still recommend this novel I you enjoy a good thriller.

SWORN TO SILENCE is honestly a breath of fresh air. So many books are plugged and raved as the next best thing but it seems lately that many writte works have fallen short of expectation. The opposite holds true here. I have never read any of Linda Castillo's romantic novels so this is my first introduction to her. I would never guess that this was her first attempt at a thriller novel. She succeeds on so many levels with this exceptional work.

The book is a police procedural and it is a serial killer thriller but it is so much more. We are introduced to our main character Kate Burkholder who is the new Police Chief of Painters Mill, Ohio. The story is very unique and strong in its characterizations. All are three dimensional, believable and have much baggage which makes them all true to life. Painters Mill has a large Amish community and Kate's family is Amish. She was raised that way and later left the fold for a different life. The inclusion of the Amish people works splendidly. They are not mere props or parts of a storyline. They all come to life the same as all the other characters. And Kate's story which includes a deep secret is very serious and revealed slowly throughout the book which adds great dramatic depth. All the characters are shown living their day to day lives but as we experience this we learn about all the aspects of the characters. The strong character development makes these people you have strong feelings for.

The story is that there is a serial killer torturing, raping and murdering young women. The worst part is the style is very common of a serial killer the area had 16 years ago. Many believe it is the same man. Could it be? Are there reasons we learn it couldn't be? The story works exceptionally well as a police procedural that follows these crimes and the communities reactions in a very straightforward way. Some have said here that the violence was a little too gruesome. I didn't find this to be the case. For me it was believable, sadly realistic and not in any way grtuituous. I didn't have to suspend belief reading this one. It was all too real which made it that much better.

Linda Castillo provides here a novel that is not mere pop fiction and is an excellent piece of literary work. All the pieces of this novel - story, character development, atmosphere and pacing - gel together for an exceptional reading experience. Be prepared to be fully engrossed by the story and its people. This book will have you up nights and strongly awaiting the next release to have Kate Burkholder as the main character.

High kudos to Linda Castillo on her excellent addition to the thriller and crime genre. Highly recommended.

Kate Burkholder, a good, hard-working Amish girl in Ohio, survives a horrible attack that nearly kills her and forever changes her family. She eventually decides to leave the Amish community and make her way among the English. Her future holds the police academy and eventual placement as chief of police in the tiny town of Painters Mill.

Chief Burkholder continues to work hard to earn the respect and trust of the Amish and non-Amish citizens. She is admired by the town and by her deputies. And then a savage killer enters this small, mostly peaceful town. He rips up his victims and tosses them away like garbage. Kate is immediately thrust back into the past to her own attack and has to fight to solve the murders while simultaneously grappling with her own secrets.

I was completely engrossed in this story from the first few words of the audio version. This was a gruesome and captivating book. I truly enjoyed the suspense, and I especially liked the fresh approach of setting a story like this in Amish country. It's a classic story of good versus evil.

Kathleen McInerney is superb as the narrator and brings this story - told from the alternating points of view of Kate in the first person and other characters in the third person - to life. Yes, there are elements to this story that have been used quite often in the suspense thriller genre, but the telling of this story is quite engrossing. This gets a solid thumbs up from me, and Castillo gets added to my "must have" wishlist. I look forward to the next book in this series.

I really enjoyed reading Sworn to Silence. It was fast-paced and hard to put down. Linda didn't hold back with the gruesome details, and at least for me as a reader, it was completely on par with any other serial killer novel I've read. I enjoyed the characters, and though some we didn't learn much about, hopefully more books will be written and we can then delve a little deeper into what makes them tick.

Obviously we learned the most about Kate Burkholder, the protagonist. I loved the fact that she was previously Amish and now working as the police chief in a community with a large Amish population. And I could really see the countryside, as I live in Ohio, not far from where all this took place and have been to Millersburg and the surrounding community. I want to read more about her and what the future brings her in trying to relate to her Amish relatives.

John Tomassetti is a character I completely loved. If you know the story of Frank Castle, Marvel Comic's Punisher, Tomassetti brings some parallels. I certainly hope to read more about him. He's a character that Linda Castillo could create another series around.

The plot kept moving and as Kate pieced together the identity of the killer near the end, the action ramped up to a frantic pace. This is the sort of book that keeps you reading through the night or could cause you to miss your bus stop. It's that exciting and that good. Another plus was the writing. The sentence structure and pace was easy to read and very appropriate for this type of fiction.

Probably the must frustrating thing with this book is that now I have to wait until the next one comes out.

"Sworn to Silence" by Linda Castillo is definitely a book you should pack for a long airplane ride or just as a can't-put-down read on a rainy weekend. Castillo's prologue catapults the reader into the story right from the first sentence with an intimate description of the initial victim's final minutes. From there the story escalates as more victims are found and the peaceful Amish-English community of Painters Mill, Ohio becomes a secondary victim of the sadomasochistic serial killer in its midst. Fanning the fires of fear is the memory of a string of identical murders sixteen years ago whose perpetrator was never caught. The Chief of Police Katie Burkholder, herself an estranged member of this same Amish community, has her own dark secrets about those murders. She must now struggle with how to reconcile what only she and her siblings believe they know about that murderer, with how she will proceed in the current investigation. Is this the same killer? Or is it a copycat? Katie has her own reasons for clinging to the copycat theory, but she dare not share them with anyone. Local politics, conflicting cultures, and outside law enforcement agencies all create obstacles to Katie's quest to find the killer. Added to this mix is a romantic attraction in the form of John Tomasetti, a rogue state criminal investigator who has been assigned to the case with the intent of driving him out of the agency.

"Sworn to Silence" is a well-written, fast-paced police procedural with a fascinating setting and characters you will want to encounter again. I'm most definitely looking forward to the next Katie Burkholder mystery.

[...]

I certainly wouldn't make as good a detective as Kate Burkholder,`cause even though I saw the picture of this book, with the discs showing, I thought I was getting a book you had to read and not one you had to listen to. When I got it and opened the package, I thought, "My goodness they sent me a "Big Little Book". Have you ever heard of a "Big Little Book"? Now, if you admit that you have, you are going to be telling your age somewhat, because they have not been around for 50-60 years. See, I told you MY age. Only, I'm a bit older than 50-60 years. They were sold at the "Dime" store, and were about 3 inches by 4 inches and quite thick because they told fairly long stories aimed at us "Kids". Well, yeah I was a kid once.

