Book Review: Sworn To Silence - Linda Castillo
My July review was for Sworn To Silence: A Thriller by Linda Castillo
“Sworn To Silence” was a really fun read. It is subtitled: A Thriller, and it delivers. Unlike some, this plot is fast paced, logical, and takes the reader on believable twists and turns without resorting to gimmicks and tricks to bring everything together in the end. Most mysteries play themselves out in a way that the reader knows way beforehand who the murderer is, but this one strings you along and is only revealed as the characters themselves discover the clues. This makes for excitement and suspense that lasts through the entire plot.
The heroine in the story is Kate Burkholder, a former Amish girl who has turned to the “outside world” and become the chief of police in a town where both worlds coincide. Her past is revealed in a somewhat abrupt manner as we discover she murdered a serial killer in her youth, a killer that has now returned to terrorize the town she is supposed to protect. She is a believable and more importantly very likeable character. Her role is somewhat idealized by her subordinates, but it wasn’t so much over the top that it became a dues ex machina for the storyline. Her ability to understand both worlds makes her the ideal view of the story that unfolds. Both worlds are also portrayed sympathetically and without the patronization that so often accompanies any novel that includes a religious or minority sect.
The supporting characters in the novel are also well rounded and likeable or unlikeable as they are called upon to be. There was just enough jargon used that it seemed authentic, but not enough to obscure or confuse the reader.
The villain in the end is very well concealed and then unfolded in such an explosive manner that it mirrors what a true scenario of escalation would be.
The only complaint I have is that Kate refuses to look at a very obvious possibility that the man she killed in her youth was not the serial killer. This seems to blind her to the only other possibility that she does choose to pursue, and while the storyline builds around that, and it could be considered a mere character flaw, without further explanation it seems to be an error that the author overlooked.
All in all, I very much enjoyed this story and look forward to more novels featuring Kate.
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