Shamed by Linda Castillo

Welcome!  I hope everyone is doing well on this Sunday!  Here are some new books that are coming out on August 18:  Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison, Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan, The London Restoration by Rachel McMillan, and The Mersey Girls by Sheila Riley.  This Sunday, I am doing a blast from the past by featuring Shamed by Linda Castillo which came July 16, 2019. 

Empty Amish farmhouse liked Schattenbaum's

Shamed by Linda Castillo has Chief Kate Burkholder at the old Schattenbaum house where she finds a screaming little girl stating that the Da Deivel killed her grandmother and kidnapped her sister, Elsie.  Kate finds Mary Yoder dead in the farmhouse from a brutal attack.  After verifying that Elsie Helmuth is indeed missing, she calls in Agent John Tomasetti as well as help from the county sheriff’s office.  It is all hands on deck to find Elsie as quickly as possible.  Ivan and Miriam Helmuth are eager for the return of their daughter and answer Kate’s questions.  Kate begins digging and uncovers a discrepancy that could explain the reason Elsie was taken.  A long held secret puts more than Elsie’s life in danger.  Can Kate find the little girl in time?

Shamed by Linda Castillo is the 11^th A Kate Burkholder Novel.  I thought Shamed contained good writing with a well-plotted crime.  It can be read as a standalone, though, you would know and understand the characters better if you read the series in order.  Shamed gets off to a shocking start with the death of Mary Yoder.  Kate, John, and other police personnel begin searching for clues and for the missing child.  Elise is seven years old and has Cohen syndrome.  Kate has a gut feeling about the case that does not take her in the same direction as Tomasetti.  Kate’s hunches, though, are rarely wrong.  Kate ends up in a small, isolated Amish community that calls into question everything Kate knew about the Amish.  The mystery is a tense one which ramps up the longer the little girl is missing.  The author created a multifaceted whodunit that is complex and suspenseful.  The beginning is violent and gory.  There is a significant amount of foul language in the book as well.  I enjoyed the authors vivid descriptions of Painters Mill, the people, and the other Amish town.  You will find yourself quickly turning the pages to find how Shamed plays out.  Shamed is a gripping tale with kidnapped child, a messy murder, a crazed killer, incomprehensible information, close calls, and a stupefied police chief.  

Shamed is available from Amazon*.  The latest A Kate Burkholder Novel is Outsider.  The series began with Sworn to Silence.  You can find the other A Kate Burkholder novels here.  Thank you for reading my review today.  Tomorrow I will be sharing my thoughts on The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs.  I hope you have a restful day.  Take care, stay safe, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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