The narrator on this audio book is Kathleen McInerney, and she has more different voices than you can believe. She can't speak in the male lower registers but she does a good job of sounding mannish, imitating the gruffness of a Clint Eastwood. There is a Clint Eastwood type character in this story, who has been sent from a state agency to help the Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder, our heroine. She was born to an Amish family, but because of a traumatic sexual experience she left the Amish Church and learned to live outside that sect, with the "English" as all non Amish are called. She works her way through college and becomes a police woman. The City of Painters Mill asks her to take the job of chief of police and she accepts.

There is a deep dark secret in her Amish past, however, and in the process of trying to solve some gruesome murders in and around the Painters Mill area she is very close to having the past exposed. It's quite exciting and intriguing the way author Linda Castillo works through the story. It's a bit on the gruesome side and I wonder how a nice girl like Linda can come up with her ideas, but she does, and it is very entertaining.

I think you will get a kick out of this Audio Book......Richard.

This is the beginning of a projected series featuring Kate Burkholder, the 30 something Police Chief of Painter's Mill, Ohio. The small town is actually two communities, a typical small town American one and a sizable Amish one. Kate has ties to both groups, born and raised in the Amish community she had been shunned by them when she declined to join the church as a teenager. She set out to find her place in the confusing ' English' world where she found herself drawn into the field of law enforcement. After completing a degree and working in a city homicide department Kate had been offered the job of chief in her home town. All was going well when the discovery of a dead body late one snowy night had made it all too clear that a serial killer was on the loose. A killer that Painter's Mill was all too familiar with, one they had hoped was only a terrible memory. A killer that Kate crossed paths with herself and that had been instrumental in her decision to leave her world behind all those years before. Now the question was whether or not the same killer would once again destroy her world.

This is an exciting thriller, one full of twists and turns that will keep the reader/listening riveted until the exciting climax. The characters are well written, and interesting. The town of Painter's Mill and it's diverse citizenry holds a great deal of promise for subsequent novels. If the following stories have as many twists and this one it should be a long running series.

I listened to the unabridged audio version. When I first saw the running time (over 11 hours) I was doubtful that it would hold my interest that long but by the time I listened to the first hour or so I was totally committed to finishing the story and found myself wishing my trips were longer so I could find out what would happen next.

I was surprised on how much I really liked this read. A friend and fellow the store buddy suggested the book to me and I'm glad she did.

The story is about a chief of police, Kate, who has to deal with a murder that takes place in the Amish community, who was born in the same Amish community. She left the Amish life and lived on the wild side for a while. I wont' tell you what lead Kate to do that, you'll have to read the book to find out. As the story unfolds, Kate thinks she knows who the killer is, but she also knows it's impossible. Kate's past coms back to haunt her. I don't want to say to much about it, because I don't want to spoil anything.

The writer has a fantastic writing style. She has the ability to have such a great writing style that it hooks the reader and doesn't let you go. The characters are fantastic and have a lot of depth and you just want to find out everything you can about them. All of the characters are fantastic and life like. There's a few nice plot twists that will keep the reader guessing right up to the end. Fantastic!

****SPOILERS****

I did have one small problem. There was a bit of romance in it, but for me, it seemed forced. If you took the romance out of the book, you really wouldn't lose any of the plot. Like I said, it just seemed forced and didn't seem to fit.

****SPOILERS END***

This is a gritty, violent thriller that will keep the reader glued to the very last page. I highly suggest you start it. If you do, I promise you won't be sorry. Great Read!

This book is the first in what will become a series featuring Kate Burkholder, a most interesting lead character in that she was born into an Amish family and later leaves the amish community and becomes chief of police in the same small village that she grew up in.

The book opens in Painters Mill, Ohio with a murder that has an eerily similiar "m.o." to one that occurred 16 years ago that happened in Amish country-a murder that brings back memories for Kate, who was a teen at that time. Her collegues know that she was once amish but they have no idea of some of the secrets that she and her family still hold. As one murder turns into another, Kate must try to beat the clock and catch the person responsible-is it a copy cat, is the original murderer still alive, and if so why was there such a gap in the killings?

This book's main character was one of the most interesting in quite some time, a tough talking, likable, Chief of Police with a past. Shunned by her amish family when she leaves the comfort of their lifestyle she strikes out on her own. She is uniquely qualified for the position since she has lived the life and is also able to converse with the amish in their language of Pennsylvanian dutch as well as knowing and understanding the culture of the people.

This book has a nice pace to it, and is perfect as an audio book, enough characters to make it interesting, but not so many as to get lost in too many characters. The reader is excellent as well, which also makes the book enjoyable.

I will be looking forward to the next installment with Kate Burkholder.

If you are looking for an interesting, suspensful, thriller, I would definitely give this one a try.

Kate Burkholder is not your typical small-town police chief: in addition to being female, she also happens to have been born Amish. After a horrible experience in her teens, she turned her back on her Amish roots and left to live in Cleveland, Ohio. Now, she has returned to her hometown of Painters Mill, a small and picturesque town where Amish and "English" live peacefully side by side.

That peace is shattered when the body of a young woman is found in an Amish farmer's field. The young woman has been tortured, raped, and killed. This murder is alarmingly similiar to a set of tortures and murders that took place sixteen years earlier in Painters Mill. Kate needs to find and capture the killer before more victims are found, and in order to do this she needs to face her own past.

I really liked that Kate was formerly Amish; I thought it added an interesting twist to the story. I also thought the author did a good job of portraying the Amish and their beliefs. The book is a quick read (I read it in a day or two), and hard to put down. My one complaint about it is that the murderer is pretty obvious way before Kate catches on. This was frustrating to me, as I didn't like knowing that major fact when the main character didn't yet. There's also plenty of cliches in the story: a typical romance, the abrasive city council, the jaded and damaged yet still good at his job cop. Despite all this, I did find the book very enjoyable, and will look forward to reading more books about Kate and her police force.

From the beginning of "Sworn to Silence" by Linda Castillo I was immediately drawn me into the story. Kate Burkholder's job as Police Chief of a small Ohio town is made extremely tough, both personally and professionally, by the emergence (or perhaps) reappearance of one very deranged and grisly serial killer. The murders were described in what was, to me, too much gory detail, but I suppose the reality is that serial killers are not usually neat and tidy. Kate's past in the Amish community and the details about Amish life enhanced the evolution of the story. The romance that develops toward the end of the novel seemed to be gratuitous and not particularly pertinent to the rest of the book. But the tale overall was quite suspenseful, and I was not expecting the identity of the killer. I found myself on more than one occasion staying in my car after I reached my destination to continue listening for a few more minutes.

