Among the Wicked

The good part: Castillo switches things up a bit by having Kate Burkholder go undercover in a strict Amish community in upstate New York to figure out what's behind the death of a teenaged girl. The bad part: This means that Kate is separated from her live-in lover, State Agency John Tomasetti, for almost the entire novel. There's also almost no Mona, Pickles or any of the other colorful members of the Painters Mill Ohio PD. But overall, the new plotline gives a boost of energy to an already strong series, providing mystery, danger, twists and emotional depth as Kate, pretending to be an Amish widow, has the chance to reflect on what her life would have been like if she had not left the community she was born into.

As usual with this series, I read the entire book in one day, and the last 50 pages without taking a breath. And now I have to wait until next summer for the next (hopefully!) installment. More Tomasetti next time, please Ms. Castillo!