The Burning

In the latest outing for Police Chief Kate Burkholder (after An Evil Heart), a body is discovered in the woods near her rural Ohio town. The victim, Milan Swanz, was tied to a stake and burned to death. Kate sets up an investigation that includes the local sheriff’s department and the FBI and learns that Milan had recently been excommunicated from a nearby Amish community. As Kate gathers information, she finds that the victim was not well-liked; he was an unreliable worker and was abusive to his family. When Kate’s brother is identified as a suspect in the murder, she is asked to step back from the case, but her family loyalties and her close connection with the Amish community prevent her from doing so, even as she is violently warned off the investigation several times by unidentified assailants. In a final confrontation, Kate manages to outrun the killers and expose the motive for Swanz’s murder. Castillo includes a wealth of knowledge about Amish history and custom in this mystery, but the plot is formulaic and somewhat trite. Narrator Kathleen McInerney gives Kate a girlish voice that does not suit her character.