Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for ASYLUM by Tamera Lawrence on this Blackthorn Book Tour.
Below you will find an about the book section, my book review and an about the author section. Enjoy!
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About the Book
Like all children living at Rose Hill Asylum, Kyle Hampton wanted freedom from the abusive staff and violent residents. When at nine he was adopted into a loving family, he left his younger brother behind and didn’t look back. Twenty-eight years later, his choices have returned to haunt him.
Now a family man, Kyle has hidden his true childhood from his wife, only to stir up the past when, as a lark, he revisits the underground tunnels and the abandoned asylum with a friend. A dark figure wants revenge and emerges ready to destroy Kyle and everyone he loves. But Kyle isn’t going down without a fight—he’s played in the shadows before.
Will his childhood, rooted in terror, be what saves him?
ASYLUM by Tamera Lawrence is a suspense/thriller standalone by a new to me author that left me guessing throughout. A creepy abandoned asylum, an atmosphere of fear and a history of violence and abuse all kept me turning the pages and keeping the lights on.
Kyle Hampton and his younger brother, Roy were both born at Rose Hill Asylum. As a young boy all Kyle wished for was to be freed from the abusive staff and violent residents. At nine, he was adopted, but he had to leave his brother behind.
Rose Hill Asylum has been vacant and abandoned for many years and it is about to be sold. Kyle wants to return to the place he was born one more time with is best friend, Randy who also grew up at Rose Hill and is a part-time urban explorer. The tunnels underneath the facility connect all the buildings and Kyle begins to remember the terrors they held for him.
A dark figure emerges from the asylum and wants revenge on all who wronged him. Kyle is one of his targets as well as all the people he loves, but Kyle will not go down without a fight.
This book gives you a building sense of dread and chills up your spine from beginning to end, but it is a slow start. I began this book thinking it would be a horror story, and it does scare you, but it is not supernatural. It is the horror of things that humans do to other humans. Kyle is a protagonist that kept my feelings in turmoil because at times I felt sorry for him and at other times I wondered how damaged he was from growing up in the asylum when he did not seem to connect with his wife. The author’s writing makes you feel the atmosphere of the abandoned asylum and the tunnels beneath as well as the menace and violence from the antagonist.
I recommend this chilling suspense/thriller and I will be looking into other works by this author.
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About the Author
With a passion for writing, Award winning author Tamera Lawrence likes to entertain readers with edgy thrillers and mysteries. As a mother of six, Tamera draws on personal experiences to bring to life interesting characters set in today’s complex world. She loves meeting fans and writes book reviews upon request.
Tamera also likes to play softball and clang out a tune or two on the piano.
Other books include:
THE POND, GHOSTS OF MAYFLOWER: A PENNHURST HAUNTING & PENNHURST GHOSTS OF MAYFLOWER 11
ENEMY AT THE GATE (Mitch Rapp Book #20) by Kyle Mills is once again my “favorite” book in this series! Action-packed and fast-paced as the previous books in the series, this new book also includes worldwide political intrigue played by billionaires and autocrats as intricate as a chess game with the common man as their pawns. If for some reason you have not read this series yet, this book is easily read as a standalone and a great place to jump in.
Mitch Rapp is trying to find a new normal and balance in his life. He is working on recovering from the damage done to his body and rehabbing and strengthening with long-distance cycling. He is also finding he is more at home and happier with Claudia and Anna in South Africa on their vineyard than in their home in the United States.
As he decides if he is out of the game for good, Irene Kennedy pulls him back in with a meeting between the new President, Anthony Cook and the world’s first trillionaire, Nicholas Ward when Ward’s research compound in Uganda is attacked and destroyed and the fate of his most valued scientists in unknown. Mitch has his reservations about the new administration, but Nicholas Ward hires Scott Coleman and his team and with Mitch along at point they enter the Ugandan jungle for a rescue op.
This is just the beginning of an intricately plotted thriller that pits Mitch against a terrorist with a God complex and an army of drug fueled followers in the Ugandan jungle, a CIA mole at the highest level and a new President and First Lady with dreams of an autocratic dynasty.
