Gone Missing
"...a great read from a great author."
Synopsis:
Three teenagers have vanished from Ohio's Amish country. The only thing they have in common, other than their religion, is they are keen to leave the 'Plain Life'. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to consult by Agent John Tomasetti as her Amish roots will be invaluable in an investigation involving this sectarian society. They travel to the small town of Monongahela Falls to investigate the latest disappearance – that of seventeen-year-old Annie King. The only evidence left behind is a satchel – and a pool of blood. The case moves closer to home for Kate when a young relative, Sadie Miller, vanishes.
With her own past resonating, Kate delves into the lives of the missing teens. Soon, a sinister pattern emerges along with a vital clue that changes everything. While following up on a lead, Kate makes an appalling discovery and unearths a secret no one could have imagined—thrusting her into a fight to the death with a merciless killer.
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Review:
Both Kate and Thomasetti are easy characters to like; headstrong without being arrogant, and sensitive without being saccharine sweet. Both are workaholics who live for their job, but still manage to find the time to continue to develop their relationship. I do enjoy reading about the life and culture around the Amish, but after now reading all four books, I am either at the stage where I am beginning to find the story lines unbelievable or thinking that perhaps the Amish are a group of violent people that murder each other as Castillo centres her plots on this one particular group. I would like to see further novels from Castillo, keeping the same characters, but perhaps focusing less on the Amish, or at least not having the culprit being Amish. The plot itself in 'Gone Missing' was acceptable to begin with but not one I found that I couldn't put down. However, later on in the book the pace did speed up considerably. I had my own thoughts as to who was doing what and why, and whilst not completely right, I was on the right tracks so there was no explosive revelation at the end, but it was still a great read from a great author.