If you’re expecting the latest Kate Burkholder novel by Linda Castillo, you’re in for a surprise. A Simple Murder is a story collection featuring the police chief in Painters Mill, Ohio. Or maybe I should just say it features Kate Burkholder. One story introduces a fourteen-year-old Kate.

I find short stories a refreshing break from novels. As with any anthology, some stories in A Simple Murder are stronger than others. In fact, “Seeds of Deception”, the one featuring the young teen Kate, is disappointing. Although it foreshadows events in Kate’s life, and her future as an investigator, the account of a barn fire and Kate’s suspicions is weak.

Castillo’s strengths are in the longer stories when she has a chance to develop the plot. “In Plain Sight”, the story of a hit-and-run accident that leaves an Amish teen in a coma, is well-developed as Burkholder has to sift through possible suspects. “Only the Lucky”, in which a rager, a party at a deserted farm, leads to an attack on an Amish girl, is an excellent story.

I’m a fan of Kate Burkholder, and I was happy to see John Tomasetti, the man Kate loves, appears in five of the six stories. Their relationship has developed in the course of the series, and I would have hated to see him not appear.

Castillo’s strengths are the development of plot, and the depiction of the Amish lifestyle. The best stories in A Simple Murder are the ones in which she plays to her strength, stories that are a little longer, with more depth. Readers who are eager for the next Kate Burkholder novel can pick up this anthology for a quick peek at the Painters Mill police chief.

Linda Castillo’s website is www.lindacastillo.com

A Simple Murder: A Kate Burkholder Short Story Collection by Linda Castillo. Minotaur Books, 2021. ISBN 9781250819680 (hardcover), 416p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a .PDF to review the book for a journal.