Overkill

by Linda Castillo

Marty Hogan was a good cop until she crossed the line . . . Now someone wants her to pay . . .

It started with a case so horrific it sent Chicago cop Marty Hogan straight over the edge. Unable to put the past behind her, she lost her job and was forced to flee to small-town Texas and the only police department that would hire her.

She's about to learn you can't outrun the past...

Police chief Clay Settlemeyer knows something about making mistakes, which is why he was willing to give Marty a second chance. But when her ex-partner is brutally murdered, it's clear that Marty's past has come back to haunt her.

Genres: Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Contemporary, Audiobook, Adult, Romance

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 2, 2007

About the author

Linda Castillo is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Kate Burkholder mystery series, set in the world of the Amish. The first book, Sworn to Silence, was adapted into a Lifetime original movie titled An Amish Murder starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards including a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, a nomination for the Mystery Writers of America’s Sue Grafton Memorial Award, and a nomination for an “Audie Award” for best mystery audiobook. Her work has appeared on numerous bestseller lists and earned a spot on the Boston Globe’s shortlist for best crime novel.

In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, three Appaloosas, and two feisty, but loveable Blue Heelers.

She loves hearing from readers. Contact her at books@lindacastillo.com.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a terrible book, I listed to the audio version so I am unsure if it was just because of the narrator but the story line was not as good as her other books. Very disappointed.

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A romantic suspense with a good balance of romance and suspense. Marty is a cop from Chicago who beat up a suspect and the world sees it on video. She gets a job in a small town in Texas. Clay is the police chief who hires her. Meanwhile, there are bad guys who seek revenge. I felt the romance lacked a little chemistry but it was nice. There was a dark feel to it with the drinking and dealing with the past but it wasn't too dark.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read every title in the Kate Burkholder mystery series, & every short story, & enjoyed them all. This was awful. I was so disappointed. I was also disappointed that the story was full of spelling & word errors - to its' detriment. What a shame.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an on the edge of your see romantic suspense thriller. Marty suffering from one moment of bad judgment finds herself in podunk Texas on the police force trying to get some semblance of her life back. She finds the transition from Southside Chicago cop to small town Texas cop a hard one, the worst crimes being drunken fights and cows getting out. Unfortunately her past mistake causes fatal ripples in her life and people not believing what is happening to her. As the ripples start to come closer to her, Marty finds out that those she is starting to care out are in danger and she will do whatever it takes to protect them even if it means her own life.

[Karen Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not the cover of the book when I bought it and I had originally just assumed it was in the Kate Burkholder series only to find out it wasn't and that it was in her "suspense romance" stand alone books. Well, it was certainly a far cry from the Burkholder series as it lacked depth, mystery and grit. It's definitely for people who like more romance. I found it had little suspense, a weak plot and not a whole lot of character development. Side characters, for the most part, were one dimensional and/or just thrown in here and there for a few pages. I'll stick with her Burkholder series which, to me, is far superior.

[Kathleen M Rooney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love the Amish series, this not so much

Have to admit that I dislike romance novels. So that is part of the rating. Another part of it is all of the editing errors. There's not a page that doesn't have at least one jumble of letters that is not a word. Very annoying. I don't like paying for an inferior product. The editor should be embarassed. The writing is ok but not up to her standard. Did she write this before the Amish series? My bad for giving this genre a shot because she was the author. I won't make that mistake again.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read quite a few of Linda Castillo’s novels, and this book was not a favorite. I found it to be full of cliches and absolutely riddled with typos. The main character was like a cookie cutter “female cop with a checkered past who doesn’t take crap from anyone.... a tough exterior, but a woman who’s a softie on the inside and just looking to be loved.” I thought Castillo was a good writer and storyteller after reading many of the Kate Burkholder books, but this one was just awful.

[Sandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book by this writer....I loved it and had a hard time putting it down!!

I enjoyed the characters, particularly the leading lady and her struggles. I think the writer did a really good job portraying the mental anguish she goes through.

The storyline was really good and the details were just enough to set my imagination soaring on its own. I enjoy a well detailed book but even more one whose details are just enough to send my imagination wild...it truly pulls me completely into the story right along side the characters. To me that is a great book!!

I look forward to trying more books by this writer!

[Jazzica Idamarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would’ve given 5 stars if it wasn’t for this specific thing. I didn’t like the parts when it started saying “A Woman this A woman that.” “She’s a woman this she’s a woman that.” I’m okay with their being a little thing between the two cops but it was so focused on her being a woman in some parts it just got annoying. I was like okay already we get it she’s a woman. Who cares if she’s a woman I would like to get back to a great cop story. Overall the story was great, it was just everything surrounding her being a woman that was annoying.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new (hopefully) series

If you can't handle reading tough police scenes when the worst is going down, then this book is not for you. I love the Kate Burkholder series so eagerly grabbed this one. It did not disappoint. Characters you are drawn to and a couple that are beyond , way beyond dislike. Is say the only thing missing was a puppy.

This book does have some strong language but fits the moment not just gratis. A love scene that while descriptive leaves most to your imagination.

I do recommend this new one from Linda Castillo.

