The Amish community in Painter's Mill, Ohio, has been experiencing a rash of hate crimes lately, but the Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is having a problem getting a handle on these crimes. A large part of the issue is that the Amish don't report the crimes, wanting to have nothing to do with the English. Although Kate is frustrated by this, she understands the mindset, having been raised Amish.

But things take a turn when she receives a call from dispatch in the middle of the night sending her to the Slabaugh farm. There, she finds three people dead -- a father, mother, and the father's brother, leaving four children suddenly orphaned. At first glance, it appears that the adults slipped into the manure pit in the barn, but the investigation reveals that the they were actually murdered. Have the hate crimes escalated into murder?

The county sheriff calls in state agent John Tomasetti to help with the hate crimes investigation, since the sheriff knows that he and Kate have worked well together in the past, and he knows that Kate has a connection with the Amish community. However, Kate and John have to decide whether to keep the hate crimes investigation and the homicide investigation separate or combine them.

Meanwhile, events surrounding this case are bringing up memories for Kate related to her own past. Is she too close to this case to be able to work it effectively? Can she keep a professional distance and solve this in time to prevent more deaths?

This book was riveting from the very first page. The author's ability to draw the reader in and keep the reader's attention was absolutely right on target. The balance between the action and investigation in the book and the relationship between Kate and John was absolutely perfect, too.

As someone who has some passing familiarity with the Amish communities, I really appreciated the author's commitment to getting the details about the Amish religion and lifestyle correct, without sensationalizing or exoticising the community. This book was a fantastic read, even without having read the other books in the series.