To assure public safety, a small-town police chief must deal with a variety of problems, as Kate Burkholder of Painters Mill, Ohio, does in these six short stories. A romantic weekend with partner John Tomasetti has Kate nervous about their relationship, but it turns into a busman's holiday when the pair become intrigued by a ghost story involving a missing woman in "Long Lost.""Seeds of Deception" features Kate at 14 as she tries to solve a crime, a situation that portends her future. In other stories, she tackles cases involving a teenager assaulted at a large Amish party during a power outage and tries to help a woman fearing for her life who can't remember her attacker because of amnesia. As usual, Kate's Amish background serves her well in the largely Amish Painters Mill, as she ferrets out secrets involving both members of her former faith and the "English," or non-Amish, population. This thirteenth Burkholder appearance may be a bit less satisfying than her more robust novels, but a plate of Burkholder appetizers is appealing in its own way.

Fans of Castillo's Kate Burkholder will be pleased to see the Painters Mill, OH, police chief as the star of a story collection. A 14-year-old Kate suspects her best friend of starting a fire in a barn in "Seeds of Deception." In the other five stories, Kate, along with the man she loves, John Tomasetti from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, investigates everything from the cold case of a woman who disappeared 22 years earlier to the story behind a baby left on an Amish bishop's porch. All six stories involve young people, usually Amish, who are victims of crime. The strongest one, "Only the Lucky," sends Kate to a farm where Amish and Englischer teens are partying, until a young girl is attacked. VERDICT As with any collection, some stories are stronger than others, and the author doesn't have much opportunity to develop the plot. Castillo shines when she focuses on the Amish lifestyle, and in the longer stories with more opportunity to delve into the plot. Kate Burkholder fans will want to pick this up while waiting for the next full-length offering from the author.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN