Friday, September 18, 2020

Outsider (Kate Burkholder #12) by Linda Castillo

 

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, suspense
Content: Strong language, A brief description of a sexual encounter that happened in the past.


Chief of Police Kate Burkholder’s past comes back to haunt her when she receives a call from Amish widower Adam Lengacher. While enjoying a sleigh ride with his children, he discovered a car stuck in a snowdrift and an unconscious woman inside. Kate arrives at his farm and is shocked to discover the driver is a woman she hasn’t seen in ten years: fellow cop Gina Colorosa.

Ten years ago, Kate and Gina were best friends at the police academy, graduating together as rookies with the Columbus Division of Police. But the reunion takes an ominous turn when Kate learns Gina is wanted for killing an undercover officer. Gina claims she’s innocent, that she was framed by corrupt officers who want her gone because she was about to turn them in for wrongdoing.

Kate calls upon state agent John Tomasetti for help and with a blizzard bearing down, they delve into the incident. But no one wants to talk about what happened the night Gina allegedly gunned down a fellow cop. Even Tomasetti is stonewalled, his superior telling him in no uncertain terms to back off.

With whisperings of corruption and the threat of rogue cops seeking revenge, Kate and Gina hunker down at Adam Lengacher’s farm. As Kate gets closer to the truth, a killer lies in wait. When violence strikes, Kate must confront a reality that changes everything she thought she knew not only about friendship, but the institution to which she's devoted her life.

 



This series has been a mixture of 3 and 4 star ratings for me. After a rocky start, I've grown pretty attached to these characters. Over time, the stories have mellowed out a bit, meaning that the characters are less abrasive and reckless. They've settled into who they are, and are comfortable with each other. There is also less cursing in the books. I like it so much better this way!

Unlike most of the books in the series, the mystery in this one doesn't directly involve any of the Amish. There is just the Amish family that ends up finding the woman in trouble and letting her stay in their home. I liked that this book was a departure from that same old formula. One thing that I enjoy about this series are the flashbacks we get to Kate's earlier life. This time around it was to the time period after she left home until after she joined the police force in Columbus. As the mystery unfolds, Kate goes down memory lane, back to when she met her friend, Gina, who is the woman in trouble, and through all the ups and downs of their friendship, until it finally ended. Kate comes to a life-changing decision along the way, and I was glad that she finally came to this decision after many books.

I liked the way Tomasetti was supportive in this book. He wasn't overbearing, and he didn't keep telling Kate that she needed to stop putting herself in danger. I thought maybe he went a little too far in the other direction this time, but it was better than the angry, worried Tomasetti. And Kate mostly played it smarter than in some of the previous books. I think they have both grown and changed for the better. That being said, there was one part that didn't feel very realistic to me. I thought they wouldn't have stayed at the farmhouse after the car was spotted in the middle of the night. They blew it off too easily for the situation they were in, and Tomasetti, who in the past has been so worried about Kate, didn't come across as worried enough about that.

My only other problem with the book is the cover. It's a nice cover, but it has absolutely nothing to do with anything that happens in the book. Other than a couple of brief encounters with two Amish women, there is no Amish lady featured in the book, so I'm not sure why they decided on this cover. But I do know that authors really don't have much input on the cover that is chosen for their books, so that's on the publisher.

Overall, this series is still going strong, and I still enjoy the time I spend in Painter's Mill each year with these characters, so I will definitely keep reading.



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