Her Last Breath

Her Last Breath (Kate Burkholder Series #5) by Linda Castillo

A hit-and-run accident tears an amish community apart in THIS NOVEL OF BREATHLESS SUSPENSE FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR LINDA CASTILLO. It's a rainy night in Painter's Mill when, from out of nowhere, a speeding car comes hurtling toward an Amish man and his three children. What at first seems like a tragic but routine car accident becomes personal for Chief of Police Kate Burkholder when she discovers that the victims are the family of her childhood friend, Mattie. "A stunner."-Publishers Weekly (starred review) As Kate delves into the investigation, she comes face-to-face with her own Amish past and memories of growing up with Mattie, an extraordinary beauty for whom trouble has never been far behind. Is there something more to this mysterious car crash that killed Mattie's husband? What is Mattie hiding-and who is she trying to protect? Meanwhile, Mattie's son-the only one who really knows what happened-clings to life in the hospital, unable to communicate. Desperate for answers, Kate slowly uncovers the trail of a stone-cold killer-one who is likely living among the Amish, and calls into question everything and everyone Kate has ever known...

"Masterful."-Booklist (starred review)

Editorial Reviews

Bestseller Castillo's fifth Amish thriller featuring Painters Mill, Ohio, police chief Katie Burkholder (after 2012's Gone Missing) is a stunner. In the prologue a hit-and-run driver crashes into the buggy of Paul Borntrager, killing him and two of his children and seriously injuring a third child. Katie, who was a good friend of Paul's wife, Mattie, before Katie left the Plain Life, now has to inform Mattie about the accident. An examination of the scene provides clues that the crash may have been deliberate, and more police work strongly suggests that it was premeditated murder. Meanwhile, kids discover human bones in an abandoned grain elevator--bones that have a connection to Katie's past. Those twin dramas play out, each in surprising fashion, as the search for the hit-and-run vehicle and the killer continue. Castillo once again displays her mastery of edge-of-your seat suspense. Author tour. Announced first printing of 100,000. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency (June) - Publishers Weekly

Reader Kathleen McInterney handles a wide range of characters and accents with ease. This is sure to be popular. Recommended." -Library Journal - From the Publisher

Police chief Katie Burkholder was the first responder at a horrific crash involving an Amish buggy on a winding Ohio road. She's no stranger to accident scenes, but this case cuts too close to home. Fifteen years have passed since Katie left the Amish community, but she is greatly affected by the accident, which involves the family of her closest childhood friend. A relentless pursuit of the truth leads her to question whether the accident was the result of negligence, or something more sinister. Meanwhile, Katie must confront her personal demons as a new lead in a cold case from her teenage years emerges and threatens to expose a secret that could ultimately jeopardize her career. Katie finds herself straddling two worlds (Amish and English) as she investigates the accident, struggles to keep her teenage secret buried, and confronts relationship issues with her lover. VERDICT In her fifth installment (after Gone Missing), Castillo combines the simple Amish lifestyle with dizzying hairpin twists and turns, and the result is a mind-blowing read that will keep her fans and mystery readers engrossed. [As a tie-in, Castillo is releasing an e-original short story "Long Gone."--Ed.]--Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights - Library Journal

A small-town Ohio chief of police is haunted by the past. Kate Burkholder used to be Amish; now she has a job she loves and a tentative romantic relationship with John Tomasetti, who is with the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Tomasetti has just bought a fixer-upper farmhouse near Kate and wants her to move in with him, but Kate is unable to commit. When Amish farmer Paul Borntrager and two of his three children are killed in a hit-and-run, Kate is devastated. Although she has not spoken to Paul's wife, Mattie, in years, she used to be Kate's best friend, and all the happy memories of their formative years come rushing back. The accident investigator determines that whoever hit them made no attempt to stop, and evidence gathered from the scene indicates it was a coldblooded murder. All the Borntrager children had some genetic disorders, not uncommon in the Amish, who have a small gene pool, and the surviving child does not remember much. Kate is grimly determined to find the killer, but suddenly, a major problem for her comes to light when some children playing in a deserted mill find a body reduced to bones. When Kate was 14, she killed a neighbor's son who was trying to rape her, and her publicity-averse Amish family covered it up by burying the body. Tomasetti knows about it and assures Kate the crime will never be traced to her. Despite her fears, Kate works around the clock on finding a motive for the deaths and discovers some ugly truths about her quiet town. The fifth in the series (Breaking Silence, 2011, etc.) continues to provide details on the Amish way of life along with a fast-paced mystery that will leave readers stunned. - Kirkus Reviews