Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt

Synopsis:

Everyone in Painters Mill knows the abandoned Hochstetler farm is haunted. But only a handful of the residents remember the terrible secrets lost in the muted/hushed whispers of time—and now death is stalking them, seemingly from the grave.

On a late-night shift, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called to the scene of an apparent suicide—an old man found hanging from the rafters in his dilapidated barn. But evidence quickly points to murder and Kate finds herself chasing a singularly difficult and elusive trail of evidence that somehow points back to the tragedy of that long ago incident. Meanwhile, Kate has moved in with state agent John Tomasetti and for the first time in so long, they’re both happy; a bliss quickly shattered when one of the men responsible for the murders of Tomasetti’s family four years ago is found not guilty, and walks away a free man. Will Tomasetti be pulled back to his own haunted past?

When a second man is found dead—also seemingly by his own hand—Kate discovers a link in the case that sends the investigation in a direction no one could imagine and revealing the horrifying truth of what really happened that terrible night thirty-five years ago, when an Amish father and his four children perished—and his young wife disappeared without a trace.

And, as Kate knows—the past never truly dies . . . in The Dead Will Tell by Linda Castillo

Review:

The Dead Will Tell is another in the Kate Burkholder Novel series. As chief of police in a small part Amish town, Kate Burkholder uses her upbringing as Amish to help her do her job. Sometimes it helps to speak the Amish Pennsylvania Dutch and this case will be one of those times. People in town are being murdered. And the murders seem to be tied to a tragedy that happened 35 years ago at the Hochstetler farm.

The Hochstetler Farm in Painters Mill is abandoned now, but someone has not forgotten the tragedy that occurred there. The horrific night that ended with an Amish father and 4 of his children dead, while his young wife disappeared without a trace. Kate and her small staff of officers have to use the evidence they have to find the killer. They also have to sift through the roadblocks being thrown up by the very people being hunted.

Kate also has to deal with her relationship with State Agent John Tomasetti. They have just moved in together. John is reeling from news that one of the men he helped catch for killing his family is now free. Kate knows what John has done in the past to insure justice and trust issues arise as she worries he might take the law into his own hands.

This series is very intense and can be a bit graphic. The writing is wonderful and the characters are well developed. I would recommend The Dead Will Tell to anyone who enjoys a well written mystery, which does have a bit of grit to it.  This book can be read without reading the others in the series. It is dark, but wonderfully captivating.  Just be prepared for a treacherous and sometimes disturbing ride.