I started reading crime fiction when I was a very young child. My granny introduced me to mysteries through authors like Tony Hillerman, who wrote books set in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. That early introduction into mysteries set in small towns and rural areas stuck. My books also focus on smaller towns and rural areas, which I love to visit through fiction or in real life. I have often made my home in a small town and work as a crime fiction author and a developmental editor, so I have an eye for both solid mysteries and life in a rural community.
I loved how this book immerses the reader in the Amish community. Not only is it set in a small, rural town, but it’s also centered around an insular subgroup in that area. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is a character I truly admire.
She’s tough and smart but also struggles with her own personal issues, making her an authentic character that I can relate to. I love this series and can’t wait to read more.
Chief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates the brutal death of a young Amish man in An Evil Heart, the latest installment of the bestselling series by Linda Castillo.
On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road. Aden Karn was just twenty years old, well liked, and from an upstanding Amish family. Who would commit such a heinous crime against a young man whose life was just beginning?
A dynamic debut that drew me into the story from page one. I found the descriptions of the landscape acted like another character, pitting the protagonist against the environment as well as the killer. Long-distance runner Riley suffers from mysterious symptoms, which made me root for her even more because she has so much to overcome.
I love a good amateur sleuth who does the best they can, even if investigating a murder is far outside their wheelhouse, and they have no experience with those kinds of stakes. I’m looking forward to reading this author’s second book. She has an authentic voice, which I believe will only get better with experience.
You can run fast. You can run far. But you can't outrun your family.
Long distance runner Riley has been fighting various bewildering symptoms for months, from vertigo to fainting spells. Worse, her doctors can't tell her what's wrong, leaving her to wonder if it's stress or something more threatening. But when her brother's fiancee is killed-and he becomes the prime suspect-Riley must prove his innocence, despite the toll on her health.
As she reacquaints herself with the familiar houses and wild woods of her childhood, the secrets she uncovers take her on a trail to the real killer that…
I loved the twisty way this debut author stayed ahead of me with her plot. This is a YA novel, but I found the characters, especially the protagonist Addie Blackwood, instantly accessible, even though my teen years are far behind me. The prose was tense and active, taking me on a nonstop rollercoaster ride.
The author deftly combined the very real danger to the characters with the complexity of teen love, which kept me guessing what would happen next. It made me nostalgic for my own teenage years while simultaneously glad I never had to face a terrifying situation like Addie does!
Eighteen-year-old Addie Blackwood regrets nothing more than one horrible, mistake-filled night last summer. Hours after she hurled the worst words she could think of at her sister, Fiona was found dead at the bottom of a ravine. The police ruled her death an accident, but Addie's never bought it. Her ballet-prodigy sister didn't slip and fall; she was pushed. And Addie's number one suspect: Thatcher Montgomery, the rich kid down the street who always had a thing for Fiona.
But when Thatcher is found dead in the same ravine, Addie must admit she was wrong. And now her only ally…
I love the way the author brings protagonist Shana Merchant's past into her present situation.
I always enjoy books that layer in family history and events from a character’s background to show how they were formed by their experiences. I also love a solid police procedural that shows off a talented detective doing what she does best.
The rural environment made the story even tenser for me as Detective Merchant finds herself back in her small hometown. I am a big fan of this series.
Senior Investigator Shana Merchant has spent years running from her past. But she never imagined a murder case would drive her to the most dangerous place of all—home.
After leaving the NYPD following her abduction by serial killer Blake Bram, Shana Merchant hoped for a fresh start in the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York. Her former tormentor has other plans. Shana and Bram share more than just a hometown, and he won’t let her forget it. When the decades-old skeleton of Shana's estranged uncle is uncovered, Bram issues a challenge: Return home to Vermont and solve the cold case,…
I love a good cozy with an amateur sleuth investigating in an inviting environment. Zo Jones is a character I would love to know in real life, and I’d want to do it in Spirit Canyon, the fictional town in the series. I love Zo’s spunk. I also love books where descriptions of the environment make me want to visit, not just run away in fear.
The real-life area of South Dakota where this fictional town is set is gorgeous, and the author captures that beauty perfectly. This is the kind of book I escape to during lazy summer days or for an emotional warmup on a cold winter night.
From award-winning author Rebekah Weatherspoon comes a thoroughly modern take on the timeless tale of a struggling Cinderella who finds her prince charming at the eleventh hour—and the adventure that ensues the morning after . . .
Working as the personal assistant to one of Hollywood’s cruelest divas has left Amanda Queen more determined than ever to sell her screenplay and gain her independence. In the meantime, she’ll settle for a temporary escape. When her employer is felled by the flu on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, Amanda gets her glam on, struts out the door, and parties with…
After her father’s death, Elizabeth “Bet” Rivers works to fill his shoes. In the tiny town of Collier, Washington, the name Rivers has always followed “Sheriff.” When asked to step in temporarily, she never imagined she wouldn’t be returning to the life she’d built in Los Angeles and realize her dream of becoming a homicide detective in the big city.
Then, her first homicide investigation—a Jane Doe in the local lake—sends her scrambling. Reminiscent of a recurring nightmare, Bet must ID the victim and find the killer, proving to herself and her community that she has what it takes to carry the reins of her family legacy and protect the entire town.
In 1662, a man is wrongly executed for signing the death warrant of Charles I. Awaiting execution, he asks to speak with a priest, to whom he declares a curse on the village that betrayed him. The priest responds with a counter-curse, leaving just one option to nullify it.
Four centuries later, Faith and James move to the country to start a new life and a family. They discover their village lives under the curse uttered by the hanged man. Could their arrival be connected? They fear their choice of new home is no coincidence. Unexplained events hint at threats…
In 1660, a man is wrongly executed for signing the death warrant of Charles I. While awaiting execution, he asks to speak with a priest, to whom he declares a curse on the village that betrayed him. The priest responds with a counter-curse, leaving just one option to nullify it. Over four centuries later, Faith and James move to the country to start a new life and a family. They learn that their village lives under the curse uttered by the hanged man. Could their arrival be connected? Faith and James fear that their choice of a new home is…
