Though Kate long ago left the Amish community, her background lends her unique qualifications for her role as the Chief of Police of the mixed culture community of Painters Mill, Ohio – and throws up an obstacle when it seems like a serial killer has resurfaced after sixteen years.
I don’t usually read hard-boiled procedurals, as I find they often end up bogged down in technical detail, but I was intrigued by this series’ unusual lead and setting. I thought the writing was fluid and enjoyed the way the intersection of the “English” and Amish communities was portrayed.
I also liked the cast of characters at the police station and that the police investigation was described with the right amount of detail to be interesting and not tedious. Kate herself felt a little like a stock character with a dark backstory, but she was enjoyable enough to follow as a lead.
However, I really did not enjoy the romance between Kate and John – indeed I was dreading it from the moment he appeared on the page. While I see why these characters might work in a relationship (after a great deal of therapy!), I felt that the romance came on very abruptly and was extremely out of place in the events of this book. I would have preferred it if the romance was built up more gradually over a few books, as I think it would have felt more natural then.
I also wish we had got a better look at Kate’s complicated relationship with her siblings, especially how the secret they share affected them, and her relationship with the broader Amish community too.