I am a Mitch Rapp Ambassador and love the whole series, but this book was a tour de force by Kyle Mills. He is able to emotionally mature Mitch Rapp without changing him so much that his fans would protest. The plot of this thriller not only keeps you turning the pages, but also makes you think and question the world order today of power and money, morally, politically, and scientifically. There are enough open-ended questions and powerful and dangerous people left for Mitch to be busy for quit a few more books and nothing could make me happier.
I highly recommend this new Mitch Rapp thriller!
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About the Author
Kyle Mills is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty books, including the latest in Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series, Total Power.
Growing up in Oregon, Washington, DC, and London as a the son of an FBI agent, Kyle absorbed an enormous amount about the intelligence community, giving his novels their unique authenticity. He and his wife live in Wyoming where they spend their off hours mountain biking and backcountry skiing.
Sometimes, the most perfect families are hiding the most terrible secrets. How well do you know the people next door…?
Everybody wants to live on Hogarth Street, the pretty, tree-lined avenue with its white houses. The new family, The Wests, are a perfect fit. Katherine and Josh seem so in love and their gorgeous five-year-old twins race screeching around their beautiful emerald-green lawn.
But soon people start to notice: why don’t they join backyard barbecues? Why do they brush away offers to babysit? Why, when you knock at the door, do they shut you out, rather than inviting you in?
Every family has secrets, and on the hottest day of the year, the truth is about to come out. As a tragedy unfolds behind closed doors, the dawn chorus is split by the wail of sirens. And one by one the families who tried so hard to welcome the Wests begin to realize: Hogarth Street will never be the same again.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Family Across The Street is Nicole Trope’s latest novel. Her American debut was in June of this year with the outstanding book, The Boy In The Photo. With all her books, readers get a vivid plot that grips them and grabs their full attention. The stories usually delve into everything from emotional abuse, child abuse (both psychological and sexual), and domestic violence.
The Boy In the Photo was first published by Grand Central Publishing this June. It takes readers on an emotional roller coaster involving love, hurt, heartbreak, and joy. The story is told in two parts: six years ago, and six years later. Megan Kade divorced her abusive husband, Greg Stanthorpe. Intending to get Megan back or to hurt her he kidnaps their son and goes off the grid. Six years later the boy, Daniel, appears at a New South Wales police station, reporting that his dad died in a fire. Daniel is distant, volatile, and in some ways resistant to Megan. He believes all the horror stories told to him by his father. The flashbacks of how both Megan and Daniel feel in the six-year gap emphasizes their grief and apprehension.
The Family Across The Street, her latest book, can be purchased as either an e-book or a paperback. The plot begins with Kathleen and her five-year-old twins, George and Sophie, being terrorized by someone in their house. Logan, a delivery driver, gets a strange feeling that something is wrong after he tries to deliver a package that requires a signature, and the homeowner tells him she can’t open the door. He is not alone; Gladys, the caring across the street neighbor, also suspects something is wrong. Both grapple with deciding if they should intervene. Would they be interfering and falsely calling the police or should they be disinterested and mind their own business. This is a subject explored throughout the plot along with how Kathleen plans to protect her children.
All her books are riveting reads with another two books that readers might want to read first, The Nowhere Girl and The Life She Left Behind.
The Nowhere Girl has Alice married to a wonderful man, Jack, and raising three wonderful children. But as with many of Trope’s books this character has a secret. She has told Jack that she ran away from home when she was younger, but she didn’t tell him the whole story. Her husband doesn’t know about the guilt she bears about her little sister she failed to save. Trying to come to grips with her emotions, she starts a blog for those abused. One of the women she is in contact with wants to meet her. But she wants her past to stay in her past, until she realizes that her abusive father is watching her and waiting to attack. The story goes back and forth explaining Alice’s childhood and how she plans on protecting her family.
