If you’re looking for Linda Castillo books in order, her bibliography begins with romantic suspense and later expands into the Kate Burkholder Amish-country mystery series. She has also contributed to shared-world romance series and published standalone thrillers, short fiction, collections, and a screen adaptation.
Most readers discover Castillo through Kate Burkholder, but her earlier novels show the romantic-suspense roots of her later crime fiction. The lists below cover every major series contribution, standalone novel, short story, collection, and adaptation.
Jump to:
- Linda Castillo Books by Series
- Linda Castillo Standalone Books
- Linda Castillo Movie and TV Adaptations
- Who is Linda Castillo?
Linda Castillo Books by Series
High Country Heroes Books
Castillo published Remember the Night before beginning the High Country Heroes trilogy. These romantic-suspense novels can stand alone, but I’d still read them in publication order.
- A Hero to Hold (2001)
- Just a Little Bit Dangerous (2002)
- A Cry in the Night (2002)
Family Secrets Books
Family Secrets is a larger multi-author Harlequin continuity rather than a two-book Linda Castillo series. Castillo contributed the two installments below. If you’re reading only her books, I recommend using this order.
- Uncharted Waters (2003)
- The Phoenix Encounter (also published as The Secret Encounter) (2003)
Operation: Midnight Books
Operation: Midnight is a connected romantic-suspense series involving people tied to a covert government program. Each novel focuses on a different couple, but the recurring organization gives the books an ongoing thread. Publication order is the simplest way to read the series.
- Operation: Midnight Tango (2005)
- Operation: Midnight Escape (2005)
- Operation: Midnight Guardian (2006)
- Operation: Midnight Rendezvous (2006)
- Operation: Midnight Cowboy (2007)
Lights Out Books
Lights Out is a four-book, multi-author romantic-suspense series set during a Boston blackout. Each installment follows a different couple, but the same crisis connects the stories. I’d read the full series in the order below.
- Royal Lockdown by Rebecca York (2007)
- A Baby Before Dawn by Linda Castillo (also published as Safe Before Dawn) (2007)
- Anything for His Son by Rita Herron (2007)
- Meet Me at Midnight by Jessica Andersen (2007)
Kate Burkholder Books
The Kate Burkholder series follows a former Amish woman who returns to fictional Painters Mill, Ohio, as chief of police. Kate’s background helps her move between the Amish and “English” communities as she investigates murders and other violent crimes.
Each novel resolves its central case, but Kate’s relationships, family history, and personal life develop across the series. I recommend reading the novels in publication order, especially for a first read.
- Sworn to Silence (2009)
- Pray for Silence (2010)
- Breaking Silence (2011)
- Gone Missing (2012)
- Her Last Breath (2013)
- The Dead Will Tell (2014)
- After the Storm (2015)
- Among the Wicked (2016)
- Down a Dark Road (2017)
- A Gathering of Secrets (2018)
- Shamed (2019)
- Outsider (2020)
- Fallen (2021)
- The Hidden One (2022)
- An Evil Heart (2023)
- The Burning (2024)
- Rage (2025)
Rage is the seventeenth full-length Kate Burkholder novel. For the combined novel-and-short-story sequence, including where each story fits and the chronological prequel in Seeds of Deception, see my complete Kate Burkholder Series in Order guide.
Kate Burkholder Short Stories
These short mysteries are optional additions to the main series rather than required installments. I’d read them in publication order, but you can follow the full-length novels without them.
- Long Lost (2013) (Short Story)
- A Hidden Secret (2015) (Short Story)
- Seeds of Deception (2016) (Short Story)
- Only the Lucky (2017) (Short Story)
- In Dark Company (2018) (Short Story)
- In Plain Sight (2019) (Short Story)
- The Pact (2020) (Short Story)
- Disappeared (2021) (Short Story)
- Blood Moon (2022) (Short Story)
- Hallowed Ground (2023) (Short Story)
- Dark Storm Rising (2024) (Short Story)
- A Dark Path (2026) (Short Story) (found in A Dark Path: And Other Kate Burkholder Short Stories)
Hallowed Ground won the 2024 Edgar Award for Best Short Story.
Kate Burkholder Short Story Collections
These collections gather stories that were first released individually. I think they’re the simplest option for readers who prefer collected editions or want to avoid buying each short ebook separately.
Both volumes collect stories that were first released individually. A Dark Path: And Other Kate Burkholder Short Stories also adds the title story, which wasn’t previously available on its own. It is a short-story collection rather than the eighteenth numbered novel.
Linda Castillo Standalone Books
Linda Castillo’s standalone novels can be read in any order. The earlier books lean toward category romance and romantic suspense, while the later titles move further into crime and thriller territory. Publication order is useful if you want to see that shift across her career.
- Remember the Night (2000)
- Cops and…Lovers? (also published as Lay Down the Law) (2001)
- The Perfect Victim (2002)
- The Shadow Side (2003)
- Midnight Run (2003)
- Fade to Red (2004)
- Dead Reckoning (2005)
- Depth Perception (2005)
- A Whisper in the Dark (2006)
- In the Dead of Night (2007)
- Overkill (2007)
Linda Castillo Movie and TV Adaptations
- An Amish Murder (2013)
An Amish Murder is a Lifetime television movie based on Sworn to Silence. It stars Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder and was produced as a single film rather than a continuing series.
Who is Linda Castillo?
Linda Castillo began publishing romantic suspense with Remember the Night in 2000. She later moved into mystery thrillers with Sworn to Silence, the first Kate Burkholder novel.
Her work spans romance, romantic suspense, police procedurals, and crime fiction. Castillo received the Edgar Award for Best Short Story for Hallowed Ground, and the Kate Burkholder series has become the central part of her bibliography.
Castillo lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, horses, and dogs. When she isn’t writing, horses remain one of her main interests.
Looking for similar books in order?
If you want more mystery authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Mystery Books in Order index.
One thought on “Linda Castillo Books in Order: All Series & Standalones”
I like to read Mystery’s books, and I like to read Amish’s books and together, Linda Castillo has capture my love for reading all in one. I can’t wait for her next book.