When the devil is allowed to thrive

A GATHERING OF SECRETS Linda Castillo Loot.co.za (R333) Minotaur

LINDA Castillo’s exquisitely plotted novels delve into Amish life and culture using the prism of a police procedural. Without deriding or sentimentalising the Amish, Castillo shows how their adherence to traditions and silence on sensitive situations can allow evil to seep in.

In her superb 10th novel, she continues to show that Amish problems are universal, despite their insular ways. They aren’t immune to the #MeToo movement as Castillo tackles sexual assault in A Gathering of Secrets.

Kate Burkholder, the insightful police chief of Painters Mill, Ohio, investigates the death of 18-year-old Daniel Gingerich, who died when a barn was set on fire. Daniel was on Rumspringa, a time when a young person can experience the world without the Amish rules, generally before joining the church.

To his family, Daniel was a hard worker, “a good young man”.

But Kate discovers that Daniel was preying on inexperienced young women who blamed themselves for his unwanted attention. At least one woman, overcome by guilt, commits suicide. Their parents, too, often blamed their daughters, preferring to keep the rapes secret.

Kate was sexually assaulted as a teen, and the case weighs heavily on her. She understands the killer’s motives as she learns more about Daniel.

Kate’s complicated “love-hate relationship” with the community to which she was born enhances A Gathering of Secrets. She has much respect for Amish ways yet abhors the attitudes that allow “a devil in disguise” such as Daniel to thrive.

A Gathering of Secrets is a standout in a stellar series. – AP