Sunday, July 23, 2017

42. Down a Dark Road by Linda Castillo

Kate Burkholder #9
listened on Audible
2017, Minotaur Books
320 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 7/23/17
Goodreads rating: 4.34 - 1207 ratings
My rating: 2.5
Setting: Contemporary Amish Country, Ohio

First line/s:  From Prologue:  "He waiting until the children slept."
From Ch. 1:  "The Tuscrawas Bridge is a Painters Mill icon."

My comments: I so loved her first books about Kate Burkholder and Amish country, Ohio.  I liked this one slightly better than the last one, but not much.  I'm starting to find the writing, as well as the thinking and actions of the protagonist to be repetitious to the point of being frustrating.  And there really weren't any surprises in this plot, everything could be figured out well in advance.  Interesting flashbacks helped the reader put Kate's feelings about the "bad" guy, her childhood friend, into perspective.  However, they were noted near the beginning of the book, but then lengthier descriptions were added later in the story about the same memories with only a little bit of extra description.  Unnecessary .  Kate really is impetuous and strong minded, almost to a fault.  I didn't even like her as much in this foray.   I'm disappointed, because this has gone from being my favorite series to one that is only "eh."  Darn.

Goodreads synopsis: In this electrifying new thriller in the New York Times bestselling series, a convicted murderer is on the run and Chief of Police Kate Burkholder must catch him before he strikes again.
          Eight years ago Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was a "fallen" Amish man and, according to local law enforcement, a known drug user with a violent temper. Now King has escaped, and he’s headed for Painters Mill.
          News of a murderer on the loose travels like wildfire and putting Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and her team of officers on edge. A nightmare scenario becomes reality when King shows up with a gun and kidnaps his five children from their Amish uncle’s house. He’s armed and desperate with nothing left to lose.
          Fearing for the safety of the children, Kate leaps into action, but her frantic search for a killer leads her into an ambush. When King releases her unharmed, asking her to prove his innocence, she begins to wonder whether the police are hiding something, and she embarks on her own investigation to discover the truth.

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