Outsider: A Kate Burkholder Novel

At the start of bestseller Castillo’s suspenseful 12th Kate Burkholder mystery (after 2019’s Shamed), young Amish widower Adam Lengacher, while out in his sleigh on a snowy day with his three small children, spots a car in a ditch. Nearby he finds an injured woman who’s been shot and who asks for Painters Mill, Ohio, police chief Kate Burkholder. Adam takes the woman to his farmhouse and notifies the police. When Kate gets to Adam’s house, she’s shocked to discover that the woman is her old friend and fellow cop, Gina Colorosa, whom she hasn’t seen in a decade. Gina is on the run, wanted for killing an informant, but swears she’s being framed by fellow members of the Columbus vice-squad. A blizzard strands the two women on the farm with Adam and his family, and the dirty cops are on Gina’s trail. In spite of Kate’s desire to believe Gina is innocent, Kate knows her too well to trust she’s telling the truth. Amid all the mayhem, Castillo presents a loving, realistic portrait of Amish life. Readers will hope Kate has a long career. [em]Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary. (July) [/em]