What do readers think of Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo? Write your own review.

I enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to reading this one, but it just isn't very good. The mystery had potential, but the story line is very obvious. I could give more stars for that, but the writing wasn't well executed in this book. It is OK to remind the readers that the female police chief was formerly Amish with a traumatic past history, but you don't need to bring it up every chapter. A smart reader won't forget those details. The crime was especially hard to read and brutal, but the author goes on and on with how angry Kate is as she uncovers every clue. It would have been much more interesting to have that anger developed in the character and actions of Kate rather than just repeating it over and over again. I need to be convinced that there is improvement in the writing before I would pick up the third book in the series. I hope that is the case.

A female police chief, formerly Amish herself, investigates the murders of seven members of an Amish family. The investigation leads to the discovery of more horrific crimes. While the plot had the possibility of good execution, it is much more grisly than necessary and the writing is immature. Dialogue is stilted and a character who is "thinking" is filling in so many details (that would not be part of one's active thoughts) that it is distracting.