The Life She Left Behind also has a wife not able to confide in her husband about her past. Twenty-eight years later the secret does not stay buried. Rachel and her husband Ben, along with their young daughter Beth, have just moved into their very first house in a new housing complex. But what should be a happy and joyous moment is shattered when someone breaks into their new home leaving Rachel with memories of a childhood she wishes to forget. Someone is leaving her childhood Troll dolls in places for her child to find. It seems her mother and she escaped the domestic violence inflicted by the husband/father. But has he returned?
As with all her books, Trope skillfully keeps readers guessing, always having a twist at the end of the story. She has the reader take a journey with the characters as they try to protect themselves and their family. She also has the reader ponder a question about what would they do: would they call the police, would they leave and start a new life, or would they stay? Because of the abuse scenes, readers will be on the edge of their seats hoping that the heroine can overcome the evil in her life.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How would you describe your books?
Nicole Trope: There is a family where, in a certain moment, something changes in their life, and how they react. Usually there are troubling characters, where I hope to redeem them in some way. I want readers to understand why they behaved the way they did. Many of the books deal with abuse and families in crisis.
EC: How did you get the idea for your last book, The Family Across The Street?”
NT: Looking at Facebook, I saw a post by an American photographer who took pictures of gang members’ and their tattoos. One guy had a very emotional reaction after seeing his picture where the tattoos were photoshopped out. He felt without them he looked like an average person. I thought about someone who might not have had a good start and wanted to change their life. Yet, they are marked forever. In this book, Logan, the delivery driver was like that and after he entered my head along came the story.
EC: In most of your books the abusers have a certain persona?
NT: They are dominant, distrustful, angry, violent, and like to inflict fear. Many times, they like to be in control because they cannot control their own rage, anger, and fear. There is an underlying reason for their emotions.
EC: There are also mothers who want to stay close to their children?
NT: In this book, The Family Across The Street, the heroine Katherine West has a wonderful new start. Yet, she does not want to be cut out of her older child’s life. She is very much a mother who is trying to do her best.
EC: Gladys, is the neighbor across the street?
NT: She is an elderly woman who is from a different generation when all the neighbors knew each other. She is struggling because her best friend, her husband, is dying. She must contemplate a future without him in her life. She never had children, so she is lonely.
EC: This book shows how many people feel about getting involved?
NT: This is something that fascinates me. When to call the police? Does someone call if they hear a child crying or do they go over to their neighbor’s house to make sure everything is OK? I understand the reader wants someone to call the police because they know more than the neighbors. I made sure the event takes place only over one day because I want the neighbors and Logan to consider what to do. People are afraid to put forward the wrong foot yet, the consequences could be devastating if wrong. The Family Across The Street had people afraid of overreacting, but worried their neighbors are being harmed. It is very difficult to know what to do.
EC: Did the five-year-old George steal the show in your latest book?
NT: He is very protective, caring, and will grow up into a lovely man. I loved him. He is a brave little soldier.
EC: What about your next book?
NT: It comes out October of this year, titled, The Mother’s Fault. It is in the same vein as the last book.
THANK YOU!!
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Leigh Coulton has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defence attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilised – her life is just as unremarkable as she’d always hoped it would be.
HIDES A DEVASTATING PAST
But Leigh’s ordinary life masks a childhood which was far from average… a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and finally torn apart by a devastating act of violence.
BUT NOW THE PAST IS CATCHING UP
Then a case lands on her desk – defending a wealthy man accused of rape. It’s the highest profile case she’s ever been given – a case which could transform her career, if she wins. But when she meets the accused, she realises that it’s no coincidence that he’s chosen her as his attorney. She knows him. And he knows her. More to the point, he knows what happened twenty years ago, and why Leigh has spent two decades running.
AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT
If she can’t get him acquitted, she’ll lose much more than the case. The only person who can help her is her younger, estranged sister Calli, the last person Leigh would ever want to ask for help. But suddenly she has no choice…
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Elise’s Thoughts
False Witness by Karin Slaughter shows why she is one of the best for writing fabulous characters. This story has two sisters’ childhoods tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and ultimately destroyed by a brutal act of violence as well as one of the sister’s tragedy of addiction. She was portrayed with empathy and grace by the author. This story is brutal, honest, real, and heartbreaking at times involving issues of rape, drug use, murder, and abusive violence.
