Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo
Police Chief Kate Burkholder knows things are not going to end well when she gets the call about people in a manure pit on an Amish farm. Too often those who find themselves trapped in a pit like that succumb to the methane fumes. This accident proves even more tragic than Kate originally supposed. A mother, father and uncle are dead. Four children are now orphaned. But was it an accident? Kate is shocked to learn that according to the autopsy results one of the adults suffered head trauma prior to entering the pit. Was it murder combined with tragedy as the other adults attempted to save him?
Simultaneously hate crimes against the Amish of Ohio are on the rise. Sheep are slaughtered, buggies are vandalised and a woman is injured. The ferocity of these crimes is increasing – could the manure pit deaths be linked?
Nothing is as it first appears in this twisty mystery. Kate is an interesting character having grown up Amish and then left the community. While it is a closed community her knowledge of its inner workings helps her know who to talk to and when to push.
