cover image Gone Missing

Gone Missing

Linda Castillo. Minotaur, $24.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-65856-4

Kate Burkholder’s Amish heritage plays a huge role in bestseller Castillo’s exciting fourth thriller featuring the Painters Mill, Ohio, police chief (after 2011’s Breaking Silence). John Tomasetti of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, with whom Kate became intimate while working together on a previous case, asks her to consult on a statewide case involving missing Amish teens because of her knowledge of Amish language and customs. Soon after Kate hits the road, Tomasetti calls to alert her that 15-year-old Annie King of Buck Creek never returned home from a trip to the local vegetable stand. Kate joins investigators as they retrace Annie’s route and find evidence of a crime scene. Kate starts to interview Amish families, while the National Crime Information Center and Violent Criminal Apprehension Program provide links to more possible cases. As relations between Kate and Tomasetti heat up, the investigation takes some bizarre turns. Castillo ratchets up the tension nicely before the disconcerting ending. Author tour. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency. (June)