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128th out of 1,225 books
—
6,460 voters
Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder #1)
by
Linda Castillo (Goodreads Author)
A killer is preying on sacred ground....
In the sleepy rural town of Painters Mill, Ohio, the Amish and “English” 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,...more
In the sleepy rural town of Painters Mill, Ohio, the Amish and “English” 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,...more
Hardcover, 321 pages
Published
June 23rd 2009
by Minotaur Books
(first published January 1st 2009)
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Sworn to Silence is a snow-filled thriller that will chill you to the bone... perfect for crawling under a blanket with on a cold winter day. Kate Burkholder grew up within the Amish community of a small Ohio town, but left that life behind when she turned 18. Now many years later, she has returned to Painters Mill to accept the position of Police Chief of the town. At 30 years old, Kate is only peripherally involved with the people of the Amish community, and serves as a go-between of sorts bet...more
So, what you're saying is:
1. Kate Burkholder leaves her Amish home at 18 with an eighth-grade education and has no problem getting a police dispatcher job with no high-school diploma.
2. She goes from dispatcher to homicide detective in less than eight years.
3. She then comes back to her small town to become chief of police.
4. With *eight years* of experience.
5. Total.
6. And oh, the serial killer who terrorized her town 16 years ago is back!!
7. But nope, can't be the same guy, because Kate was ne...more
1. Kate Burkholder leaves her Amish home at 18 with an eighth-grade education and has no problem getting a police dispatcher job with no high-school diploma.
2. She goes from dispatcher to homicide detective in less than eight years.
3. She then comes back to her small town to become chief of police.
4. With *eight years* of experience.
5. Total.
6. And oh, the serial killer who terrorized her town 16 years ago is back!!
7. But nope, can't be the same guy, because Kate was ne...more
3 likes · like · see review
Apr 03, 2009
Jackie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
thriller mystery fans
Shelves:
work-review-related-reading
She's a new name in the thriller category, but she fits right in with the heavy hitting veterans who have read a praised her amazing debut. The lead character is unforgettable--Kate Burkholder is the chief of police in the small Ohio town where she grew up, though Kate the child and Kate the woman are vastly different. Violence and trauma took away Kate's young Amish innocence and made her the tough "English" (the term
the Amish use for the non-Amish) cop she is today. But is she tough enough to...more
the Amish use for the non-Amish) cop she is today. But is she tough enough to...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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4.5*
I read this book in one gulp. There is something oddly haunting about it, and the dark, cold landscape adds to it. Katie Burkholder was raised Amish, but decided not to stay in the Amish way of life. Now she’s the chief of police of the small community she was raised in, with Amish and ‘English’ residents, and the last thing she expects is a murder. Especially a murder identical in every detail to a string of murders 15 years ago, when Katie herself was only a teenager.
What complicates this...more
I read this book in one gulp. There is something oddly haunting about it, and the dark, cold landscape adds to it. Katie Burkholder was raised Amish, but decided not to stay in the Amish way of life. Now she’s the chief of police of the small community she was raised in, with Amish and ‘English’ residents, and the last thing she expects is a murder. Especially a murder identical in every detail to a string of murders 15 years ago, when Katie herself was only a teenager.
What complicates this...more
1 like · like · see review
I just didn't buy part of central premise of the book, and that weakened the whole mystery for me. Details with spoilers follow in the paragraph below. Also the writing style was not that great. Overall it held my attention just barely enough to finish the book and find out whodunnit, but it was nothing special - basically like reading an episode of Law and Order SVU.
Plot complaints spoiler-tagged: (view spoiler)...more
Plot complaints spoiler-tagged: (view spoiler)...more
1 like · like · see review
One of the most wonderful things for a reader or mysteries is to discover a new-to-them author, especially one with several books to their name! I read a review for the third title in the Kate Burkholder series and, being compulsive about reading series titles in order, read the first book, Sworn to Silence. I became hooked on this series!
After a lapse of sixteen years, it appears that a serial murderer is back, torturing and killing young women in the area of Painters Mill, Ohio, a community w...more
This is Linda Castillos debut novel and is categorised in the crime/thriller genre of book.
