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Critics' Opinion:
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First Published:
Jun 2013, 320 pages
Paperback:
Jul 2014, 320 pages
Book Reviewed by:
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An extraordinarily beautiful Amish woman, a dangerous femme fatale, is the central figure in a story that reveals a dark side of Painters Mill and its seemingly perfect Amish world.
A rainy night, an Amish father returning home with his three children, a speeding car hurtling toward them out of nowhere.
What at first seems like a tragic, but routine car accident suddenly takes on a more sinister cast as evidence emerges that nothing about the crash is accidental. But who would want to kill an Amish deacon and two of his children? He leaves behind a grieving widow and a young boy who clings to life in the intensive care wing of a hospital, unable to communicate. He may be the only one who knows what happened that night.
Desperate to find out who killed her best friend's husband and why, Kate begins to suspect she is not looking for a reckless drunk, but instead is on the trail of a cold blooded killer in amid the residents of Painter's Mill. It is a search that takes her on a chilling journey into the darkest reaches of the human heart and makes her question everything she has ever believed about the Amish culture into which she was born.
CHAPTER 1
When it rains, it pours. Those words were one of my mamm's favorite maxims when I was growing up. As a child, I didn't understand its true meaning, and I didn't spend much time trying to figure it out. In the eyes of the Amish girl I'd been, more was almost always a good thing. The world around me was a swiftly moving river, chock-full of white-water rapids and deep holes filled with secrets I couldn't fathom. I was ravenous to raft that river, anxious to dive into all of those dark crevices and unravel their closely guarded secrets. It wasn't until I entered my twenties that I realized there were times when that river overflowed its banks and a killing flood ensued.
My mamm is gone now and I haven't been Amish for fifteen years, but I often find myself using that old adage, particularly when it comes to police work and, oftentimes, my life.
I've been on duty since 3:00 P.M. and my police radio has been eerily quiet for a Friday, not only ...
If I could give this book 6 stars, I would. The Kate Burkholder series is absolutely excellent, but Linda Castillo has taken her newest entry, Her Last Breath to new heights. [It] captured and held my attention so completely that I read straight through, neglecting everything I was supposed to do that day… I highly recommend the book, but offer this caveat to readers: when you start reading, be sure you have no other demands on your time that day. You'll never put the book down until you've read to the stunning and thrilling conclusion!..continued
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers).
Her Last Breath is the fifth book in the Kate Burkholder series. While readers have made it clear that it can be appreciated as a stand-alone book, story lines and character development are carried as threads running throughout the series. Here is a recap of the series for those who have read the other books, and a teaser for those who haven't:
Sworn to Silence (2009) - The first volume in the series sets the stage. In Painters Mill, Ohio, which is a rural farming community, the Amish and "English" have lived side by side for over two centuries. Sixteen years prior to the start of the story, the community experienced a tragedy. A series of brutal murders tore apart the town's sense of safety and tranquility. Kate Burkholder survived the ...
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