Monday, July 1, 2024

Dark Storm Rising

Title: Dark Storm Rising
Author: Linda Castillo
Published: April 2, 2024 by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, 65 Pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Series: Kate Burkholder #15.5

First Sentence: He parked in the stand of chinquapin oak trees, fifty yards from the mouth of the driveway, and killed the engine.

Blurb: Newlyweds Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and John Tomasetti are happily spending their honeymoon at a beautiful Lake Erie cabin that was once part of an historic Amish settlement. But when a violent storm suddenly erupts, Lovina Nisley, the Amish owner of the cabin, goes missing. Lovina is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, so it initially appears the elderly woman simply took the wrong path, but her disappearance takes an ominous turn when her husband reveals that a developer has been threatening them if they refuse to sell him their home. With temperatures dropping and local law enforcement unable to reach them, Kate and Tomasetti must brave the perilous weather to find her. But will they reach Lovina in time to save her life?

My Opinion: A short mystery featuring Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and her husband, John Tomasetti, who have decided to take a few days off for their honeymoon at Lake Erie near where Kate had once spent summers at her Amish grandparents’ cabin.

As a storm flares up, there is a knock at the door. One of the owners of the unit they are renting is missing. Lovinia, in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, has disappeared. She might not have just wandered down the wrong path. A developer in the area wants the property, and now Kate and John begin to wonder if this disappearance, in addition to other vandalism, is related.

Castillo’s short stories are perfect teasers to whet your appetite for upcoming novels. “The Burning,” the sixteenth book in the Kate Burkholder series, is due out next month.

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