Fallen
A Novel of Suspense
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
In New York Times bestselling author Linda Castillo’s new thriller Fallen, a rebellious Amish woman leaves the Plain life, but the secrets she takes with her will lead Chief of Police Kate Burkholder down a dark path to danger and death.
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 a child, Rachael was a rowdy rulebreaker whose decision to leave devastated her parents and best friend. As an adult, she was charismatic and beautiful, a rabble-rouser with a keen eye for opportunity no matter who got in her way. Her no-holds-barred lifestyle earned her a lot of love and enemies aplenty—both English and Amish.
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. As Kate digs deeper, violence strikes again, this time hitting close to home. Will Kate uncover the truth and bring a murderer to justice? Or will a killer bent on protecting a terrible past stop her once and for all—and let the fallen be forgotten?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In bestseller Castillo's exhilarating 13th Amish mystery (after 2020's Outsider), Painters Mill, Ohio, police chief Kate Burkholder investigates the murder of Rachael Schwartz, a young woman she once babysat, who was beaten to death in a local motel. Kate, who recalls Rachael's rebellious attitude as a child, isn't surprised Rachael, like Kate, left the Amish faith. Rachael lived in Cleveland, where she co-owned a restaurant, but Kate can't determine what brought her back to Painters Mill. As Kate speaks with Rachael's business partner, Andrea Matson, and Amish best friend Loretta Bontrager, she deduces Rachael made most of her money from blackmailing people, creating several Amish and "English" enemies along the way. Flashbacks to 2008, when Rachael and Loretta were in their late teens, showcase Rachael's free-spirited behavior and potential culprits. The tension rises as Kate narrows down the suspects and falls into danger at the climax. In addition to providing readers with plenty of Amish cultural context, Castillo adds surprising twists to the gripping plot and touches upon police brutality and Amish discrimination. This sterling entry can be easily read as a standalone.