Kudos to Slaughter for balancing the strong relationship between the sisters. Readers will grow attached to the sisters Leigh, Callie and Leigh’s husband, Walter, as he becomes involved to help them. Each of the sisters have taken a different route through life. Leigh Collier has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life after being sexually harassed as a child babysitter. She’s an up-and-coming defense attorney at a prestigious law firm in Atlanta, who would do anything for her sixteen-year-old daughter Maddy, while managing to successfully coparent through a pandemic after an amicable separation from her husband Walter. The other sister, Callie, is a drug addict, but sympathetically humanized. She was a child gymnast and cheerleader, who after suffering a broken neck, had constant back pain. Her childhood experience involved being groomed and regularly sexually assaulted by a violent pedophile while babysitting his 10-year-old son, and turning her into a heroin addict.
As Leigh is asked by her boss to defend a serial rapist, she is confronted with her past. When she meets the accused face-to-face, Andrew, she realizes that it’s no coincidence that he’s specifically asked for her to represent him. They know each other. Leigh wonders how much he knows about what happened over twenty years ago. The only person who can help her is Callie, the younger, estranged sister. With the life-shattering truth in danger of being revealed, she has no choice to involve Callie. The shocking twist at the end of the book will keep readers engrossed.
This complex plot has as its central theme, the heart of the relationship between Callie and Leigh. Both these heroines are believable, flawed, and courageous. The highly intense themes, along with the horrible graphic actions of the evil doers, makes for a riveting read.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Why write about the pandemic?
Karin Slaughter: I started with a character, Leigh Collier, who I thought about three years ago. I knew I was going to write a story during the pandemic. When the book was finished the vaccines came, so I knew I wanted to incorporate the virus into the story. It was fun and challenging for me as an author. I tried to make Covid exist, but not as an intricate part of the story. I made sure not to politicize it.
EC: There is a difference between the two sisters?
KS: Some have the luxury to keep themselves as safe as possible and some do not. To highlight this, I used the two sisters, Callie and Leigh. Callie always had to work. Because of her addiction she had to be on the streets. Having a disability made her vulnerable.
EC: Why the addiction angle?
KS: I wanted to humanize someone struggling with addiction. She had an emotional, mental, and physical addiction. Hopefully, I showed how we are really failing in how to handle addicts and help them. Callie figured out a way to help herself through maintenance doses. If only addicts could get levels that could help them function in society and eventually wean themselves off of the drugs. Instead of punishing the people into the ground we should look at ways people could get help.
EC: Drug addicts?
KS: The personality of the person must be considered. If someone is actually a good person who is controlled by addiction, they are still decent. If someone is a horrible jerk, addiction will definitely amplify it. We spend trillions of dollars on the war on drugs, which has failed miserably. Imagine if we spent that money on helping low-income students get better Internet, classrooms, schoolbooks, nutritional meals, and safe schools. This would be more useful.
EC: How would you describe Leigh?
KS: She experienced a horrific trauma with her sister when they both were younger. She is now a successful lawyer. But Leigh is a control freak, compartmentalizes people, never likes to feel powerless, and is a survivor. She presents a front to hide her guilt and deep vulnerability.
EC: How would you describe the bad guy, Andrew?
KS: My grandmother used to say, ‘if someone wants to be bad, they will find any excuse to be bad.’ He is definitely an illustration of that. Andrew is someone looking for a reason to justify the bad things he wants to do. He thinks he should be able to do whatever he wants in life because he is entitled to do it. He is cruel and likes to terrorize people. When I wrote that fish scene with him, I laid a foundation for his personality.
EC: Speaking of fish, there is some humor?
KS: I love puns and love to be silly. It was delightful time for me to make up all that stuff, such as “Anne Chovey, Genghis Karp, Mr. Dar-Sea, and James Pond.” I spent far more time than I care to admit on this.
EC: There is a quote about prosecutors and judges caring more about optics than justice. Please explain.
KS: Many prosecutors only take cases they think they can win. They plead out everything else. Many overcharge to get someone to plead out to a lesser charge. As voters we need to look at how the justice system runs. For example, women in prison are limited to the number of tampons and pads they can have.
