The discovery of an Amish bishop's remains leads chief of police Kate Burkholder to unearth a chilling secret in The Hidden One, a new thriller from bestselling author Linda Castillo.Over a decade ago, beloved Amish bishop Ananias Stoltzfus disappeared without a trace. When skeletal remains showing evidence of foul play are unearthed, his disappearance becomes even more sinister.The town's elders arrive in Painters Mill to ask chief of police Kate Burkholder for help, but she quickly realizes she has a personal connection to the crime. The handsome Amish man who stands accused of the murder, Jonas Bowman, was Kate's first love. Forced to confront a painful episode from her past, Kate travels to Pennsylvania's Kishacoquillas Valley, where the Amish culture differs dramatically from the traditions she knows. Though Bishop Stoltzfus was highly respected, she soon hears about a dark side to this complex man. What was he hiding that resulted in his own brutal...

A Colorado lawman finds himself doing more protecting than arresting when he rescues a beautiful fugitive in this classic tale of romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Linda Castillo... When Deputy Sheriff Jake Madigan was called to duty to bring in an escaped convict, he thought it would be a routine search-and-rescue mission. He was wrong. Turns out capturing Abby Nichols was a cinch compared to hauling her out of the Rocky Mountains during a treacherous blizzard. His pretty-as-sin prisoner was not the hardened criminal he had expected but a violet-eyed seductress who could almost make him forget his by-the-book ways. Jake knew that come hell or high water he would turn this woman over to the authorities once the storm passed. So why was he dodging bullets on her behalf and buying into her claim of innocence? Why was he so willing to warm her shivering body with his heated caresses? Why was he foolishly falling for his fugitive? Originally published in 2002**

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder races against the clock to find a missing child in this new original short story from New York Times bestselling author Linda Castillo.As a violent thunderstorm rages in Painters Mill, Kate Burkholder receives a call from a frantic young Amish woman: her two-year-old son is missing. Kate and her officers brave the downpour to search for the toddler, fearing he may have been swept away in the rising creek waters. But an explosive family secret leads Kate to believe this disappearance may be more complicated than anyone is letting on. Can she find the boy and uncover the truth before darkness falls?

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. œA gun-toting, cursing, former Amish female chief of police stars in this excellent first in a new suspense series from romance veteran Castillo (Fade to Red). When a serial killer strikes bucolic Painters Mill, Ohio, the killer's signature—Roman numerals ritualistically carved into each victim's abdomen—matches the MO of four unsolved murders from 16 years earlier. Police chief Kate Burkholder, who's reluctant to dredge up the past, must keep secret that she knows why the old murders stopped. Not satisfied with the case's progress, local politicos set up a multijurisdictional task force to assist, including a law-enforcement agent battling his own demons. The added scrutiny and the rising body count threaten to push the chief over the edge. Adept at creating characters with depth and nuance, Castillo smoothly integrates their backstories into a well-paced plot that illuminates the divide between the Amish and œEnglish worlds. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistStarred Review Ohio’s Amish country serves as the bucolic backdrop for romance novelist Castillo’s consistently chilling mystery debut. Kate Burkholder grew up in idyllic Painters Mill, where many residents drive buggies, shun electricity, and distance themselves from the complications of modern life. The presence of a serial killer shatters the stillness of the town, leaving its citizenry terrified and on guard. During this time, young Kate’s life takes a fateful turn when she is sexually assaulted by an Amish man named Daniel Lapp. She shoots Lapp in self-defense and, seeing blood splattered across the floor, is certain he’s dead. (Her father drags away the body, and the family banishes the incident from their memories, never reporting it to police.) With Lapp’s demise, the area murders cease. Rattled residents rest easily once again. Fast-forward 16 years. Kate, now chief of police in Painters Mill, is faced with a series of brutal crimes in which the female victims are tortured and raped. Could Daniel Lapp still be alive? Kate battles her inner demons as she tracks down a killer who shows no sign of letting up. Can she come clean about her past without losing her job? Deeply flawed characters in a distinctive setting make this a crackling good series opener, recommended for fans of T. Jefferson Parker and Robert Ellis, whose books take place in very un-Amish settings but who generate the same kind of chills and suspense. --Allison Block

UNDER SUSPICION... Michelle Pelletier had no alibi, a fuzzy memory and an utterly gorgeous detective on her doorstep accusing her of murder. Philip Betancourt wasn't buying her plea of innocence. After all, she'd confessed only half the truth.... The lady had a body to haunt a man--and a shadowy past to boot. But Philip knew a frame job when he saw one. His instincts insisted he protect her...by keeping the sexy suspect very close. Philip wouldn't let anyone harm this vulnerable beauty who would make someone a perfect wife....

HE AIMS FOR THE HEART Deep-cover operative Mike Madrid tracked Jessica Atwood with ease, but one look at her revealed her innocence. On the run with an orphan in tow, the spitfire called out to Madrid, stirring passions he thought long buried. But on this terrifying night, the secrets of Lighthouse Point would be exposed. And there were those who wouldn't allow that to happen. Jess needed Mike's protection from a desperate community, but could they reveal the truth about a dead mother without cutting to the heart of the growing attraction between them?

She's a target and he's her only hope chance at survival in this classic book of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Linda CastilloShe has no name, no memory, nothing but the knowledge that she's pregnant and someone wants her dead. Her only hope is John—the rescue medic who saved her life, the Good Samaritan who vowed to keep her safe, the sexy stranger who's stealing her heart. Her hero.Saving lives is his job, but John Maitland learned long ago the cost of personal involvement. Risking his life he could handle, risking his emotions—his heart—is out of the question. Until he rescues "Hannah," battered, bruised and scared for her life, off the side of a mountain. Suddenly things are very, very personal....Originally published in 2001

AGENT-PROTECTOR AND THEN SOME Special Agent Jake Vanderpol swore he'd buried all tender feelings for Leigh Michaels. Until he learned that the arms dealer she'd testified against six years ago had escaped. Suddenly the memories were back... memories of urgent kisses in hiding. But after what happened, would she trust him to save her? Danger just exploded from her past with the same raw male power that first drew Leigh to her former agent-protector. Then Jake used her as bait to get his man, and she'd fled into witness protection. Now a killer wants revenge. But who will shield her heart from the only man she'd ever let touch her -- body and soul?

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 coroner, the deceased, an Amish man named Milan Swanz, was 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 world, and no one will speak about the murdered man. From what she's able to piece together, Swanz led a deeply troubled life and had recently been excommunicated. But if that's the case, why are the Amish so reluctant to talk about him? Are they protecting the memory of one of...