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Linda Castillo

Biography

Linda Castillo

Linda Castillo is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Kate Burkholder mystery series, set in the world of the Amish. The first book, SWORN TO SILENCE, was adapted into a Lifetime original movie titled An Amish Murder starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder.

Critically acclaimed as “the master of the genre” (People magazine), Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including an Edgar Award, the Sue Grafton Memorial Award, a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, a nomination for an Audie Award for best mystery audiobook, and an appearance on the Boston Globe’s shortlist for best crime novel. Her books have sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide.

In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives in Texas with her husband and a menagerie of animals, and is currently at work on her next book.

Books by Linda Castillo

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is summoned to a suspicious fire in the woods, where she discovers a charred body. According to the coroner, the deceased --- an Amish man named Milan Swanz --- was chained to a stake and burned alive. Kate knows all too well that the Amish prefer to handle their problems without interference from the outside world, and no one will speak about the murdered man. From what she’s able to piece together, Swanz led a deeply troubled life and recently had been excommunicated. When her own brother is implicated in the case, Kate finds herself not only at odds with the Amish, the world of which she was once a part, but also the English community and her counterparts in law enforcement. The investigation takes a violent turn when Kate’s life is threatened by a mysterious stranger.

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road. Aden Karn was just 20 years old, well liked and from an upstanding Amish family. Who would commit such a heinous crime against a young man whose life was just beginning? The more Kate gets to know his devastated family and the people --- both English and Amish --- who loved him, the more determined she becomes to solve the case. But as she delves into Karn’s past, Kate begins to hear whispers about a dark side. What if Aden Karn wasn’t the wholesome young man everyone admired? Is it possible that the rumors are a cruel campaign to blame the victim?

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Over a decade ago, beloved Amish bishop Ananias Stoltzfus disappeared without a trace. When skeletal remains showing evidence of foul play are unearthed, his disappearance becomes even more sinister. The town’s elders arrive in Painters Mill to ask chief of police Kate Burkholder for help. It turns out that the handsome Amish man who stands accused of the murder, Jonas Bowman, was Kate’s first love. Forced to confront a painful episode from her past, Kate travels to Pennsylvania’s Kishacoquillas Valley, where the Amish culture differs dramatically from the traditions she knows. Though Bishop Stoltzfus was highly respected, she soon hears about a dark side to this complex man. What was he hiding that resulted in his own brutal death?

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

When a young woman is found murdered in a Painters Mill motel, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is shocked to discover she once knew the victim. Rachael Schwartz was a charming but troubled Amish girl who left the fold years ago and fled Painters Mill. Why was she back in town? And who would kill her so brutally? Kate remembers Rachael as the only girl who was as bad at being Amish as Kate was --- and those parallels dog her. But the more Kate learns about Rachael's life, the more she's convinced that her dubious reputation was deserved. As the case heats to a fever pitch and long-buried secrets resurface, a killer haunts Painters Mill. Someone doesn’t want Rachael’s past --- or the mysteries she took with her to the grave --- coming to light.

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

While enjoying a sleigh ride with his children, Amish widower Adam Lengacher discovers a car stuck in a snowdrift and an unconscious woman inside. He calls upon Chief of Police Kate Burkholder for help, and she is surprised to recognize the driver: fellow cop and her former friend, Gina Colorosa. Years before, Kate and Gina were best friends at the police academy and patrol officers in Columbus, but time and distance have taken them down two very different paths. Now, Gina reveals a shocking story of betrayal and revenge that has forced her to run for her life. She’s desperate for protection, and the only person she can trust is Kate. But can Kate trust her? Or will Gina’s dark past put them all in danger?

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

The peaceful town of Painters Mill is shattered when an Amish grandmother is brutally murdered on an abandoned farm. When Chief of Police Kate Burkholder arrives on the scene, she learns that the woman’s seven-year-old granddaughter is gone, abducted in plain sight. The girl’s family is a pillar of the Amish community, well-respected by all. But Kate soon realizes they’re keeping secrets --- and the sins of their past may be coming back to haunt them. What are they hiding and why? Kate’s investigation brings her to an isolated Old Order Amish settlement along the river, a community where family is everything and tradition is upheld with an iron fist. But the killer is close behind, drawing more victims into a twisted game of revenge.

