REVIEW: Pray for Silence

Pray for Silence
Author: Linda Castillo

Kate Burkholder grew up Amish. A horrible event when she was 16 made her leave her faith and Painters Mill, PA behind. She returned as an adult to take the job as local police chief. She understands the community, the Amish, speaks Pennsylvania Dutch, and loves the community. But it presents special problems at times. She is shunned by the Amish because she left her faith. There is such a cultural difference between the English and Amish in the small community. But, Kate Burkholder loves her job, even when it's difficult.

In this second book in the Kate Burkholder series, an Amish family is horrifically murdered at their rural farmhouse. Seven people dead...even the children. It all seems to relate to the 15-year old daughter, Mary and her secret relationship with a non-Amish boy from town. Kate has to find out who Mary was involved with....and why it may have led to the deaths of her entire family.

I love this series! Kate is a strong, driven and intelligent woman. She does her job 100%, even when it slams her with memories of her past. She works through the strained relationship with her former Amish community members the best she can, always reminded of the life she left behind. The contrast of the modern world and the Amish plain life is so marked. And when the two clash, as often happens in the major crimes Burkholder and her department investigate, it is never a pretty picture.

There are 10 books in the series, with the 11th book coming out in July. I previously read the first four books in the series several years ago and then somehow lost track of this awesome series....probably while waiting for a new book to come out. My huge TBR can be distracting...and those were years before I started using Goodreads and a blog to keep track of my reading. When I got an egalley of the newest book, Shamed, for review, I decided to re-read the series from the beginning before jumping into the new book. I am so glad I'm revisiting this series....and reading all the books I missed.

I enjoyed this second book in the series. The crime is quite gruesome and all of the characters have a really rough time reconciling why anybody would brutally murder and torture an entire Amish family. Quite suspenseful! A very enjoyable book!

Moving on to book 3, Breaking Silence. I have the book downloaded from my local library already! And book 4 is also waiting in the wings! I love this series!