Wow, what can I say? I picked up this book after reading the jacket info and let me tell you, it gives you no clue as to how good a read this book really is. The story is set in Painters Mill, a sleepy town which is both English and Amish. Kate Burkholder was born and raised Amish and then went against the grain and ended up as acting Police Chief in the same town that she was born and raised in. One night...more
Wow, what can I say? I picked up this book after reading the jacket info and let me tell you, it gives you no clue as to how good a read this book really is. The story is set in Painters Mill, a sleepy town which is both English and Amish. Kate Burkholder was born and raised Amish and then went against the grain and ended up as acting Police Chief in the same town that she was born and raised in. One night...more
Feb 08, 2012
Dorothy
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Readers who like their thrillers with lots of blood and guts
Recommended to Dorothy by:
My Mystery Book Club leader
Shelves:
police-procedurals
Reading the excruciating details of the serial rapes, torture, and murders of a number of young girls and women is not something that I would willingly inflict upon myself, but this book was the selection of my local Mystery Book Club for February. Sigh. And so, read I must.
The events take place in a small town in Ohio, a place that has a strong presence of Amish. Kate Burkholder grew up in the area in the Amish community, but she chose a different path in life. She went away to college, learned...more
The events take place in a small town in Ohio, a place that has a strong presence of Amish. Kate Burkholder grew up in the area in the Amish community, but she chose a different path in life. She went away to college, learned...more
Inhalt: In der amisch-englischen Gemeinde Painter Mill wird auf der Weide eines amischen Farmers die Leiche einer Frau gefunden. Vor ihrem Tod wurde die Frau nicht nur vergewaltigt und gefoltert, ihr wurde zudem auch noch die römische Ziffer XIII in den Bauch geritzt. Ermordet wurde sie durch einen gezielten Schnitt durch die Hauptschlagader, wie beim Schlachten von Vieh. Für Chief Kate Burkholder und ihr Team beginnt die Suche nach dem Mörder, dessen Vorgehen der gesamten Gemeinde nur zu bekann...more
Heartbreaking and fast-paced, this book is not a comfort read, but you'll be glad you picked it up. I'd categorize it as a thriller, rather than romantic suspense which is what I expected it to be for some reason. I thought the setting was in juxtaposition to the normally seedy, urban area where one often finds serial murders occurring. The weather seemed as much a character, and the world created by the author was a positive element in the book.
I thought Kate a bit rough around the edges which...more
I thought Kate a bit rough around the edges which...more
I spotted Castillo's current hardcover but wanted to start with the beginning of the series. Romance author turned thriller writer, Castillo's rich series opener is stark, brutal, and haunting. Mesmerizing in the best way possible, it kept me reading despite the heat. Her grasp of the nuances of Amish life flesh out the locale and the characters, adding a powerful level of conflict beyond the serial killer who stalks and butchers young woman. "Kick ass heroines" are all the rage, and Castillo ha...more
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
16 years ago a serial murderer/rapist was killed by one of his victims...or was he?
In present day Painter's Mill Ohio; a community of approximately 6000 people and a third of them Amish, on one bitterly cold January night Officer T J Bank, while answering a call about cows that have escaped, finds a body of a young woman. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder ( formerly Amish now, not so much) sits in on the autopsy of this victim and finds the one piece of evidence t...more
16 years ago a serial murderer/rapist was killed by one of his victims...or was he?
In present day Painter's Mill Ohio; a community of approximately 6000 people and a third of them Amish, on one bitterly cold January night Officer T J Bank, while answering a call about cows that have escaped, finds a body of a young woman. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder ( formerly Amish now, not so much) sits in on the autopsy of this victim and finds the one piece of evidence t...more
Kate Burkholderis the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio. Painters Mill is a quiet rural community that has a large Amish presence. The only taint on the community is that sixteen years ago a serial killer terrorized the town and was never caught.
This peaceful community will soon find itself again terrorized by a serial killer. The questions are: is it the same kille, where has he been for sixteen years, or is this the work of a copycat killer?
The mystery becomes more involved when we learn...more
This peaceful community will soon find itself again terrorized by a serial killer. The questions are: is it the same kille, where has he been for sixteen years, or is this the work of a copycat killer?
The mystery becomes more involved when we learn...more
Oct 01, 2010
Kathleen Hagen
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2010-audio-books,
2010-mysteries
Sworn to Silence, by Linda Castillo, narrated by Kathleen McNinerney, produced by Macmillan Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
Painters Mill Ohio is a sleepy little town with an Amish community that has lived peaceably alongside the general community for two centuries. Kate Burkholder has been the police chief for two years and her department works well with her. But Kate has a secret from the past. She grew up in this town and was Amish. But 16 years ago, while a serial murderer was killing you...more
Painters Mill Ohio is a sleepy little town with an Amish community that has lived peaceably alongside the general community for two centuries. Kate Burkholder has been the police chief for two years and her department works well with her. But Kate has a secret from the past. She grew up in this town and was Amish. But 16 years ago, while a serial murderer was killing you...more
When I had seen this book offered on Library Thing Early Reviewers I was very interested in the book. I didn't win the book but a fellow LTER finished with it and offered it to others. I am thrilled to have requested the book and to have had the privilege of reading Sworn To Silence.
