The New York Times bestselling series hailed as "gripping" (People magazine) and "compelling" (USA Today) returns with Police Chief Kate Burkholder called to the scene of a horrific tragedy on a peaceful Amish farm.

The Slabaugh family are model Amish farmers, prosperous and hardworking, with four children and a happy extended family. When the parents and an uncle are found dead in their barn, it appears to be a gruesome accident: methane gas asphyxiation caused by a poorly ventilated cesspit. But in the course of a routine autopsy, the coroner discovers that one of the victims suffered a head wound before death-clearly, foul play was involved. But who would want to make orphans of the Slabaughs' children? And is this murder somehow related to a recent string of shocking hate crimes against the Amish?

Having grown up Amish, Kate is determined to bring the killer to justice. Because the other series of attacks are designated hate crimes, the state sends in agent John Tomasetti, with whom Kate has a long and complex relationship. Together, they search for the link between the crimes-and uncover a dark secret at work beneath the placid surface of this idyllic Amish community.

Chock full of twists and chills and set against the unusual world of the Amish, this series "will delight fans of Chelsea Cain and Thomas Harris" (USA Today).

New York Times bestselling author Linda Castillo delivers an electrifying thriller in which Chief of Police Kate Burkholder must confront a dark evil to solve the mysterious murders of an entire Amish family.

The Plank family moved from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to join the small Amish community of Painters Mill less than a year ago and seemed the model of the Plain Life—until on a cold October night, the entire family of seven was found slaughtered on their farm.  Police Chief Kate Burkholder and her small force have few clues, no motive, and no suspect.  Formerly Amish herself, Kate is no stranger to the secrets the Amish keep from the English—and each other—but this crime is horribly out of the ordinary.

State agent John Tomasetti arrives on the scene to assist.  He and Kate worked together on a previous case during which they began a volatile relationship.  They soon realize the disturbing details of this case will test their emotional limits and force them to face demons from their own troubled pasts—and for Kate, a personal connection that is particularly hard to bear.

When she discovers a diary that belonged to one of the teenaged daughters, Kate is shocked to learn the girl kept some very dark secrets and may have been living a lurid double life.  Who is the charismatic stranger who stole the young Amish girl’s heart? Could the brother—a man with a violent past, rejected and shunned by his family and the Amish community, have come to seek out revenge?  As Kate’s outrage grows so does her resolve to find the killer and bring him to justice—even if it means putting herself in the line of fire.

Topping her own bestselling debut, Linda Castillo once again immerses us in the world of the Amish with a chilling story that is both a fast-paced thriller and intriguing psychological puzzle.

A fabulous debut thriller set in the world of the Amish in which a brutal serial killer, who left a trail of victims sixteen years ago before vanishing into thin air, may have returned. Only one woman can stop him - but she is terrified of a secret.

It started with a case so horrific it sent Chicago cop Marty Hogan straight over the edge. Unable to put her disturbing memories behind her, she lost her job and was forced to flee to small-town Texas, to the only police department that would hire her.

She's about to learn you can't outrun the past . . .

Police Chief Clay Settlemeyer knows something about making mistakes, which is why he was willing to give Marty a second chance. But when her ex-partner is brutally murdered, it's clear that Marty's past has come back to haunt her.

And she's the next intended victim . . .