[Lopsided · Rating 1 out of 5]

Prologue starts out using hel*, Go* dam*, bit**, F***, bast***, dam*, shi*, son of a bit**- not sure the last time I’ve heard the alphabet of curse words being regurgitated, much less in a book! Oh wait, dam*it just made it in… now bumfu**. Narrator is not a favorite of mine. This is not a book to read after reading the Kate Burkholder series…. Great book for those who like the cliche romance and the narrator probably goes with good with the cliche. Clearly I was not expecting 1/3 of the book to be cliche romance - my fault since I more expected minimal romance like the Kate series.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

was boring at the start but became very interesting. lots of trauma, dark topics, gory descriptions, and strong language. romance was there but it felt more trauma bonded than love. i love how they both are sympathetic towards each other, but i feel like it wasn’t as much tension or connection. it’s like 80% mystery, dark, suspense, and stuff (which was so entertaining but a little dark for me) and then 20% tension, romance, connection. i wish the ending was longer. i have so many unanswered questions about everything else in the ending . anyway overall it was a 3/5 book.

[BookGirlVlP · Rating 5 out of 5]

5-Star Story / 0-Star Editing

I loved the suspense and and storyline in this book. I liked the characters. The right amount of action tempered with the right amount of grit. HOWEVER, I am pretty sure 10-year Erica from this book could have done a better job editing. I have literally NEVER seen so many spelling and punctuation errors in a professional publication. It was VERY frustrating. The publishers/editors should be ashamed.

[C Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointing

Loved the Kate Burkholder series . This book a quite different . The characters were good and it had plenty of suspense. The story draws you in from the beginning. The proofreading could have been better. It may have helped the story to flow.

This book does have a lot of strong language. It is a good story even with the language and heavy love scenes.
I still like Linda Castillo.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder series, so I was excited to find a standalone story to read. This is a pure cliche romance trash novel. Plus, I listened to it on audio and found the narration too breathy, whiny and overdramatic, just like the lusty storyline. The overprotective male lead was annoying, especially his obsession with her drinking habits, and his unprofessional behavior as her boss from day one. I couldn't finish it.

[Leona]

No stars because I couldn't finish this book. I love the Kate Burkholder series and have read other Linda Castillo books as well. Didn't like the lead character from the get go but got to 25% and said, "No more." The whole interaction with the "boss" hiring her was so inappropriate and unimaginable. And then after the first shift, I kept saying to myself, "No, no, no, you're not going to do this, are you?" Well, they did. Enough is enough. Life is too short to read books like this.

[KIM COULING · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story itself was really good. The part that distracted me so much from the story was the tremendous amount of grammatical errors, mostly periods missing at the end of sentences. I've never seen a book with so many typos and words that were so glaringly wrong. For me, it really distracted from the story.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marty Hogan, relocated cop from Chicago to backwater Texas finds that your past follows you wherever you might try to hide.
After losing her temper and beating a suspect while in her custody Marty leaves Chicago and obtains a job in a small town in northern Texas. Little did she, or the town, know she would bring the ugliness of the big city with her to their quiet community.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not an enjoyable read for me. I expected it to be more along the lines of the Kate Burkholder books. It was not. Too much romance and sex scenes for me. I am not a teacher but even I wanted to take a red pencil to the mistakes in the book and send it back. She needs a new editor. I was totally disappointed in this book.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

8 This was a difficult decision when it came to the ranking. I liked the back story, the characters and the romantic plot line. But I really do not like plots that are dependent on harm being done to the main characters and certainly not when a child is threatened. But apart from that, a good read.

[One Sentence Audio Critic · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Castillo's Amish/Burkholder series, you will love this book, written 2 years before the Burkholder series. A troubled big city disgraced cop takes a job in a small Texas town.

(Dear Ms. Castillo: I think it would be great if Marty (this book's MC) visited Linda Burkholder to help on a case in Ohio. And it would drive up sakes on this book. 😃)

[Marybeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a lot of the author's book in the Kate Burkholder series and really enjoyed them. This was my first read outside the Amish/Kate Burkholder series. I enjoyed the murder mystery of Overkill but the sexual overtures between FMC and MMC were constant throughout the book and it got ridiculous (for me). I'm going to go back to the Kate Burkholder books.

[Sheldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly, I enjoyed this early book by Linda Castillo, even though for the most part, it was more of a romance than a mystery. The characters moved me their pains hurt me and their story excited me. As it was Texas based, I can tell you if it had been a western, the heroes would’ve written off into the sunset.

[Rhea Folland · Rating 5 out of 5]

New author to me. Was a great read. Had a hard time to put it down once started. This is a standalone novel but well written with characters well developed and storyline was awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed!

[Erica Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good storyline but...

The storyline is good and I have yet to read a Castillo book I did not like. However, this book is so full of grammatical errors. I tried to look past them but, at times, the errors had sentences making no sense.

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason, I just couldn't get into this Linda Castillo book. I'm not sure what the problem is, I read the first few chapters and the last few chapters and still couldn't get into the storyline. :(

[Elaine Lachapelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

Hold your breath for this one!!! A bit of romance, quite a bit of sassy and lots of mystery with a couple of really rotten people thrown in. Loved this author before this book and that hasn’t changed. Read it in 24 hours!!!

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical romance novel.

I was disappointed in this novel by Linda Castillo. Her Kate Burkholder series is so good and I thought this would be good only with different characters. If I had been expecting a romance novel, I might not have been so disappointed.

[Heidi | Paper Safari Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only ever read Linda Castillo's Berkholder series and this was a nice change. I really like her style in this romantic suspense novel. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the cat and mouse suspense. Great easy read.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the author’s series set in an area with many Amish people despite the books being over emotive. But this book had so much description of emotions and sexual tensions that it seems trite and annoying