The Hidden One

February 1, 2022

In The Paper Caper, Carlisle's latest "Bibliophile Mystery," murder transpires at the first annual Mark Twain Festival, held by Brooklyn Wainwright at her bookstore and underwritten by media magnate Joseph Cabot. In Castillo's The Hidden One, Amish elders turn to Painters Mill chief of police Kate Burkholder when the remains of a long-vanished bishop are discovered, bearing evidence of foul play (150,000-copy first printing). Private informer Flavia Albia's next Desperate Undertaking is finding a serial killer (or killers) committing brutal murder and staging the corpses around Davis's first-century CE Rome (30,000-copy first printing). In Hokuloa Road, cross genre-writing, Shirley Jackson Award-winning Hand makes Grady Kendall caretaker of a luxury property in Hawaii (as far as possible from his native Maine), then has him hunting for a young woman from his flight who has since vanished (30,000-copy first printing). In McCall Smith's The Sweet Remnants of Summer, Isabel Dalhousie is serving on an advisory committee for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery when she is caught up in the squabbles of a prominent family where Nationalist vs. Socialist ideologies prevail. In Peril at the Exposition, a follow-up to March's Edgar finalist debut, Murder in Old Bombay, newlyweds Capt. Jim Agnihotri and Diana Framji have left British-ruled Bombay (now Mumbai) for 1890s Boston when Jim is sent to investigate a murder in Chicago (50,000-copy first printing). In Munier's The Wedding Plot, Mercy's grandmother Patience is set to marry her longtime beloved at the five-star Lady's Slipper Inn when family enmities bubble to the surface, the inn's spa director vanishes, and a stranger turns up dead (30,000-copy first printing). In An Honest Living--a debut from Murphy, editor in chief of CrimeReads, Literary Hub's crime fiction vertical--an attorney picking up odd jobs after walking out on his stranglehold law firm agrees to help reclusive literati Anna Reddick find her possibly thieving bookseller husband, and all's well until the real Anna Reddick walks in. In Rosenfelt's Holy Chow, an older woman who adopts sweet senior chow mix Tessie from Andy Carpenter's Tara Foundation makes Andy promise that if she dies he will take care of Tessie provided that her son cannot--which he certainly can't when he is arrested days later on suspicion of his mother's murder (60,000-copy first printing).

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May 30, 2022
Early in bestseller Castillo’s captivating 14th Amish mystery (after 2021’s Fallen), Painters Mill, Ohio, police chief Kate Burkholder learns her services are needed out of state. The remains of Kish Valley, Pa., bishop Ananias Stoltzfus have turned up in a field 18 years after his disappearance. Unsatisfied with the local police, the current elders of Kish Valley ask Kate for assistance, informing her that the police wrongfully arrested charming Amish cabinetmaker Jonas Bowman after his rifle, the murder weapon, was found at the crime scene. Unbeknownst to the elders, Kate had a secret relationship with Jonas as a teenager and doesn’t believe he’s capable of murder. Despite her whirlwind of emotions, Kate decides to help and unearths disturbing secrets about Ananias’s past. As she oversteps, she often falls into danger during the investigation, and old feelings resurface when she questions the now married Jonas. Memorable characters help keep the pages turning, though the plot is somewhat more predictable than Castillo’s usual, and not all questions related to the murder are answered. Series fans will look forward to Kate’s next case. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary.

May 15, 2022
Kate Burkholder was born in Painters Mill, Ohio, and raised Amish. Known for her rebellious nature, she fell head over heels for Jonas Bowman, four years her senior, when she was 15. But her heart was broken when Jonas and his family moved away, and she never heard from him again. At 18, Kate left the Amish, got her degree, and came back to Painters Mill as the police chief. She's happy and in a loving relationship with Tomasetti, a retired cop. Then she receives a surprising visit from three Amish elders, asking for her assistance with a murder case in Belleville, Pennsylvania. It's only when they tell her that the accused is her old flame Jonas that she decides to help. In Belleville, she's not exactly welcomed by the cops, who say they have all the evidence needed for a conviction. But the more Kate digs, the more she's convinced that Jonas is innocent. Another impressive entry in this always-entertaining series, which continues to combine a fascinating look at the Amish community with pacy action and a tenacious, thoughtful heroine.

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