The main character of Sworn to Silence is Kate Burkholder who grew up Amish and decided to leave the Amish way of life. She is now the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio, her former hometown. She has a secret tha...more
The main character of Sworn to Silence is Kate Burkholder who grew up Amish and decided to leave the Amish way of life. She is now the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio, her former hometown. She has a secret tha...more
4.0 out of 5 stars Great debut thriller and hopefully the start to a new series..., April 24, 2009
This review is from: Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder) (Hardcover)
I'll be the first to admit that the thriller genre is my favorite. I'm a bit cynical, however, about new authors and new series characters -- I read every thriller author published and at least the first in every new series that comes out. So, my evaluation: this one is good! It's very good.
I loved Painters Mill Police Chief Kate Bu...more
This review is from: Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder) (Hardcover)
I'll be the first to admit that the thriller genre is my favorite. I'm a bit cynical, however, about new authors and new series characters -- I read every thriller author published and at least the first in every new series that comes out. So, my evaluation: this one is good! It's very good.
I loved Painters Mill Police Chief Kate Bu...more
May 25, 2010
Kaye
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Kaye by:
goodreads
Shelves:
legal-or-thriller
Won on a goodreads giveaway. Thank Goodreads!!! The book follows Kate Burkholder who is the chief of police in rural Painters Mill, Ohio. It is Amish country which doesn't play as big of part as the story as it could. A serial murderer is on the loose and Kate is working hard at catching the killer. The descriptioins of the bodies are graphic and the language was a little stronger than I expected (like James Patterson). I thought the mystery was fine, I wanted to know who the killer was. I liked...more
Just recently I was talking about violent acts against women in books and how sometimes, if gratuitous, it can turn me off. There's a fine line for me in what moves the plot forward and what is over the top and just plain too much. I got turned off on James Patterson for just this reason. Right or wrong this bothers me even more when women write violent scenes, as is the case in Linda Castillo's Sworn to Silence. I have to weigh the merits of the violence to the overall story. Would the story ha...more
Kate Burkholder is the police chief of a small town, Painters Mill, Ohio. She is an unusual police chief, the first female chief in the town, and in addition, she was formerly Amish.
One cold winter night, a body of a young woman was discovered. Disturbingly, it appears to follow a series of brutal murders that occurred over 16 years ago. However, Kate knows that this murder cannot have been done by the same man as...she killed the murderer 16 years ago as self-defence after he raped her when sh...more
One cold winter night, a body of a young woman was discovered. Disturbingly, it appears to follow a series of brutal murders that occurred over 16 years ago. However, Kate knows that this murder cannot have been done by the same man as...she killed the murderer 16 years ago as self-defence after he raped her when sh...more
Sworn to Silence is a chilling new series debut by Linda Castillo. The audio book is read by Kathleen McInerney. She does a fabulous job with different voices in this thriller. The reader should be warned up front the the book can been pretty gory and there is a lot of violence toward women described.
Kate Burkholder grew up in the quaint town of Painters Mill, Ohio where many Amish residents still drive buggies, shun electricity, and distance themselves from the complications of modern life. A s...more
When horror comes to the small Ohio town of Painters Mill, police chief Kate Burkhold is thunderstruck. The MO of the latest killing is exactly the same as murders committed 16 years ago. The mindboggling detail is Kate thought she had shot the killer in self defense. Could he still be alive or is there a copy cat killer out there?
Kate, a young former Amish woman, along with her two siblings has kept this secret for years. The Amish prefer to keep these things to themselves and handle it their o...more
Kate, a young former Amish woman, along with her two siblings has kept this secret for years. The Amish prefer to keep these things to themselves and handle it their o...more
Wow. I just finished this today and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Let's see... Kate is the chief of police for a small town in Ohio. She grew up Amish but at the age of 14 was raped and killed her attacker, and her family hid the crime. Now the man she believed she killed may be back and torturing and murdering other young women, and Kate is tasked with stopping him.