I liked Kate as a character and would enjoy seeing her grow in future books. "Sworn to Silence" was fast-paced, and I was glad I was listening to the CDs, as I would have been tempted to flip forward to figure out how everything was going to come together. I will be on the lookout for future titles by Linda Castillo.

I immensely enjoyed the way Katherine McInerney changed her voice for each character. In some cases it was subtle, but enough to hear the difference. The voices were not over-done, and the CDs contained none of the "music" which is sometimes distracting on audio books.

When I had seen this book offered on Library Thing Early Reviewers I was very interested in the book. I didn't win the boo but a fellow LTER finished with it and offered it to others. I am thrilled to have requested the book and to have had the privilege of reading Sworn To Silence.

The main character of Sworn to Silence is Kate Burkholder who grew up Amish and decided to leave the Amish way of life. She is now the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio, her former hometown. She has a secret that makes Sworn to Silence a thriller.

The plot of Sworn to Silence is that a serial murdered is back after sixteen years. After the first body is discovered questions arise as to, why such a long hiatus between these murders? Does Kate know who the murderer is?

You will be trying to figure out who the murderer is and if Kate really is hiding the identity of the murderer. You are in for a jolt of surprises and mutilation in the murders. If you can handle reading about torture and sex crimes then grab yourself a copy of Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo.

I was utterly thrilled by this book and look forward to reading more books by Linda Castillo.

5 stars

I received this book as a Christmas gift after watching the TV movie based on the book. In many similar cases, I find that Hallmark/Lifetime movies are better than the book. This one was a clear exception.

I found this book captivating. Castillo has the unique ability to make the mystery as much about the crime to be solved as it is about the person doing the detective work. Kate Burkholder is wonderfully flawed character--one you are drawn to instantly. I wanted to learn all I could about her and the author helped me do that in a tantalizingly slow way. I look forward to receiving many more of Castillo's offerings.

I highly recommend this book

I like to read mysteries, all sorts of mysteries. Mysteries most usually involve murders. They are fictitious, my little brain is capable of roping them off into that area reserved for fairytales, and I enjoy the story. However, in Sworn to Silence, the murders are so gruesome, so barbaric, that my brain is having a little trouble roping them into the appropriate area. Despite that, this book is a great read for those who enjoy the genre.

A woman who grew up in an Amish community left the faith and became chief of the community's small police department. One of the other characters describes her: "a gun-toting, cursing, former Amish female chief of police. I'll be damned." She must investigate a murder too similar to one that occurred when she was a teenager, and to use the cliché, her past comes back to haunt her.

In parts of the book, there was a little too much repetition of specific questions. Still, the story was fast-paced, the community background was interesting, and there was a twist that I didn't see coming. All in all, this is a very good mystery.

My sister gave me this book after winning it as a Goodreads giveaway book. This is a new author for me but, based on her recommendation, I dove right in. The story is great -- it is a murder mystery/serial killer investigation located in Amish country in rural Ohio. The main character is a former Amish female police chief named Kate Burkholder. She is a complicated and interesting character, one of many in this book. The investigation touches on something from Kate's past and she attempts to walk a tightrope between her career obligations and keeping her past a secret. The interplay between the Amish community and the "English" is fresh and interesting in the mystery genre. The plot moves quickly and you never lose interest as the story develops -- I even found myself reading this book at 5:00 am instead of getting an extra hour's sleep. I hope there are more books featuring Kate Burkholder from this author.

Linda Castillo begins Sworn to Silence with a heart gripping scene of violence, torture and death. Captured by the prologue alone Sworn to Silence was hard to put down. Follow small town Chief of Police Kate Burkholder as she tries to stop a series of brutal murders. The twists and turns of Sworn to Silence will keep any reader on the edge of their seat and guessing till the end. Linda Castillo captures will capture any reader with her writing instantly. Readers will feel the pain, shed the tears and feel the anger seep in right along side Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and her team as they hunt down the killer. I was so consumed with the writing of Linda Castillo with Sworn to Silence I an eager to begin to read book 2 Pray for Silence.

I'd give this one five stars, but I did find the narrative style (switching between third person past tense and first person present tense) a little jarring. But I did enjoy this book very much.

Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police of a small town in Ohio's Amish country. She is also former Amish, having grown up in an Amish family, but was banned when she refused to join the church at age 18. The book starts with the gruesome murder of a young woman whose dumped body is found by a young police officer on a routine call of loose cows. The remains prove to be disturbingly similar to a series of serial killings from sixteen years ago. In short order, two more bodies are found, and Kate and her small department are working overtime to solve the murders before more young women die. Things are even more complicated by a secret Kate holds close to her heart that affects the way she is handling the investigation.

I found the book gripping, and I'm looking forward to reading the author's second Kate Burkholder book which is coming out in June, 2010.

I picked up this book after reading a synopsis of it in a newspaper. Sounded interesting. A female Chief of Police who was once part of the Amish community and who is trying to solve the murders of three women. Murders that are identical to those that took place when she was a teenager.

There is suspense, interesting and in-depth major and minor characters that I found very likeable and one sadistic, vicious serial killer. Please note that the descriptions of the killings is quite gruesome. I appreciate that the author described the killings in such detail as I believe this gives the reader more insight into the characters. Taking all of this into account solidifies the story and makes it a book worth reading.

I cannot wait for her next book.

"Sworn to Silence" is the first in a series of thrillers by Linda Castillo that take place in the mostly-Amish farm town of Painters Mill, Ohio.

The new chief of police, Kate Burkholder, grew up Amish in Painters Mill but returns--with a long hidden secret--as a seasoned law officer who long ago lost both her innocence and her faith.

Soon after Kate's arrival, a series of brutal murders begins, leading her to wonder if the murderer is the Slaughterhouse Killer of 16 years ago. Or a copycat? And Kate is right in the middle of it all.

The action is fast moving and keeps the reader guessing. The characters are well defined.

I highly recommend.

I do have two points of caution: 1) The descriptions of the multiple murders are gruesome and graphic--not for those with weak stomachs; and 2) Don't expect to read "Sworn to Silence" over an extended period of time; I ended up with a couple of unplanned late night sessions.

This book was a complete (but pleasant) surprise.

Police chief Kate Burkholder, formerly Amish, has a case that mirrors cold cases from 15 years ago - a time when Kate herself lived in the area. A time, for Kate, of horrific memories that were better left behind. Memories that this case is bringing back despite Kate's resistance. Experiences that no one but Kate's family knows about. Everyone in town wants to know: "Is he back?"

