Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo – Amish Buggy Hit-And-Run Crime Fiction / Mystery Book Review
Auto“Her Last Breath” is the fifth and most recent murder mystery from “New York Times” best-selling author Linda Castillo, starring Kate Burkholder, a former Amish woman and thirty-something chief of police from the fictional city, Painters Mill. , Ohio.
The Amish man, Paul Borntrader, is on his way home at dusk with his three young children, after a visit to the doctor, when his buggy is in T at an estimated speed of eighty miles per hour. Paul and his children Norah and Sara die at the scene. Eight-year-old David is seriously injured.
The driver flees, leaving few clues other than an aftermarket, a three-quarter-inch L-pin and a side rearview mirror. Investigators believe that the lack of slip marks indicates a premeditated murder; And a 1996 Ford F-250 pickup is the weapon.
Who wanted Paul Borntrager and his sons to die? Paul, an Amish deacon, helped excommunicate some of the Order’s members who had gone astray. Could the Borntrager murders be revenge?
On duty, Kate answers the emergency call; and realizes that Paul is married to Mattie, his former best friend during his Amish youth. Kate thoroughly informs Mattie about her family’s fatal accident. The two have not spoken since Kate’s Amish defection at eighteen.
While Kate has made many enemies since she left her Amish roots to pursue a career in law enforcement, her heritage is an asset when investigating Amish-related crimes as she can speak their Pennsylvania Dutch dialect.
Kate is distraught over the Borntrager murders; however, you know that you must remain stoic and maintain your objectivity during the investigation.
She calls John Tomasetti, a regional agent with the Office of Identification and Criminal Investigation. They have worked together on previous Amish-related murders, and their professional relationship transcended into romance.
John recently asked Kate to move in with him, a step she is hesitant to take. Up the ante when you buy an old farmhouse located half an hour from Painters Mill.
“That’s the thing about relationships – no matter how hard you try to keep things simple, all those twisted complexities have a way of seeping into the mix,” says Kate.
Daniel Lapp, an Amish teenager, raped Kate when she was fourteen; and she shot him dead in revenge. His exposure to secret risks and his law enforcement career is in jeopardy when two children playing in Wilbur Seed Company’s former grain elevator find his remains.
Kate experiences the other side of the law when the authorities identify her skeleton and question her about her disappearance, since her last whereabouts places her on her family’s farm seventeen years ago.
During her book tours, Castillo talks about her transition from corporate America to the author. He graduated from two citizen police academies, visited morgues and Amish country to hone his craft of writing entertaining murder mysteries, juxtaposing Amish bucolic life with crime.
Castillo complements his narrative with Amish sayings, such as “Wer lauert an der Wand, Heert sie eegni Schand”, which means “If you listen through the wall, you will hear others recite your faults.”
“Her Last Breath” is another testament to Castillo’s writing talent.
Linda Castillo writes for Minotuar Books, a publisher for Macmillan Publishing. Visit their link to discover many talented writers, including Brad Parks and Paul Doiron.