The Burning

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates a gruesome murder that reveals a little-known chapter of early Amish history in this next riveting installment of the bestselling series by Linda Castillo. Newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is awakened by an urgent midnight call summoning her to a suspicious fire in the woods. When she arrives at the scene,she discovers a charred body. According to the coronerthe deceasedan Amish man named Milan Swanzwas chained to a stake and burned alive. It is an appalling and eerily symbolic crime against an upstanding husband and father. Kate knows all too well that the Amish prefer to handle their problems without interference from the outside worldand no one will speak about the murdered man. From what sheΓÇÖs able to piece togetherSwanz led a deeply troubled life and had recently been excommunicated. But if thatΓÇÖs the casewhy are the Amish so reluctant to talk about him? Are they protecting the memory of one of their own? Or are they afraid of something they dare not share? When her own brother is implicated in the caseKate finds herself not only at odds with the Amishthe world of which she was once a partbut also the English community and her counterparts in law enforcement. The investigation takes a violent turn when KateΓÇÖs life is threatened by a mysterious stranger. To uncover the truth about the death of Milan SwanzKate must dive deep into the Anabaptist culturepeering into all the dark corners of its historyonly to uncover a secret legacy that shatters everything she thought she knew about the Amish themselvesΓÇöand her own roots.