More people will die unless Kate finds the killer, but despite all the work of law enforcement, one step forward seems like 3 steps back. Her own town council seems to be undercutting her at every turn. How will Kate stop this horror from spreading?

I really enjoyed this book, and I wish I had read it sooner. I've already finished book two in the series. I think if you area fan of Karin Slaughter you will really like Linda Castillo.

Absolutely outstanding! Beautifully written, moves quickly and keeps you on the edge of your seat. What more could you ask for? The character development is superb and I can't wait to read the next in the series. This author belongs, if she is not already, on the New York Times Bestseller list.

Was looking for something different in a mystery series and found this one by Castillo. I listened to the unabridged audio edition. The narrator is Kathleen McInerney and I thought she did a good job of reading this.

Different pace of reading considering she intermingles the life of the Amish with the life she now lives as Chief of Police outside the Amish community. Her job takes her back into the Amish Community where she once lived. I thought this was different enough that I plan on reading all of the books that are in the Kate Burkholder series.

In Linda Castillo's "Sworn to Silence," thirty-year old Police Chief Kate Burkholder is a tough and aggressive law enforcement officer who keeps the peace in the small rural farming community of Painters Mill, Ohio. She was brought up Amish but broke away in her teens. The usually unflappable Kate is appalled when several local women are found slaughtered after a sadistic sexual predator abducts and viciously tortures them. It soon becomes apparent that a serial killer is at large, and Kate's superiors pressure her to call for reinforcements. They worry that if the perpetrator were to strike again, residents could panic and tourism would invariably suffer. Kate eventually asks the Holmes County Sheriff's Office for help and her superiors solicit additional support from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. The BCI sends an agent named John Tomasetti to offer his expertise. Kate has serious personal problems and is hiding a devastating secret that, if revealed, would ruin her. She eventually learns that John is concealing information about his life that is every bit as disturbing as anything she has endured.

This is a workmanlike novel with a strong main character who is fiercely independent, determined, and compassionate. Castillo sets her book in a place whose population is one-third Amish; she provides colorful background information about "plain folk" and their unique way of life. The author constructs her plot with care, populates her story with well-depicted and lively characters, and maintains a high level of suspense for a good part of the narrative. She inserts some welcome doses of light humor to keep the proceedings from becoming too dour, and is particularly strong in outlining the details of police procedure and the pressures of small-town politics. As "Sworn to Silence" draws to a close, however, it becomes pat and predictable, with Castillo sticking to the standard clichés a bit too closely. Nevertheless, this is a generally solid effort that should appeal to most thriller aficionados. Note to the squeamish: "Sworn to Silence" contains profanity and scenes of explicit gore.

I wanted to read this book the moment I heard of it! As a recent transplant to Ohio, I thought it would be a fun, literary way to explore my new home. Already borrowed the next book from the library and can't wait to catch up on the rest of the series!

I'm a fan of the Jesse Stone series, otherwise I usually don't read cop stories. However I enjoyed Sworn to Silence. The Police chief, Kate Burkholder grew up Amish but left after an assault and resulting cover-up. Now a murderer is in their community and although it seems impossible, it appears a man from the past has returned. Kate's long held secret may be laid bare and she may also be the killer's ultimate goal, the other bodies he leaves in his wake, simply decoys. The characters were well developed and the story line kept my interest. I agree with another reviewer who wrote that Kate and the man assigned to help her catch the killer, a man with his own demons, were just too intense and one or the other character softened somewhat might have made a better story. However, it let me on to the next Kate Burkholder mystery.
Eunice Boeve author of Ride a Shadowed Trail

The old world values of an Amish town in Ohio clash with the real time horrors of a serial killer in Castillo's well-plotted thriller, where an Amish-raised sheriff confronts a new series of murders and a personal reckoning with a traumatic past. Katie Burkholder has good reason to believe the gruesome murders sixteen years prior by the Slaughterhouse Killer have been put to rest. But when horribly mutilated bodies of young women are discovered on her watch, the crimes are too similar to the old ones to be ignored. Walking a fine line between the Amish community and the rest of Painter's Mill, Burkholder has intimate knowledge of both, including Amish ideals: yielding to God in all things, putting others before self and leading a modest life. Small, pastoral Painter's Mill is not a place where one would expect such a visitation of violence.

As the bodies multiply and grieving parents recoil from the sight of their broken daughters, the sheriff makes critical decisions about bringing in outside resources, marshaling her limited forces only to be high-jacked by her city council. Soon quiet Painter's Mill is roiling with interested parties, a neighboring police department, a BCI agent, news choppers hovering over grisly crime scenes. Sheriff Nathan Detrick of Holmes County is perched to insinuate himself into the investigation and become the darling of the cameras, Burkholder and her deputies scramble to gather evidence from each new crime scene and BCI agent John Tomasetti subdues his considerable personal demons to assist a sheriff who is being forced into a corner by competing agendas and a clever killer.

Castillo deftly manipulates her characters and plot, the escalating political pressures, Katie's personal dilemma in determining a course of action, the growing public hysteria and the increasing violence of a truly heinous and out of control killer. The pressure builds, more young women are mutilated, Katie is blindsided by her city council and a murderer steps ever closer to the sheriff's orbit. Make no mistake: this is a tale of pure evil descending on Painter's Mill, a whirlwind of destruction veering ever closer to the sheriff, the pristine, snowy landscape stained with the blood of innocents. But there is also forgiveness and a realization that the past need not always color the future, that damage can be healed and, given enough time, guilt purged. In a clever juxtaposition of evil verses the forces of good, Castillo has crafted a compelling tale, a serious contender in a crowded genre and an author I look forward to meeting again in another thriller. Luan Gaines/2009.

Born and raised Amish, Police Chief Kate Burkholder now walks among "the English" in her hometown of Painters Mill, Ohio. When Kate was a teenager the town was terrorized by a series of murders committed by a killer known as the Slaughterhouse Killer because of the brutality of the crimes. Then the killings stopped and Kate thought she knew why. But now, a new victim is found with chilling similarities to those murders years ago. Hampered by her own secrets, Kate is reluctant to call in help from sources outside her own department. The brutal killings continue.

The book was a true page turner that kept this reader involved. And while Kate's relationship with the Amish was important to the story, the author did not flood the reader with too much information about the Amish. Some things are best saved for another time and, hopefully, a sequel to this story.

