AN EVIL HEART

Evil abounds among the Ohio Amish.

Painters Mills police chief Kate Burkholder is ready to wed her longtime love, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent John Tomasetti. No longer Amish, she’s both happy and nervous that her family wants to join in her wedding celebration. When a dead body is found in the middle of a quiet country road, it’s initially thought to be a hit-and-run, but a closer look reveals a grisly murder. The dead man is Aden Karn, a well-liked Amish youth of 21 on Rumspringa, the time young Amish people get a taste of living in the outside world. Aden was shot twice with bolts from a crossbow that were then removed. Emily Byler, who’d had a serious relationship with Aden, is devastated. Searching for enemies, Kate comes up with Amish-born Vernon Fisher, who instead of joining the church hangs out at a garage he bought with a rowdy group of friends. Fisher had purchased a truck that Aden and his roommate, Wayne Graber, had fixed up, but it stopped working and he wanted his money back. Fisher’s nasty temper and rude behavior make him an obvious suspect, but something feels off to Kate, who works with a police task force to dig up background information on Aden and anyone who knew him. Though the Amish resist talking to the police, Kate gradually learns that Aden wasn’t as nice as he seemed, spending time in bars and picking up women for casual sex. When a prostitute—beaten, sexually assaulted, and killed—is found wrapped in plastic and dumped in a creek, Kate is convinced there’s a connection. Several nasty secrets emerge, and Kate’s almost killed before the killer is caught.

Characters you care about and a cleareyed look at their unique culture make this series the best of the Amish bunch.