Part of Kate Burkholder, book 9
First published 2017
Chief of Police Kate Burkholder receives word that Joseph King has broken out of prison. The former Amish man was serving life for killing his wife, but now he roams free near Painters Mill. Kate remembers Joseph from her own Amish childhood, when she admired him as a teenage girl. The situation turns critical when Joseph arrives at his brother's farm with a weapon and holds his five children captive. Kate approaches the desperate fugitive, who traps her inside the house. Instead of harming her, Joseph makes an unexpected request. He wants Kate to investigate his case and prove he never murdered his wife. After he releases her safely, Kate finds herself questioning the original conviction. The evidence troubles her, and some details refuse to fit together properly. Her fellow officers doubt her judgment, but Kate pursues the truth on her own. Her investigation reveals a terrible secret that someone protected through violence. Now Kate must determine whether Joseph King deserves his freedom or his life sentence.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: second-chance, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Painters Mill
Period: contemporary
304 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: violence