I enjoyed reading this book and the Amish theme was interesting. There was a good deal of violence, but I guess that there are some crazy people in this world who might actually do horrific things. I will read the next in this series.

This book is quite well written. The plot line is good, and the text flows well. As a result, it both reads cleanly and is engrossing - not always an easy combination for an author to create.

The story line is enhanced by the use of having a female chief of police who was raised (but is no longer) Amish. This opens up many plot possibilities with conflicts female / male, Amish vs "English" (the name used for anyone who isn't Amish), as well as what would be normal mystery fare - that is, a serial killer on the loose. Kate herself has other issues with this killer - personal issues. I won't spoil the plot here; this is the sort of book that would not read as well if the reader already knows the outcomes and twists.

Now for the downsides of the story. First of all I found the decisions that Kate made to be irritating - she was too influenced by her past life and did not show professionalism in hunting the killer. The author did a good job of showing how her emotions were affecting her judgment, but at other times the author did a good job of describing how good she was as chief of police. The two didn't quite "gel" for me. I suppose some people would say that makes Kate an intricate character, but to me the main character wasn't a whole and complete person. I imagine that this is subjective, and many readers wouldn't notice or mind.

Also, I found the romantic elements to be almost out of place. There wasn't a lot of build up to the romantic encounter. It seemed a bit sudden to me, more of a plot twist than actually adding to the story.

The ending was not completely obvious, so the author does a good job there, but the ending seemed very familiar to me. Then I realized that it had very similar plot elements to a Tami Hoag detective novel (Ms. Hoag also uses female police officers). It wasn't copied - it had unique elements - but it was familiar. I suppose one could say that if you enjoy Ms. Hoag's stories, you would enjoy this story.

The novel would be OK for young to mid teens, children absolutely not due to the themes and graphic descriptions of crime scenes.

Did no one else find this novel disturbingly gruesome? This is the first book I've read by Linda Castillo and it may well be my last. Unfortunate because l really liked her main character, Kate, and the fact that her Amish background added another unique aspect to the story. Didn't like the gore though and I don't think I'll be buying any more in this series.

I will warn those who can't take gore to stay away from this, but for us suspense lovers, this is truly a great book and a great start for a new series. I'm definitely anxious for the sequel coming in June.This certainly is violent for a book set in an Amish community and probably isn't suitable for the Amish. But those who love mystery suspense will definitely go for this seriel murderer novel. From the beginning, you know that the lead character has a secret which affects her investigation of gory homicides which appear to be a continuation of a murder spree committed by a murderer presumed dead. There is of course a developing romance in the story, but it is kept subdued and doesn't interfere with the primary plot. Highly recommended if you can take the gore and violence.

This book is intense! I had already met the main characters and had been introduced to the Amish issues in another later book in this series. I’m glad I now have the background story for more books in the series. Off to find the next one!

Twelve years ago, Kate Burkeholder fled Painters Mill, Ohio, and her Amish upbringing for the big city, non-Amish lifestyle of Columbus, with “fled” being the operative word here. Four years earlier, when Kate was only 14, she had been beaten and raped at knifepoint by an 18-year-old Amish man. When her parents and siblings returned from town, they found Kate and their kitchen floor covered in blood. They also found the body of Daniel Lapp, his torso shredded by a shotgun blast at the hands of Kate.

Following Amish law, Kate’s father took control of the situation, sending Kate for a bath and her mother and sister to scrub the kitchen. Not following Amish law, Kate’s father refused to call the police and, along with Kate’s brother, disposed of the body in an abandoned grain silo over in the next county. Then, back to Amish law, he forbade every member of the family to ever, ever speak of the incident again.

Left with no resources with which to work through her emotional pain, her fears and her guilt over taking a life, albeit in self-defense, Kate felt utterly abandoned. As her family began treating her as tainted goods, Kate began acting out and increasingly turned to non-Amish kids for companionship. The only upside to this whole debacle was that the two-year spree of rapes and torture killings of women in the area abruptly stopped after Daniel Lapp “disappeared.”

Now, sixteen years after Kate’s rape and the end of the rape-torture murders, Kate is back in Painter’s Mill. So are the murders – same rape, same torture, same MO as to cause of death. But Kate has been back for two years; the murders have only been back for one day. And Kate is no longer a devastated child or a member of the Amish community. She is Painters Mill’s Chief of Police.

Terrified that Daniel Lapp has somehow survived his wounds, has clawed his way out of the granary’s grave and has returned to seek revenge, Kate’s terror overrides her extensive experience as a big city homicide detective. When she fails to call in additional resources, beyond the sheriff’s office, and when a second tortured body is found, the town council goes behind Kate’s back and brings in Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Enter BCI agent John Tomasetti, our second protagonist. The extent of John’s psychological damage and self-destruction makes Kate look like the proverbial Pollyanna by comparison. He is on a daily cocktail of pain pills, muscle relaxants and Chivas. And he uses that cocktail, unsuccessfully, to drive away the images literally burned into his brain of the immolated bodies of his wife, his two young daughters and his partner. The four had been tortured and raped – even the children – then doused with gasoline and burned alive by a drug lord who wanted an end to John Tomasetti, then a narcotics agent hot on the trail of the kingpin.

The drug lord did not exactly get what he wished for. Blinded by grief and rage, Tomasetti silently stalked the man, practiced the paraphrased advice of “Do unto others as they have done unto you,” and framed the drug lord’s second-in-command for the like-kind torture and murder. And everyone knows John did it; they just can’t prove it.

So now Tomasetti is a pariah within the BCI, branded as a corrupt, rogue cop and a severe head case. The brass cannot fire him outright because of his disability status, but they truly want him gone. So they assign him to the case in Painters Mill, hoping he will self-destruct from the pressure of being out in the field again. Well, the drug lord didn’t get what he wanted and John has no intention of letting his boss sideline him either.

So, Kate has no idea that John Tomasetti is being placed in her path. And John has been lied to about Kate’s law enforcement experience and personal background. Little do Kate and John know, when they are first forced together, the professional, psychological and personal ramifications that each will experience. And little do they know that the serial killer is standing closer to each of them than they can even imagine. Essentially, the bottom line is that two broken individuals, who cannot even trust their own motivations, let alone each other, must stop a killer more broken than they.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOLLOW

And speaking of that serial killer, I was able to determine that person’s identity far too easily. The moment I read Tomasetti’s profile of the killer, I knew exactly who the monster was. At this point, the name was not revealed nor did the character admit to the villainy in an internal monologue. I knew because the profile described, almost verbatim, a character to whom we had just been introduced a few pages earlier. A neon sign, in red letters three feet tall, could not have been any clearer. And because that profile is placed so soon after we meet the character, it feels deliberately forced, a poorly executed literary device rather than part of the logical and systematic evolution of the case.

