Falling in with the wrong crowd can be deadly

By Ande Jacobson

The seventeenth (and final to date) Kate Burkholder mystery by Linda Castillo is Rage. Castillo takes readers on a very dark journey this time showing them just how dangerous falling in with the wrong crowd can be. Throughout the series, she’s given readers some insight into the Amish way of life including some of the things that young people get into during their rumspringa (or “running around” period). That’s the time when teens are allowed to disregard the strict rules governing the Amish way of life and experience the outside world for a time before they choose whether to commit the rest of the lives to the plain life or leave the community for the outside world. It happens before they are baptized, and it can last for a few years in their mid-to-late teens. The normal extravagances are things like shedding the traditional clothing, partaking of drink and perhaps tobacco, and using language that is frowned upon in Amish culture. Some of the more rambunctious kids take even greater liberties not only ignoring the Amish rules, but also skirting some of the laws governing the outside (or English) world. When things go even further afield, some of these kids can fall in with dangerous crowds or more sophisticated criminals looking to take advantage of their naiveté. When this happens, the results can be life threatening. This is one such story involving multiple innocents who stray way too far from the lives they knew with tragic consequences.

The Prologue begins with a calm, almost idyllic scene that rapidly deteriorates into a brutal murder, the full scope of which is uncovered through a complicated investigation. A short time later, a family is out playing in the woods, enjoying the day when they stumble upon a human body part. The police are quickly called, and a gruesome investigation begins. Kate and team determine that a young Amish man has been dismembered after being killed elsewhere, although who committed the crime and why they did it are a complete mystery. The first order of business is to identify the young man, which they do after considerable effort.

The investigation isn’t a straight line. Once they figure out their victim’s identity, they have to find out as much as they can about him. As is often the case, everyone has wonderful things to say about the young man calling him a hard worker who didn’t have an enemy in the world. Of course, somebody didn’t like him enough to take his life in a horrific way, so clearly there is something else going on that the team needs to unravel.

The investigation takes Kate and company to a sophisticated country club in town, yes Painters Mill has one of those that readers haven’t seen before. The data they uncover also takes them to a brewery, and finally to a shady “gentlemen’s club.” How these all fit together is a puzzle. How this young Amish man was connected to them is also not immediately obvious. And before long, they encounter additional murders that they determine have to be connected somehow.

This story moves quickly, and it keeps jumping between the Amish world and the seedy underbelly that one might expect in a big city, but this is Painters Mill, a tiny, rural farm community, although for a farm community, more and more big city elements keep encroaching. In fact, one theme that has simmered in the background throughout the series is that many of the problems that people associate with overcrowded urban environments find their way into the most unlikely of places, even a peaceful little hamlet like Painters Mill.

As is always the case, Kate finds herself in danger more than once in this installment. It’s a wonder that she survives each of her misadventures, but so far, she does.

Rage is the last of the series as of 2025, and in many ways it is one of the most disturbing books given the brutality of the murders and the ubiquity of the criminal element depicted. Castillo spends some time inside Kate’s head as she wrestles with the uncomfortable truths she uncovers during the investigation.

In so many of these stories, Kate recognizes that when she left the Amish community before she was baptized her life could have turned out very differently had she made slightly different choices along the way. That’s one of the reasons that she tries so hard to help those who are struggling with their decision whether to stay with the Amish or leave for greener pastures. In Rage, she’s too late to help some of them, and that is sure to haunt her going forward.

A new Kate Burkholder mystery, entitled The Betrayed, is due out in July 2027, so we know that Kate’s adventures will continue.

Kate’s team includes:

Mona Kurtz – the night shift police dispatcher, and newest rookie officer
Lois Monroe – the day shift dispatcher
Jodie Metzger – the second shift dispatcher
Margaret – the new dispatcher hired so that Mona can assume her duties as an officer
J. Banks – formerly the youngest police officer on the team
Rupert “Glock” Maddox – a former Marine and Kate’s most experienced officer
Chuck “Skid” Skidmore – another veteran police officer
Ludwig Coblentz, the local coroner and physician
Roland “Pickles” Schumacker – a retired officer who serves as an auxiliary officer and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to any case
John Tomasetti – a BCI officer and Kate’s fiancée, and at the end of the story, husband

The primary Kate Burkholder series includes:

Sworn to Silence (2009)
Pray for Silence (2010)
Breaking Silence (2011)
Gone Missing (2012)
Her Last Breath (2013)
The Dead Will Tell (2014)
After the Storm (2015)
Among the Wicked (2016)
Down a Dark Road (2017)
A Gathering of Secrets (2018)
Shamed (2019)
Outsider (2020)
Fallen (2021)
The Hidden One (2022)
An Evil Heart (2023)
The Burning (2024)
Rage (2025)

It is best to read the series in order for the continuity of the long story arcs, although Castillo provides some recaps and introductions in each book so that readers could read ahead in the series if they wanted to skip a few books. There are also a few Kate Burkholder short story collections beyond the primary series, but they are side stories and break from the general formula and tone of the primary series while still involving Kate and company.

References:

Sworn to Silence, by Linda Castillo

Pray for Silence, by Linda Castillo

Breaking Silence, by Linda Castillo

Gone Missing, by Linda Castillo

Her Last Breath, by Linda Castillo

The Dead Will Tell, by Linda Castillo

After the Storm, by Linda Castillo

Among the Wicked, by Linda Castillo

Down a Dark Road, by Linda Castillo

A Gathering of Secrets, by Linda Castillo

Shamed, by Linda Castillo