EC: There is also a quote about losing someone. Please explain.
KS: You are referring to this one, “Your relationship with a person doesn’t end when they die. It only gets stronger.” Someone told me that after I lost my 9th grade teacher who I consider my mentor. She died about five years ago from cancer. I had all these memories of her. I remember our relationship and how important she was to me. The choices I make in the present are based on what she told me in the past.
EC: Your next book?
KS: It will have a murder and be out this time next year. A couple of characters from a previous stand alone will be back.
THANK YOU!!
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am very excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for TEARS OF FIRE (A Lambeth Group Thriller Book #6) by Gordon Bickerstaff.
Below you will find an author Q&A, a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Author Q&A
Q. It is book 6 in a series. Do I need to read the previous books?
A. No. All the books are standalone stories. The series has recurring characters and in each book there is enough background to allow the reader to understand them.
Q. In a sentence. What type of thriller is it?
A. It take inspiration from James Bond & Jason Bourne action & adventure stories but with an awesome woman leading the way.
Q. Why do you write about crime, spies and international espionage?’
A. I love to read them. Many characters in crime novels are larger-than-life dangerous. As a reader, I like to be drawn into their threatening spheres. It’s like being up really close to the flame knowing you won’t be burned.
Q. Have childhood or other experiences contributed to the story?
A. Every book contains a piece of the writer and or family. For example in the Tears of Fire, some scenes take place on a paddle steamer Wensley. I have childhood memories of being on the ocean-sailing paddle steamer Waverley, which still sails today on the route depicted in the book.
Q. Is Tears of Fire, different from the other books?
No. Tears of Fire sticks to the same formula of scientist Gavin and special forces operative Zoe risking their necks to bring down determined and ruthless criminals and terrorists.
Q. Where do the core ideas come from?
A. Stories in the Press. Investigative journalists dig into a lot of murky and dangerous activities. Often taking great personal risks to expose the truth about incidents and events. I am constantly amazed by the inhumanity they uncover.
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Book Description
Two serial killers have been getting away with murder for years. For them, it’s a well-paid hobby while they bide their time. It’s about to stop when everything slots into place for them to leap to the next level. Payback for the people who killed their parents.
Lambeth Group investigator, Gavin Shawlens, is on their trail. But all is not as it seems and he is pushed way out of his depth when the killers turn on his family. Gavin’s Lambeth Group partner, Zoe Tampsin, is cut off from him and fighting her own battle to stay alive.
They need to connect but Zoe will face an impossible choice. Stop the killers before they pull off the most audacious murder that will shock the world and change it forever. Or, rescue Gavin’s family from the jaws of evil.
TEARS OF FIRE (A Lambeth Group Thriller Book #6) by Gordon Bickerstaff is another edge-of-your-seat, compelling, fast-paced Lambeth Group thriller. Mr. Bickerstaff continually surprises me with his ability to make me cringe at the methods used by his antagonists to kill people and the excitement as Gavin and Zoe work together to defeat them. These books can be read as standalones with each espionage/crime plot being unique, but the main characters continually build their relationships with each new story. I believe they should be read in order of publication.
British Special Forces Captain Zoe Tampsin is fighting to stay alive and not protecting biochemist Gavin Shawlens of the secretive Lambeth Group as this book opens. While Gavin is pulled into an insurance investigation through the Lambeth Group because of his special studies in enzymes, but his simple investigation is not what it appears to be.
Government corruption, sanctioned revenge, twin Korean psychotic killers who want to start a war on the Korean peninsula and a nursing home with an illegal side hustle all come together in a race against time in which Zoe must uncover an intricate plot, stop the use of a dirty bomb in Scotland and once again race to save Gavin’s life.
