New York Times bestselling author Linda Castillo is the recipient of numerous writing awards, including the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, the Holt Medallion and a nomination for the Rita. She lives in Texas with her husband and is currently at work on her next thriller, also set in Amish Country and featuring Chief of Police Kate Burkholder.

In her spare time Linda enjoys reading, trail riding and barrel racing. She lives in Texas with her husband, three dogs, one cat, and two horses.

Kate Burkholder:
1. Sworn to Silence (2009): In the sleepy rural town of Painters Mill, Ohio, the Amish and ΓÇ£EnglishΓÇ¥ residents have lived side by side for two centuries. But sixteen years ago, a series of brutal murders shattered the peaceful farming community. In the aftermath of the violence, the town was left with a sense of fragility, a loss of innocence. Kate Burkholder, a young Amish girl, survived the terror of the Slaughterhouse Killer but came away from its brutality with the realization that she no longer belonged with the Amish.

Now, a wealth of experience later, Kate has been asked to return to Painters Mill as Chief of Police. Her Amish roots and big city law enforcement background make her the perfect candidate. SheΓÇÖs certain sheΓÇÖs come to terms with her pastΓÇöuntil the first body is discovered in a snowy field. Kate vows to stop the killer before he strikes again. But to do so, she must betray both her family and her Amish pastΓÇöand expose a dark secret that could destroy her.

2. Pray for Silence (2010): 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 LifeΓÇöuntil 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 EnglishΓÇöand each otherΓÇöbut 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 pastsΓÇöand 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 girlΓÇÖs heart? Could the brotherΓÇöa man with a violent past, rejected and shunned by his family and the Amish community, have come to seek out revenge? As KateΓÇÖs outrage grows so does her resolve to find the killer and bring him to justiceΓÇöeven 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.

3. Breaking Silence (2011): 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 deathΓÇöclearly, foul play was involved. But who would want to make orphans of the SlabaughsΓÇÖ 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 crimesΓÇöand uncover a dark secret at work beneath the placid surface of this idyllic Amish community.

4. Gone Missing (2012): Rumspringa is the time when Amish teens are allowed to experience life without the rules. ItΓÇÖs an exciting time of personal discovery and growth before committing to the church. But when a young teen disappears without a trace, the carefree fun comes to an abrupt and sinister end, and fear spreads through the community like a contagion.

A missing child is a nightmare to all parents, and never more so than in the Amish community, where family ties run deep. When the search for the presumed runaway turns up a dead body, the case quickly becomes a murder investigation. And chief of Police Kate Burkholder knows that in order to solve this case she will have to call upon everything she has to give not only as a cop, but as a woman whose own Amish roots run deep.

Kate and state agent, John Tomasetti, delve into the lives of the missing teen and discover links to cold cases that may go back years. But will Kate piece together all the parts of this sinister puzzle in time to save the missing teen and the Amish community from a devastating fate? Or will she find herself locked in a fight to the death with a merciless killer?

4.5. Long Lost (2013): ItΓÇÖs autumn in Painters Mill, and Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and John Tomasetti are taking a much-needed vacation at a small bed and breakfast an hour outside of town. After closing a difficult case, theyΓÇÖre looking forward to some down time, but their relaxation is cut short by rumors that the old house where theyΓÇÖre staying is haunted by a girl who disappeared twenty years earlier, leaving nothing behind but some bloody clothes by the river and rumors of a volatile relationship. Swept up in the girlΓÇÖs story, and a need for justice, Kate and John begin looking into the mysterious disappearance of Angela Blaine. They discover long-buried secretsΓÇöand unravel a mystery with an unexpected outcome.

5. Her Last Breath (Scheduled for June 2013)

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