Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Rage by Linda Castillo

Book Description

Summer has arrived with a vengeance in Painters Mill, and a macabre discovery by three Amish children brings the quiet to a grinding halt. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder arrives on scene to find the dismembered body of 21-year-old Samuel Yutzy, a local Amish man who owned a successful landscaping business. What twisted individual murdered him in such a sadistic way?

The investigation has barely begun when, miles away, a second body is found, stuffed into a barrel and dumped in a ravine. The deceased is 21-year-old Aaron Shetler, Samuel Yutzy’s best friend. What could these two young Amish men have been involved in that led to such violent ends?

With a heat wave bearing down, Kate learns quickly that, for reasons she doesn’t understand, no one is willing to talk about what happened to the men. Just as she begins to fear the case may be hopeless, a mystery woman comes forward and reveals that fun-loving Aaron and Samuel had recently befriended some very unsavory characters—individuals who may have ties to a larger, more sinister, black market.

To solve the case, Kate must delve into the most sordid corners of her community, but when she gets too close, the killers target Kate herself. Will the secrets simmering beneath the surface of Painters Mill take another life before she can expose the truth? Or will Kate be the final victim?

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Elise’s Thoughts

Rage by Linda Castillo has a riveting plot. Like a fine wine, she only gets better with each story. Kate Burkholder is a unique character that readers will always root for.

The action starts from page one where an Amish man is brutally murdered. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder arrives on scene to find the dismembered body of 21-year-old Samuel Yutzy, a local Amish man who owned a successful landscaping business. The investigation has barely begun when, miles away, a second body is found, stuffed into a barrel and dumped in a ravine. The deceased is 21-year-old Aaron Shetler, Samuel Yutzy’s best friend. Then, a mystery woman comes forward and reveals that fun-loving Aaron and Samuel had recently befriended some very unsavory individuals who may have ties to a larger, more sinister, black market that includes sex trafficking.

Kate is beaten up and warned to stop the investigation, but she is not someone who will give up when justice has not been served. As Kate gets closer to the truth of who is behind the murders, she herself becomes the target of the killers, putting her life in danger.

Each book tops the other one in suspense, mystery, and action. Castillo is a master at building suspense with intense and dark secret undertones.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: We were unable to speak about last year’s published book, The Burning. Is there anything you want to say about it?

Linda Castillo: This is one of my favorites. I think I looked at some of the reviews and saw had readers responded to the story. It was a satisfied book to write because it was a good mystery with the secret underground society of the Anabaptist culture that took out bad Amish. I liked the whole aspect of that story.

EC: How do you feel about this current book, Rage?

LC: Occasionally I listen to my books on audio. This makes me fall in love with it extra hard. Kathleen McInerney is such a great narrator. During my next road trip, I plan on listening to this book.

EC: How did you get the idea for this story?

LC: I am a news hound. I read a lot of crime stuff. There has been so much human trafficking in the news. I did research and realized that Amish women could be victimized. They have

an innocence, naivete, vulnerability, becoming prey to predators. They know they are misbehaving to have fun, but once it reaches a certain level they cannot escape. When exposed to sudden freedom during Rumspringa, they cannot handle it and go overboard, get crazy, and get themselves into trouble.

EC: As in most of your stories you always teach the reader something about the subject matter. Is it true what you put in about sex trafficking?

LC: Emojis are true, and I had no idea about it. Law enforcement can search websites and chat rooms for certain terms. These traffickers tried to find a way around that by using emojis. They use underground language.

EC: How would you describe one of the victims, Samuel?

LC: He got in over his head. He did many things he was very ashamed of and was hoping to make things right. I think he was a decent guy who started down the wrong way and went in the wrong direction. I think once he fell in love everything changed, and he got back on track.

EC: Did Kate see a connection between her past and the other Amish women?

LC: They were all survivors, damaged, and had to take a journey. There is enough information in this book about Kate’s past, so that readers will be able to see the parallels between Kate and these women. The women were young and inexperienced as Kate was, very young, naïve, and vulnerable. They seemed to be lost and unable to re-fit in the Amish community. Kate ran away from her past and her identity. As she recovered and matured as a woman she knew when it was time to go back, with the opening of the Police Chief job. But the Amish women in Rage are not at that point yet. But the last scene in the book shows how one young woman was in the middle of the same journey Kate took.

EC: Interestingly, some of what you wrote made me think about the safety of animals.

LC: If someone has an animal and they end up dying what happens to their animals? I did that in the scene with the horse. I have horses and it upset me to write the scene where the horse was there alone without water and feed, plus it was hot. But I wanted to make sure readers knew that the animal was taken care of. My husband and I have two Blue Heeler dogs, that we are obsessed with and love. We want to make sure they and the horses are taken care of if something happens to us.

EC: In your books, you inform the readers about certain police procedures during their investigations. Your notes about dismemberment were very interesting.

LC: I put in this book quote, “The general rule of thumb for a homicide that involves the dismemberment of a human body is that there are probably two crime scenes. The death

scene, where the victim was murdered and/or dismembered, and the location where the body parts were disposed of and found.” It was a very astute and smart observation. I did not speak to a live law enforcement person about this but read about a dismemberment homicide. I thought about how I wanted to use this fact to make the investigation more difficult for Kate. It worked for the book. Unfortunately, it is a learning experience for me where I learn new things about murder. I must go through every investigational step either by research, talking with somebody, or figuring out the next logical step.

EC: In this book even though Kate is put through the ringer, do you agree she appears to be more cautious?

LC: I did it on purpose, that she now calls for backup. In real-life, small-town police probably do not have much backup. I read a book whose title was When You Are the Only Cop in Town. But I do not want Kate too stupid to live. She must do her due diligence. I still wanted that level of danger, but Kate did not do something foolish. Hopefully the reader is holding their breath, but is waiting for back up to rescue her, upping the suspense.

EC: In this book John Tomasetti is front and center. Do you have a blueprint as to when he will be featured and when he will not?

LC: It will depend on the case Kate is working on. The murders in this book where unusual for the area and are brutal. They had a big city feel, which is what brought Tomasetti in. He will always be there, but I want to vary his level with the crimes.

EC: What about having your books made into a movie or TV series?

LC: Last time we spoke we had a little nibble. I had a Zoom meeting with a script writer and some producers that included Poppy Montgomery who starred in the series “Unforgettable” and “Without A Trace.” She was one of the producers of the first movie, “An Amish Murder,” back in 2013. She loves the character, Kate Burkholder. Her and two other producers on the Zoom are very enthusiastic. I recommended some books in the series, Born to Silence, Down A Dark Road, Among the Wicked, and The Hidden One to read. I thought these books are very representative of the series.

EC: Next books?

LC: The next Kate plot has two Amish women walking down a country road when a car hits and kills one of the women. Was it an accident or more than that? I want to keep my stories fresh by changing the type of crime and the motivation. This book will be published in 2027. But in 2026 there will be another collection of Kate short stories in a brand-new hardcover never released with a new short story never published. It is titled A Dark Path. It will come out in spring or summer 2026.

THANK YOU!!

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