I wish this were a debut author’s rookie mistake, but it is not. Castillo has published at least 18 novels prior to “Sworn to Silence.” Having never read any of these books, I do not know if this kind of literary device is her norm or if it is a deliberate attempt to engage the reader more completely into the story, worrying if the protagonists will be able to figure it out in time.

Either way, I hope Castillo chooses to reveal the identity of her perpetrator in a different manner in future novels – or quit billing her works as “thrillers.” If you have to guess who the villain is, the work is not a thriller, it’s a mystery. And if the perpetrator’s identity is to be a mystery until the final pages of the novel, as in this work, the author needs to space out the clues and red herrings just a bit farther than back-to-back on successive pages.

Castillo uses another device in her writing that is not commonplace in mystery/thrillers. She writes Kate’s POV in first-person present tense, rather than in the more common and comfortable first person past tense. For example, in Kate’s sections, she might say, “I walk up the steps and knock on the door. I listen for movement.” This is a declarative flow that doesn’t really “flow” at first and takes a bit of getting used to. And just as you begin to feel comfortable with that tense usage, Castillo flips to Tomasetti’s POV and uses the more familiar first- or third person past tense. However, believe me when I say that first person present tense truly accentuates the terror when the denouement slams into the plotline.

However, the general POV of the novel, the blending of an ex-Amish female with law enforcement and with the traditional Amish culture is what really sets this novel apart from the standard mystery/thriller. Castillo illustrates, in multiple scenes, that prejudice, bias, and presumption of right-thinking and superiority are traits that are not owned solely by any one particular segment of society.

And, in a book about sexual homicide, Castillo quite dramatically points out that the rock that all brands of cretins, male and female, hide under when rape is involved is still prominently in use and transcends all cultures and religious beliefs. You know what rock I mean – that rock with the words “You deserved it” engraved on it.

So, just be prepared, when you reach the scene between Kate and her brother in the abandoned granary, to set your book or e-reader down gently, take a deep breath and walk off the rage. Because you will never forget, ever, the ultimate import of the words, “You smiled at him.”

SWORN TO SILENCE by Linda Castillo is interesting and suspenseful. The focus is Kate Burkholder who is chief of police in a small town in Ohio. She finds herself in her biggest serial killer case to solve but her haunting past echoes as they hunt the killer.

I enjoyed Kate as the main character. The suspense was solid throughout the book. I had a few issues with some of the police procedure and the perp was a bit predictable. Another thing that stood out to me was that a character introduced early in the book seemed to disappear from the pages after about the halfway point. I don't care for romance scenes in thrillers and this book had some but it wasn't excessive.

Overall, I enjoyed it. The real test is will I read the sequel? The answer is YES - definitely!

I couldn't put it down! This is a thriller with a bit of romance. It's not one of those tender Amish romances so don't get it if you're into that sort of thing. It's got suspense blood gore and an evil serial killer that makes your skin crawl. It's well written suspenseful and the pacing is spot on. I can't wait to read the second one.

I've been wanting to read Ms. Castillo for a long time now. Since I hadn't read anything by her before; I waited until a book went on sale. I usually do that when I'm trying a new author. There is nothing worse than paying full price for a book and find you can't stand the author.

Sworn to Silence is the first in the series of a local chief of police in a small Ohio town with a large Amish community. The chief also was born Amish. I won't spoil anything! You will just have to read yourself. I finished this whole series in 1 week. That tells you how much I enjoy this author. Pick it up, you won't be sorry.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book - gruesome murders taking place in an idyllic Amish community and the formerly Amish cop trying to catch the killer. It delivered a good story, grisly details and compelling characters. However, the Amish factor didn't contribute to the overall narrative as much as I thought it would. I was hoping it would illustrate the Amish culture more. While it did play a role, the book could have easily been set in any small Midwestern town, Amish or not.

As the body count rises and the investigation becomes more desperate, I found that the action got burdened down with the procedural aspects of police matters. It was as if Castillo was invited to a police station or a ride-along for a day and took diligent notes on every police practice, method and system, even cop-speak. Although this gave the story authenticity, I could have done without knowing the intricacies of every criminal database in use throughout the United States. My only other qualm was that there were little technical flaws that were distracting, like the author repeating thoughts within a few pages of each other.

Otherwise, this was a great book. The characters were very engaging, especially when their dark secrets are revealed. The mystery was disturbing and exhilarating, delivering a satisfying conclusion.

I actually really liked this book. I read it in one night, just sped through it. But at the end I found myself wondering why the killer was the killer. He was an awful sadistic person but was able to completely hide that from everybody in the world until the last few pages. There was never an explanation as to why he did what he did, what his motiviation was, etc. And I found that Kate was so involved in her own emotions that she was detrimental to the case. Why do fictional women police always have to be so emotional that they can't function? Through the book, the author kept writing that it was a really small town, everyone knew everyone, etc. But nobody remember the killer moving away exactly when the murders stopped years ago but who is now back in town. I know small towns. When somebody leaves their hometown and comes back after years, it's remembered. The "romance" between the two characters was practially non-existant. They went from barely being able to converse about the case to having sex. Nothing in between. OK, aside from all that negative stuff, I really did like the book and I will be reading the next two. But a part of me is really hoping for more from the author as far as plot development.

I finished the book, but it was a struggle.

I am interested in anything Amish, and enjoy mysteries and psychological suspense, so the description of this series sounded terrific. I'm sorry to say that it didn't live up to its good reviews, for me.

I didn't mind the gritty descriptions of the crimes--I read crime fiction.

My quibble is with the characterization of Kate. I found it utterly incorrect and not believable. She's said to be thirty years old, and brought up as Amish. It seemed extremely implausible that such a woman would be worldly enough, and streetwise and cynical enough to excel at the job Kate had. She was foul-mouthed, was familiar with older pop music, and her language, overall, was that of a non-
Amish person. I understand that she had chosen a different path from her family, but I would expect her origins to leave more traces!

The story focused mainly on the crimes. I would have enjoyed seeing more of the Amish community.