There's a lot more going on here, including local political maneuvering, a rogue cop whose bosses want to fire him, relations between th...more
Let's see... Kate is the chief of police for a small town in Ohio. She grew up Amish but at the age of 14 was raped and killed her attacker, and her family hid the crime. Now the man she believed she killed may be back and torturing and murdering other young women, and Kate is tasked with stopping him.
There's a lot more going on here, including local political maneuvering, a rogue cop whose bosses want to fire him, relations between th...more
Kate Burkholder is not your typical small-town police chief: in addition to being female, she also happens to have been born Amish. After a horrible experience in her teens, she turned her back on her Amish roots and left to live in Cleveland, Ohio. Now, she has returned to her hometown of Painters Mill, a small and picturesque town where Amish and "English" live peacefully side by side.
That peace is shattered when the body of a young woman is found in an Amish farmer's field. The young woman h...more
That peace is shattered when the body of a young woman is found in an Amish farmer's field. The young woman h...more
Wow, I finished Sworn to Silence, in one evening. Chief Kate Burkholder is a likable lead character who narrates the story from the beginning. Kate is the chief of police in the small town of Painters Mill, Ohio where she was raised --- Amish. A TERRIBLE event occurs when she is 14 that pushes her to rebel against the Amish way of life and head to Columbus, where she becomes a police officer which leads her back home in her current role.
The town of Painters Mill is shocked, when after a 16 year...more
The town of Painters Mill is shocked, when after a 16 year...more
I was so jazzed to have gotten this book from the preview list. It sounded like an interesting premise--mystery plus clash of cultures. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed though I didn't really understand why until collecting my thoughts for this review. Here are my three main reasons for not liking the book as much as anticipated:
1. Changing the point of view. Half of the book is told in first person, the narrator being Kate, our fearless protagonist. First person helps draw out Kate's...more
1. Changing the point of view. Half of the book is told in first person, the narrator being Kate, our fearless protagonist. First person helps draw out Kate's...more
In the sleepy rural town of Painters Mill, Ohio, the Amish and “English” residents have lived side by side for two centuries. But sixteen years ago, a series of brutal murders shattered the peaceful farming community before suddenly ending. 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, Kate has been asked to returned to Painters Mill as Chief of Police. H...more
I first read about Linda Castillo’s novel Sworn to Silence in USA Today. According to the review: “Lovers of suspense will find no better novel to read this summer . . . a teeth-chattering debut thriller.” How could I resist reading it?
Kate Burkholder is the chief of police in small Painters Mill, Ohio. When Kate was a 14-year-old Amish girl, a serial killer terrorized the town. Now, sixteen years later, the killer appears to have returned, and Kate is called on to solve the crime.
I’ve never bee...more
Kate Burkholder is the chief of police in small Painters Mill, Ohio. When Kate was a 14-year-old Amish girl, a serial killer terrorized the town. Now, sixteen years later, the killer appears to have returned, and Kate is called on to solve the crime.
I’ve never bee...more
Jul 04, 2009
Tattered Cover Book Store
added it
Jackie says:
She's a new name in the thriller category, but she fits right in with the heavy hitting veterans who have read a praised her amazing debut. The lead character is unforgettable--Kate Burkholder is the chief of police in the small Ohio town where she grew up, though Kate the child and Kate the woman are vastly different. Violence and trauma took away Kate's young Amish innocence and made her the tough "English" (the term the Amish use for the non-Amish) cop she is today. But is she tou...more
She's a new name in the thriller category, but she fits right in with the heavy hitting veterans who have read a praised her amazing debut. The lead character is unforgettable--Kate Burkholder is the chief of police in the small Ohio town where she grew up, though Kate the child and Kate the woman are vastly different. Violence and trauma took away Kate's young Amish innocence and made her the tough "English" (the term the Amish use for the non-Amish) cop she is today. But is she tou...more
This was my Feb LT Early Reviewers win and it arrived in the mail on 3/13. The plot sounded interesting. I like murder mysteries and have recently been reading about the Amish, so having them combined in one plot was promising.[return][return]As I first began the book, I was a little surprised by the language. I have read books before with cursing, so I'm not sure why this caught me. Either I got used to it or it was more appropriately used later in the book because I stopped really noticing.[re...more
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Made into Lifetime Movie | 7 | 37 | Mar 10, 2013 07:13am |
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 ri...more
More about Linda Castillo...
In her spare time Linda enjoys reading, trail ri...more
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“I feel as if we're the centre of the universe and a kind God has blessed two imperfect people with a perfect moment.”
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