I was not able to put this book down! Once again Mr. Bickerstaff had me hooked from page one. The fast-paced plot does not let up as Zoe is fighting one obstacle after another when she could have walked away. Zoe is an extremely strong protagonist that I enjoy cheering on. Gavin is once again brilliant in his professional field, but not so smart or brave when in the field for the Lambeth Group, but I like the added insight into Gavin’s past that influences his present behavior and it helps to make him more relatable. The secondary characters who aid Zoe and Gavin are fully fleshed, strong and came through when needed. The evil characters are truly despicable and scary. The plot will keep you turning the pages with plenty of twists and surprises right up to a very close call of a climax.
I highly recommend this Lambeth Group thriller and all the books in this series!
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Excerpt
Zoe pushed onto her knees, reached for the hoe, drew back, and threw it like a spear. It crashed into the back of his neck, ramming his head into the thin glass panel on the door, which shattered. He squealed, turned around, and jerked a glass shard out of his neck. Blood spurted in every direction as he fell to the floor.
Brooke ran to his body and repeatedly rammed the heel of her bare foot into his groin.
Zoe pushed onto her feet, steadied her stance, and stumbled before she pulled on Brooke’s arm. ‘Brooke! Brooke! He’s dead.’
‘I don’t care. He did this!’
She lifted her nightie to her chest to reveal her body marked with rows of small round burn marks, too many to count.
Zoe gasped. During her service, she witnessed a lot of horrible sights, but rows of cigarette burns turned her stomach.
‘He burned me each time he raped me!’ She stamped her heel one more time into his groin. Then, as she accepted her ordeal would soon be over, her sobs escalated into a choleric wail.
Zoe grabbed her forearm and pulled her around to get eye contact. She put her hand on the side of Brooke’s face. ‘I need you to hold it together for a while longer.’
The wail faded when Zoe drew Brooke into a hug. She clung tightly, trembling, while sobbing on Zoe’s shoulder.
Zoe stroked the back of Brooke’s head to comfort her, urging her to think of herself back home in her family’s arms.
Behind them, while they hugged, Muscle Man regained consciousness. He sprang up, reached forward, grabbed the garden fork, and rushed toward them.
Before he plunged the fork into Zoe’s back, Joss aimed through the broken window and shot him in the head. He catapulted back and landed flat on his back on the floor.
Joss spotted the broken glass panel when she came through the hole in the fence and drew her Glock. Joss shoved the door against the dead man to squeeze through the gap.
She surveyed the bodies, trying to work out what happened. She inspected Zoe’s face. ‘Are you all right?’
Zoe smirked with an unapologetic look. ‘They started it. Check the woman on the pool table. She’s still alive. Drugged, I think.’
In the past, Joss and Zoe argued about violence and killing. Joss preferred negotiation to resolve conflict. Zoe did what she had to do when violence came her way. Meet it with a superior force.
Brooke said to Zoe, ‘She’s not dead. She’s not alive.’
Joss lifted the woman’s wrist to check for a pulse. Cold and clammy like a corpse.
The woman’s thick, black eyelashes snapped open to reveal doe-like eyes.
She shouted. ‘Please don’t do that! Please. I don’t like it. I’m begging you. Please don’t do that!’
Joss dropped the wrist and faced Zoe. ‘She is a sex robot. A sexbot. High quality, realistic-looking latex.’ Joss knelt and dragged three brown boxes from underneath the pool table. She reached into the first box and pulled out a few tubes of lubrication jelly to show Zoe.
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Author Bio
I was born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland. I studied biochemistry, and I’ve worked in several Scottish Universities where I did research on enzymes and taught biochemistry. After thirty years of teaching and research I retired my academic pen and took of a fiction pen.
I live in central Scotland with my wife and we enjoy reading, writing, and walking in the hills.
The Lambeth Group books are a series of the secret government investigations led by undercover agent Zoe Tampsin. A strong female protagonist with courage, determination, and guile. She is assisted by specialist science consultant, Dr Gavin Shawlens.
When a young woman is found murdered in a Painters Mill motel, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is shocked to discover she once knew the victim. Rachael Schwartz was a charming but troubled Amish girl who left the fold years ago and fled Painters Mill. Why was she back in town? And who would kill her so brutally?