I read a lot of crime fiction, and I was intrigued by the Amish angle promised in the reviews and summaries of this book. The Amish barely made a showing in this -- much of the book was devoted to foul-mouthed characters and some really grotesque and obscene action. The cop with whom the main character has a wholly unbelievable romance is really off-putting (SPOILER ALERT) -- he eventually confesses to having burned a man to death and covered up the crime, in an act of revenge. The main character's life story is not presented in a credible fashion, and the fact that she -- a chief of police -- has been covering up her own crime, even at a time when what she knows may be critical to the solution of a horrendous series of murders -- does not make sense. I see that this is part of a best-selling series. Perhaps there is more of an Amish element in later books, but don't expect it in this one.

I just didn't enjoy Sworn to Silence as much as several other reviewers did. To me, the book was an interesting concept that in more capable hands would have probably turned out better. However, Linda Castillo is a romance author who is making the jump to mysteries. The characters are a bit flat with the exception of Kate Burkholder, the protagonist. Dialouge especially seemed a bit amatuerish and flat.

It isn't a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. Castillo cracks the plot along at a good pace. But mystery is a crowded difficult genre right now. With so many talented authors out there right now, it is hard to recommend a middling work like this.

SWORN TO SILENCE is one of the best thrillers I've read in a coon's age! I literally could not put this book down until I finished it. It's the story of an Amish small town in Painter's Mill, Ohio where the chief of police, Kate Burkholder, once belonged to the Amish community but now is no longer one of them after a tragic incident buries a deep dark secret. After sixteen years young women are again being murdered in a horrible way and Kate thinks the Slaughter House killer is back. She knows who it is but is sworn to silence. Is it really the same man who killed multiple women sixteen years ago? You are in for a boatload of surprises. Ms. Castillo has done a bang up job of constructing a novel that will astound you.

Readers, you are in for a thrill ride you won't forget as Kate and her staff, along with BCI member John Tomasetti, a man plagued by a personal disaster in his own life finds himself booted out of his office in Columbus, Ohio to get rid of him and his problems and help Kate solve her serial murders. This is a fascinating read as the characters are top notch, the plot out of this world with some twists that will leave you sweating and scared. If you like thrillers don't miss this one.

This is Linda Castillo's new debut thriller and I know it won't be the last as this talented writer is on to new horizons to conqueror in the world of suspense. I've been a fan of her romantic suspense novels for years, and I can't wait for the next book in the fabulous Kate Burkholder series. Brava Ms. Castillo!

Suzanne Coleburn
The Belles & Beaux of Romance

Katie Burkholder is the Chief of Police and has a dark secret from childhood that ultimately led her to leave her Amish family and become a police officer. This secret threatens to come to life after a series of gruesome murders are discovered and Katie fears the man who came after her has come back to murder other women. This story is a classic serial killer thriller novel which seems predictable but really takes a twist. I really enjoyed Katie's character and think the author did a great job developing the suspense over the course of the story. The last few chapters were terrifying and had to be read in one sitting. This is the first novel of a new series and I will definately want to read more about Katie and the cast of characters at Painter's Mill Police Department!

Chief Burkholder is smart, gritty, and real. Castillo's writing is fast moving and the plot is intense, with some twists and turns that keep you reading. The Amish aspect of the storyline isn't overplayed, but it does add another layer to the story. Fun read. I will definitely keep reading this series.

This set of CD's lasts a long time! I was hooked from the first chapter until the last. Great story! There were no boring chapters, it kept you wanting to hear what happened next, and wondering "whodunit". All of the characters were filled out well. The story progressed well. I was able to picture the scenes in each chapter, as well as see the people involved. The ending was a great surprise! I will be looking for more from Linda Castillo. The only reason I could not give this five stars is that I am not a fan of coarse language, and there was plenty within these 9 CD's. This definitely has an "R" rating, be careful around others!

A surprisingly sympathetic and eminently readable mystery novel about an ex-Amish female cop. Sheriff Kate Burkholder investigates a serial killer that she thought had died long ago, and dredges up the memories of her Amish past and a tragic event connected with it. Lots of stereotypes, corny dialogue, and pseudo-CSI jargon, but man, I kept wanting to read it to find out who the murderer was - and it was a satisfying reveal. The emphasis on Amish pacifism and reluctance to rely on the outside world is portrayed with relative lack of stereotype or condescension. A fun read that captures Holmes County accurately and interestingly.

If you enjoy Stephanie Plum or Regan Reilly, you will love Kate Burkholder!

Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio. She's no stranger to the town, as she grew up there in an Amish household.

Small town politics, personal demons and a sadistic killer explode in a captivating thriller with more twists and turns than old country road.

Author Linda Castillo delivers a powerful mystery and her roots in romance writing are evident in the strong characters and the relationships that surround them.

Evanovich and Higgins-Clark fans will surely enjoy Castillo, and her heroine Kate Burkholder.

This wasn't a bad book, but it's also one I've read before. Take Tami Hoag's ASHES TO ASHES, throw in a bit of the Amish, a couple cookie-cutter, hard-drinking haunted cops--and you've got the premise. This book spent way too much time being overwrought (and overly explanatory) before the action finally picked up. Not quite a thriller and not close to a procedural, this book would've been better if we'd gotten a bit more up close and personal with the Amish, in general, instead of spending time on forensic details most devoted readers of crime and police procedurals--or regular CSI-folks--already know. While I understand the *bann* in principle, much of what was presented here could have been gleaned by anyone visiting a farm, reading a Wikipedia article, or doing a quick Google search and I was never sold on the heroine having been Amish. As it was, the Amish were held at arm's length throughout much of the book. Again, not bad but nothing extraordinary.

"Sworn to Silence" is a gruesome thriller mystery about a woman with Amish background Chief of police of Painters Mills, Ohio finally getting to the bottom of the rape/murders that have been going on for years by a serial killer with a little romance thrown in. It has an unusual twist that I didn't expect and the book builds tension along the way enticing me to stay up late to finish it. The story line was super but because of the language and the horrific details of the torture that took place, I gave it four stars instead of five. If you like murder mysteries and don`t mind gory details, I recommend this one!

A serial killer is brutally murdering young women, in the small Ohio town of Painter's Mill. The Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder is investigating the killings. However, the current murder spree seems very similiar to previous murders Kate was familiar with, sixteen years before, when Kate was part of the local Amish community.

I found this book an enjoyable read. The plot is interesting, and full of suspense, particularly towards the end. The characterisation is good also. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. A strong three stars.

An interesting premise in the suspense/murder genre....the heroine is Kate Burkholder, the chief of police in the small town of Painters Mill, Ohio. She also is Amish, although banned for not becoming a member of the community at age 18, which brings an interesting dynamic to the story. More importantly, she survived the Slaughterhouse Killer as a young girl, the repercussions of which changed her life forever....and now another young girl is murdered in a horrifying manner and the townspeople fear he is back. Interesting character, good read.