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

When a historic barn burns to the ground in the middle of the night, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to investigate. At first, it looks like an accident, but when the body of 18-year-old Daniel Gingerich is found inside --- burned alive --- Kate suspects murder. Who would want a well-liked, hardworking young Amish man dead? Kate delves into the investigation only to find herself stonewalled by the community to which she once belonged. Is their silence a result of the Amish tenet of separation? Or is this peaceful and deeply religious community conspiring to hide a truth no one wants to talk about?

written by Linda Castillo, read by Kathleen McInerney - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

When a historic barn burns to the ground in the middle of the night, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to investigate. At first it looks like an accident, but when the body of 18-year-old Daniel Gingerich is found inside --- burned alive --- Kate suspects murder. But who would want a well-liked, hardworking Amish man dead? Kate delves into the investigation and discovers Daniel had a dark side. He was a sexual predator. His victims were mainly Amish women, too afraid to come forward, and he’s been getting away with it for far too long. Now someone has stopped him, but who? The women he victimized? Their boyfriends? Their parents? As Kate wades through a sea of suspects, she’s confronted by her own violent past and an unthinkable possibility.

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Two years ago, Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was a “fallen” Amish man and a known drug user with a violent temper. Now King has escaped and is headed for Painters Mill. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder grew up with King. As a 13-year-old Amish girl, she had worshipped the ground he walked on. She never could have imagined the nightmare scenario that becomes reality when King shows up with a gun and takes his five children hostage at their Amish uncle’s farm. Armed and desperate, he has nothing left to lose. Fearing for the safety of the children, Kate makes contact with King only to find herself trapped with a killer. Or is he?

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called upon by the sheriff's department in rural, upstate New York to assist on a developing situation that involves a reclusive Amish settlement and the death of a young girl. Unable to penetrate the wall of silence between the Amish and "English" communities, the sheriff asks Kate to travel to New York, pose as an Amish woman and infiltrate the community. In the coming days, she will unearth a world built on secrets, a series of shocking crimes, and herself, alone...trapped in a fight for her life.

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

When a tornado tears through Painters Mill and unearths human remains, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder finds herself tasked with the responsibility of identifying the bones. Evidence quickly emerges that the death was no accident, and Kate finds herself plunged into a 30-year-old case that takes her deep into the Amish community to which she once belonged. Under siege from an unknown assailant, Kate digs deep into the case only to discover proof of an unimaginable atrocity, a plethora of family secrets and the lengths to which people will go to protect their own.

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery

All of Painters Mill knows the Hochstetler farm is haunted, but only a handful remember the terrible secrets lost in time. When Chief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates an apparent suicide, evidence quickly points to murder, and Kate follows an elusive trail toward a tragedy from long ago. Meanwhile, Kate has moved in with state agent John Tomasetti, who is drawn into his own haunted past when a man responsible for the murder of his family is found not guilty.

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Evidence emerges that there was nothing accidental about a supposed car accident that killed an Amish deacon and two of his children. Kate Burkholder begins to suspect that she is on the trail of a cold-blooded killer. It is a search that takes her on a chilling journey into the darkest reaches of the human heart and makes her question everything she has ever believed about the Amish culture into which she was born.

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

When the search for a young Amish teen turns up a dead body, the case quickly becomes a murder investigation. Kate Burkholder knows that in order to solve this case, she will have to call upon everything she has to give. But will she piece together all the parts of this sinister puzzle in time to save the missing teen and the Amish community from a devastating fate?

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Thriller

The Slabaugh family are model Amish farmers, but when the parents and an uncle are found dead in their barn, the autopsy indicates foul play. Having grown up Amish, Kate is determined to bring the killer to justice. She searches for the link between the mounting Amish crimes and uncovers a dark secret at work beneath the placid surface of this idyllic community.