Kate remembers Rachael as the only girl who was as bad at being Amish as Kate was—and those parallels dog her. But the more Kate learns about Rachael’s life, the more she’s convinced that her dubious reputation was deserved. As a child, Rachael was a rowdy rulebreaker whose decision to leave devastated her parents and best friend. As an adult, she was charismatic and beautiful, a rabble-rouser with a keen eye for opportunity no matter who got in her way. Her no-holds-barred lifestyle earned her a lot of love and enemies aplenty—both English and Amish.
As the case heats to a fever pitch and long-buried secrets resurface, a killer haunts Painters Mill. Someone doesn’t want Rachael’s past—or the mysteries she took with her to the grave—coming to light. As Kate digs deeper, violence strikes again, this time hitting close to home. Will Kate uncover the truth and bring a murderer to justice? Or will a killer bent on protecting a terrible past stop her once and for all—and let the fallen be forgotten?
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A Simple Murder Book Description
Together for the first time in print, A Simple Murder features six original short stories starring whip-smart chief of police, Kate Burkholder.
While on vacation with her partner John Tomasetti in LONG LOST, Kate discovers that the old house where they’re staying is haunted by a girl who disappeared decades before…
An abandoned baby is discovered on the Amish bishop’s front porch in A HIDDEN SECRET, and Kate is called in to investigate.
SEEDS OF DECEPTION unearths the secrets of Kate Burkholder’s own Amish past―and lays the groundwork for her future career in law enforcement.
In the midst of a power outage in Painters Mill, a teenage girl is attacked at an Amish party in ONLY THE LUCKY.
IN DARK COMPANY is the story of an injured woman with amnesia who seeks Kate’s help in trying to remember her attacker’s identity…and her own.
In IN PLAIN SIGHT, Kate investigates what she believes is a straightforward hit-and-run accident―but soon uncovers a story of teenage passion that may have led to attempted murder.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Fallen by Linda Castillo brings back the wonderful character, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder. Fans of this series are never disappointed with these amazing stories, and this novel is no different.
The plot begins with a young woman brutally murdered at a Painter’s Mill motel. Called to investigate, Police Chief Kate Burkholder realizes she knew the victim, Rachel Schwartz. She and Kate had some things in common, not really fitting into the Amish community when they were young women.
This story allows readers to get a further glimpse into Kate’s life before she left the Amish community. There is a mixture of old Amish traditions with the changing values of some. People are led to understand why Kate and Rachel felt the need to join the “English community.” As a child, Rachael was a rowdy rulebreaker whose decision to leave devastated her parents and best friend, Loretta. As an adult, she continued to be a rabble-rouser, not caring who she hurt to succeed in life. Her no-holds-barred lifestyle earned her a lot of enemies, both English and Amish.
Through Kate’s investigations people learn of frequent explanations for why officers think and act in a certain way. Kate realizes someone doesn’t want Rachael’s past, or the mysteries she took with her to the grave, coming to light. As Kate digs deeper, violence strikes again, this time literally hitting close to home as Kate is put through the ringer, having to fight for her own life.
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With A Simple Murder, readers are treated to another Linda Castillo book, out this year. These six short stories feature Kate Burkholder and her partner in crime (and the bedroom) John Tomasetti. The stories are not as complex, dark, or gritty as the novels. There are crimes of greed, jealousy and passion. Even with short stories, Castillo has a knack for pulling readers into the story by weaving in a fascinating plot line with interesting characters, highlighting Kate Burkholder’s abilities as the police chief of Painters Hill.
The stories’ plots:
Long Lost has Kate and her lover John Tomasetti on vacation when they are asked to investigate a girl who just disappeared years ago.
A Hidden Secret has a baby abandoned on a Bishop’s doorstep. The infant was left with some items which led Kate to believe that the mother might be Amish. Kate and John are determined to find the mother.
Seeds of Deception explores Kate’s Amish past. She wonders who burnt a barn, and were her friends involved.
Only The Lucky delves into the rager parties with drugs, alcohol, and music. When one of the Amish girls attending the rager is attacked and left for dead, Kate has to find out who wanted to hurt this young woman.
