“Her
Last Breath” by Linda Castillo
Speaking of breath, I held mine while
reading this latest novel by Castillo. As typical of this author’s quality of
work, “Her Last Breath” is another shocking story centering on the lives of the
Amish.
An Amish family of five is reduced to
two when a senseless slaying occurs. Coming back from a weekly visit with the
doctor at dusk, Paul Borntrager slowly leads his horse and buggy and his three
special needs children cautiously through an intersection only to be hit by speeding
vehicle. Two of the three children and Paul die.
Mattie, the mother is crushed and
grieves when she hears of their deaths. She nurtures her sole remaining child
David back to health. But that’s not the end, not even close. Discovering that
it was not just an accident and unsure if Mattie or Paul was the target of
someone’s rage, Kate Burkholder, Chief of Police in Painter’s Mill leads up the
investigation and tries to protect Mattie and David from further happenstance.
But Kate is working through personal
issues of her own involving a lover—whether or not she should take a chance and
commit—and her sordid past that is coming back to haunt her. Kate feels the
sting from the loss of the Borntrager family because she is not only ex-Amish
but also because Mattie was her best friend while growing up. Devastation after
hardship spins Kate through a spiraling tunnel, only to end up being the
killer’s target when she gets too close to the truth of the murder of the
Borntragers. When I read who was behind the deaths and the calamity surrounding
it, I was astounded. I wasn’t right about one person I suspected.
Castillo has always been able to—and
probably will always do so—flabbergast me. Another fantastic story.
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