A different idea for a mystery -- the main character is a female police chief who just happens to be Amish. Former Amish anyway, now a bit of a roughneck. When a serial killer starts preying on a small Ohio community, it's up to Police Chief Kate Burkholder to solve the crimes, hopefully without revealing the dark secrets from her past.

An interesting first mystery from a writer best known for romance novels. Lots of twists and turns and characters you won't find in most crime novels. The narration on the audiobook is fine, but unexceptional.

I love it when I pick up a new author and feel like I've met an old friend. Castillo's writing had me hooked from the first paragraph. 68 pages later I knew I wanted to read Kate's entire saga...so I'm making my way through the series.

Thanks for hours of happy reading, Linda!

I have read all 3 books in this series, and just ordered the 4th. I have to say that they are simply fantastic! Not only great mystery, but great character development as well. Heads and tales above the Sue Grafton crap where the main character, even after 20+ years still has the same car, the same dress, and the same dull mysteries, etc.!

If you love the mystery/thriller genre, and you love a cut about the rest, Linda Castillo is awesome!

Can't wait for the next installment!

Sworn to Silence grabbed my attention right away and held it throughout. It's a standard thriller story that is well-written with interesting, but not deep, characters and a good pace of action. I had no previous experience with the author but I had read that she has a Romance Book background. She kept a great balance in this novel, tossing in a little romance, but never at the expense of the thriller. This is the first of a planned series and I will definitely get the 2nd book.

The audio version has a top notch narrator in Kathleen McInerney.

. . . . .I thought that this was a pretty good
who-done-it. But, like eating onion-garlic dip,
a half-hour after finishing it, it left a bad taste
in my mouth. I really liked the way the author
wrote. The story, as it was, was very much of
a page-turner. Now, the bad part. . . . !!
Without giving too much away, there is NNNNOOO
way in the world, all of the various police factions
that exist, is going to allow someone to romp
around the country, serial killing ??23(XX111)??
women / girls and not blink an eye, have a serious
massive manhunt and not rest until the killer was
found. So, enjoy the book, but, read it with a lot of
grains of salt!! Just my opinion:-)

The heroine is a rare bird---a female chief of police in Amish country. Much of the material, unfortunately, is less rare. Lots of gory detail much of which seems a bit gratuitous, some romance which while the characters may be a bit different is not all that unique, and a story line that sometimes drags but mostly moves at a nice pace. On the other hand, for the most part it did hold my attention. It is a mystery, altho a good guess by about mid book. All that said, the story holds the reader's attention with some pretty well drawn characters and a unique setting. If you are looking for an interesting read which holds your attention but doesn't force you to ignore the rest of your life, this is made for you. A good lazy summer read.

I loved this book and can't wait to read the rest in the series (this was the first). Linda Castillo knows how to write suspense. I will mention that her descriptions of the death scenes are exceptionally gruesome and won't be for the faint of heart. They are very graphic. I liked Kate tremendously because she isn't a perfect character. None of us are perfect so I enjoy reading books when the main characters are flawed themselves. Makes her feel a little more real.

I have to say that this book delves into places and cultures that I really don't have that much interest in, yet the description of the book was enough to make me pick it up. I'm glad I did because Sworn to Silence is a tight thriller populated by the flawed heroes and a nasty villain that make the story sing. Also, I must say that when I think of mysteries, the Amish aren't exactly what comes to mind, which adds twists to the book in a unique way.

I doubt I would ever read Ms. Castillo romance related work but Sworn to Silence is a good first effort in the "thriller" space. I echo some that said the graphic nature of some of the torture/murder/post murder scenes were surprising. Maybe because a woman wrote them? I liked the 1st person narrative too. It's a compelling story and she fleshes it and characters well. I enjoyed it for what it is, an adult novel. I did find the ending a little rushed as she moved away from using the 1st person for the villain which I found compelling earlier in the book. I'll be back for #2.

I just completed "Sworn to Silence." What a rip-roaring good read it is! But like James Ellroy's "The Black Dahlia," it is not for the squeemish or feint of heart. It is very graphic in places. There were times when I almost put it down in order to catch my breath. The main character's former Amish background and an event that haunts her past make for a very interesting plot line. I think Linda Castillo has a bright career in writing ahead of her. I am looking forward to the next installment in the series in July 2010.

I thought the plot was good & this is an author who can draw you in. She has a gift. I was totally absorbed by the storyline (although it was very dark & disturbing). It is NOT a feel good, typical Amish novel, however. The language in it is horrible. I'm not a prude, but I found the bad language (& there's a LOT of it!) to be especially offensive and VERY distracting. IMO, the book would have been much better without it. There was also a very explicit sex scene. The Amish novels I read are from Christian authors like Lewis, Wiseman, Fuller & Fisher (to name a few). I was expecting this book to be more like the other Amish books I read (no bad language, no sex). FAR FROM IT! So, if the things I mention bother you, save your money. You won't like this book.

This one may not be for all with its extremely grizly, graphic depiction of the murder scenes. There's more to chief of Police, Kate Burkholder, Painters Mill,in Amish Country, than she can reveal. The blossoming love between her and John Tomasetti adds a little contrast to the horror. What heart-pounding intense suspense! Linda Castillo is quite the informed writer! Very interesting, exciting read! Loved it!!! ... Linda Masemore Pirrung, author of EXPLOSION IN PARIS ... EXPLOSION IN PARIS

Super suspense. I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the Kate Burkholder series. Small Amish town in Ohio has a serial killer who is "butchering" young girls. It gets rather gruesome in spots, but the suspense is great. Kate is the Police Chief with a contentious city council. They are out to get her. Kate had grown up Amish in this town and had left her family many years ago. Sixteen years ago there were very similiar killings in this town - are they related - same killer or a copycat?

My mother read this book, finished at 10 PM and raved about it to my dad. She handed the book to my dad who she figured would read it over the course of the next couple of days. Instead he stayed up until the next morning and read the book straight through. They both loved this book and won't stop talking about it. Since they are older and don't use the computer I told them I'd write a review for them on the store.

They each read about 100 books a year and according to them, this book is it.

This book was suspenseful through and up to the end. The added feature was the information presented of the Amish community--especially towards the family that remain active members of that community and those, who choose to leave the community for whatever reason, and the difficulty to retain relationships with family members as a result!