In Dark Company Kate must find the person who tried to kill a woman. The problem is the victim has amnesia and Kate wonders if she is hiding anything or is truly a victim.
In Plain Sight a teenage Amish boy, Noah Kline, is seriously injured by what appeared to be a hit and run. But Kate discovers there were some who had motives to injure Noah because he was dating an English girl.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: With both Fallen and A Simple Murder you have twists and turns.
Linda Castillo: It is satisfying as a mystery writer to lead the reader down a slightly wrong path whether in the short stories or the novel. But I also leave subtle clues to be fair.
EC: In Fallen, there are more glimpses of Kate’s past?
LC: I am always thinking of Kate’s past. Last year’s book, Outsider, delved into her years before she became Police Chief in Ohio. This book gives glimpses of Kate shortly before she left the Amish community.
EC: How would you describe the victim, Rachel?
LC: Kate knew Rachel as a child since she sometimes babysat her. Rachel was a rebel rouser from the time she was two years old, and it got worse from there. Kate realizes as a child Rachel was a ‘pistol” type personality. In some ways she could be loveable, while in other ways she was maddening and disrespectful. As she became an adult Rachel did really bad things. She had aspects of a sociopath without much of a conscience. She was a rule breaker, risk taker, could not identify boundaries, and stepped over the line. But even with all that, Kate felt Rachel deserved justice and did not deserve to be bludgeoned to death.
EC: How would you describe Rachel’s friend Loretta?
LC: She was always Rachel’s best friend. A rule follower, the polar opposite of Rachel, because she always wanted to do the right thing. She was very protective of Rachel and never abandoned her even when Rachel had “Fallen” from the graces of the Amish community. She always knew there was some good buried inside Rachel.
EC: Rachel wrote a tell all book about the Amish community. Did that ever really happen?
LC: There were actual books, which I have read. The authors were disgruntled so they wrote a book. Rachel made a lot of enemies with her book, because there were people in Painters Mill who did not want things to come to light, including Kate’s brother.
EC: What is the Amish rager?
LC: A rager was a huge outdoor party, held in a barn or field, without adults. There was music, alcohol, and sometimes the English showed up. The gathering had a lot of rule breaking before the Amish were baptized, many on rumspringa. I wrote about it in one of the short stories and in this novel. I knew about it because I was sent an article that said the sheriff had to arrest 74 Amish teenagers. Because Amish teens are pretty well behaved and had led protective lives some act out during rumspringa.
EC: Did you base anything on the Killbuck clan, considered to be Hutterites?
LC: It is loosely based on a clan in Ohio. In 2013, there was an incident in which Amish religious symbols were violated. Once a woman gets married, she no longer cuts her hair, and the husband does not shave his beard. A bishop directed his followers to forcibly cut the hair and beards of other members of the Amish faith. Prosecutors actually charged sixteen with a hate crime. In this novel, I just took it a step further, fictionalized it, and made them cult-like.
EC: Kate had some similar qualities to young Rachel?
LC: Both did not follow the rules although Kate knew boundaries. Kate did see parallels between the two of them. They got in trouble and did not respect many of the Amish norms. In some way they were kindred spirits with spunk since both drank and smoked.
EC: In A Simple Murder readers get an understanding of the Kate and John relationship?
LC: Kate’s biological clock is ticking since she is in her mid-thirties. The wonderful thing about fiction is that the characters do not have to age. It has been satisfying as a writer to see John Tomesetti heal. After he bought the farm and barn and fixed it up, he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life with Kate. They are going to stay together and at some point, will get married.
EC: A Simple Murder is a compilation of short stories?
LC: Yes. They were previously released in e-format. These stories are not as dark, a little lighter, more fun, and not quite so heavy. My goal was to try to capture the setting, characters, and keep the mystery straight forward.
EC: When will your next short story be released?
LC: It will be probably released before my next book Hidden.
EC: What about your next book?
LC:Hidden will be out this time next year. The setting is in Kish Valley in the middle part of Pennsylvania. Kate was asked by three elders from that area to investigate a Cold Case where a Bishop’s remains are found after eighteen years.
THANK YOU!!
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
