It amazes me how Linda Castillo’s stellar Kate Burkholder series continues to get better with each new novel. RAGE, the 17th entry, is no exception.

What has made these books so special is that they are set within the Amish community. It has opened my eyes to the fact that the Amish exist well outside of the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area, as the series takes place primarily in Painters Mill, Ohio.

Much like THE BURNING, the previous installment, RAGE is quite violent and graphic. This is especially shocking as most people assume that the Amish live in a simple and crime-free bubble. Instead, Castillo emphasizes how the modern world and dark societal proclivities have bled into even the once impenetrable Amish community, often with deadly consequences.

"RAGE is full of that emotion and then some. Linda Castillo’s series is a wonder to behold, and this story is not for the faint-hearted."

Samuel Eicher is a hard-working young man with his own landscaping business who went through a wild phase following his rumspringa --- the period of time when Amish youths are permitted to leave their communities and venture into the outside world, some never to return. Although he had been temporarily disowned by his family, he is back in the community, preparing to be baptized and take vows to the Amish church. That is, until someone confronts Samuel in his shop and shoots him following a verbal altercation. The brutality does not end there. His body, dismembered and buried in the woods, is discovered by some Amish children.

Chief of Police and former Amish citizen Kate Burkholder is on the case and has a tough time dealing with the identification of the victim as she had never seen a body in that kind of condition before. Having to inform Samuel’s parents about what happened and the nature of his death is equally unpleasant. Kate learns that he had been seeing a wild English girl and did not have any close friends aside from his childhood pal, Aaron Shetler, who often helped him with his landscaping jobs. Kate and her squad are assisted by her husband, John Tomasetti, who works with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. He is also a bit stunned by the violence within this typically peaceful Amish community and feels that the perpetrators must be from outside their world.

As Kate and her team look into Samuel’s background to find out who might have hated him enough to kill him in such a violent manner, they find a number of connections that could lead them to the truth: Cass, the dancer from the topless club who ends up being formerly of the Amish community; the country club that brought on Samuel to do their landscaping; and the owner of a nearby brewery who hired Samuel for a private job and ended up suing him over unforeseen damages that happened as a result.

Woven neatly through these connections and more is a story that firmly depicts the dark side of human nature and the potential existence of a human trafficking sex ring that might be at the center of it all. There are additional murders similar to the one that took Samuel’s life, and Kate finds herself in the crosshairs of some violent and dangerous people who would not think twice about eliminating her as well.

RAGE is full of that emotion and then some. Linda Castillo’s series is a wonder to behold, and this story is not for the faint-hearted.