And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling begins with two teenagers, Jesse and Jenny, who think they will be able to steal an elderly man’s opioid prescription from his own home, but the man, Emmett Burr had other plans. Emmett has secrets of his own, terrible, sinister horrific secrets he would do anything to keep hidden. Jenny and Jesse are soon reported as missing, and now the story begins to unravel that includes a much bigger problem than two missing small town teens.

Ben Packard has recently moved back Minnesota’s Sandy Lake, running away from his own past, in which a personal tragedy has him moving out of his big city life. As the new acting Sheriff, Packard is leading the investigation into the missing teens, in which Jenny, happens to be his cousins daughter. The mystery surrounding the missing teens also brings up raw memories of his own, his own brother went missing decades before from the same town. As the clues start pointing in directions no one saw coming, he must race against time as more bodies turn up all leading in one direction, the missing teens.

The story is told between alternating points of view, Ben Packard and Emmett Burr. It is a dark and disturbing tale that could be ripped out of today’s headlines…stolen OxyContin from unsuspecting elderly with the intention of using and distributing for profit. Yes…this could really happen, and there could also be a real Emmett Burr involved as well. That is what makes this so frightening. There is a wide range of characters throughout the story, which led to a nice cooling off period between the truly disturbing characters. Ben’s backstory is really interesting, he is a likable guy, handsome, smart, and trying to keep his private life…well, private. While this is a debut novel for this author, I am crossing my fingers this becomes a series, I want to hear more from Ben Packard.

I wouldn’t call this an edge of your seat triller, and that’s ok. The dark background of Emmett and his past is enough to keep you disgusted. It touched on many important themes of today, and was very well written. Each loose end ties up nicely, and you will be surprised with the ending. Well done for a debut author.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Joshua Moehling for an advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I will wait with bated breath for another book featuring Ben Packard!

And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling

Small town murder mystery that presents a new main character and town that both have plenty of potential to provide much fodder for future stories. This debut author is one I would gladly read again.

What I liked:
* Knowing what happened to Jenny and Jesse from the first chapter
* The writing, plot, pacing, and overall story
* The small town setting
* Deputy Ben Packard, acting sheriff and investigator: from a bigger city, chose to move to and work in Sandy Lake County after losing someone important, has secrets, a bit of a loner, works hard, interesting, would like to know more about him
* Jenny: Kidnapped sixteen-year-old, Ben’s niece, person being looked for throughout the story
* Susan: Jenny’s mother, Ben’s cousin, chef-cook, restaurant owner, a bit different – on the spectrum perhaps, might be a recurring character
* The diversity of the staff that Ben works with – some will no doubt show up in future books if this becomes a series – really liked Kelly(dispatcher) and Jill Thielen but others will play their parts as the team becomes more known over time
* Gary: dog rescue owner with an intriguing past – would love to know more about him
* Some of the quirky characters
* Learning about Nick’s brother who went missing decades before – will Nick find out what happened to him if the series progresses?
* That it was so easy to dislike the bad guys though they were rather stereotypical in some ways.
* The police procedural aspects of the story
* That Jenny’s storyline was tied up in a neat bow at the end with no dangling strings
* Knowing that there is plenty of ground laid for another book if the author and publisher decide to provide one.

What I didn’t like:
* The people I was meant not to like and the crimes they committed
* Some of the parents parenting
* Having to wait for book two…if this IS a series

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks-Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

Two teenagers named Jenny and Jesse break into an old man's house in rural Minnesota to steal his pain pills. They think he's a helpless old, obese man and nothing will happen - but then they come face-to-face with the barrel of his shotgun.

Acting Sheriff Ben Packard is relatively new to Sandy Lake. He's a handsome, tall, single man who tries to keep his personal life at bay, despite the fact that his brother disappeared in this town decades ago. He gets word that Jenny is missing from her mother, who also happens to be Ben's cousin - and he quickly starts investigating everything that could have led to this.

When I first read the description of the book, I was reminded of the movie Don't Breathe, which also features teenagers breaking into a seemingly helpless old man's house. That movie was an insane thrill ride that has you on edge the whole time - it's disturbing, action-packed, and a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse. I was expecting something similar from this book, but it's actually not that at all. There's very, very little action, and most of the book is actually spent with the sheriff, Ben Packard, than the old man and the girl. The chapters sort of rotate back and forth, and the chapters featuring Ben really make any tension from the old man's house dissipate.

Overall, I thought this was a solid procedural novel - not necessarily a thriller, but one that focuses on a solid investigation that Ben leads in trying to trace Jesse's drug dealing network and figure out exactly where he went. It is definitely a small-town mystery, not any big insidious plots, but more in the realm of Ben going to the high school and interviewing kids who bought Adderall, visiting former Meals on Wheels recipients, etc. Maybe slightly Twin Peaks vibes.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!

Shifting POVs added layers to this story though at times they also bogged the pacing down. We also got an overload of backstory on our main protagonist which also slowed things. This felt like it could be the start of a series but in that case, some of this backstory could have been trickled out a little more to leave us with more to learn about our hero in the next book. Still, well-drawn (and mostly likeable) characters along with the vivid setting redeemed this and needing to know what would happen next kept me turning pages.

And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling

This book sucked me into the story and kept me there, ignoring life until I finished it. Easy to get into, interesting and well fleshed out characters, hoping to see more of in other books. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book and leave my opinion.

And There He Kept Her is a disturbing story of two teens who go missing. Not perfect kids but still not bad just made some dumb moves as many teens do. Packard the acting sheriff is asked to find them. The missing girl is the daughter of his cousin and the missing boy is from a home that has lost their father and a mother who is either working or drinking. The story is told from two perspectives the acting sheriff and the kidnapper, so there is no mystery as to who did what, but how Packard and the law find out the who, what, and where. I like the writing of this author he has great character development and insight into emotions. I felt the fact that Packard was gay seemed forced and the development fell flat. My opinion. The character development of Gary was great. Emmett the bad guy is the second narrator and I feel his character was well developed. Even though he was extremely evil the author shows how he as an old man was also a product of his lack of knowledge and limited mentality and just maybe you could have a little compassion. You actually routed for him to do what needed to be done towards the end. I do recommend this book with all the good, bad, and ugly, the author is a very talented writer and I look forward to more from him. Thank you NetGalley, the publisher Poisend Pen Press and Joshua Moehling for the opportunity to read this eARC this is my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this one! Loved the main character, and it's one I had a hard time putting down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Emmett is a lot of things but forgettable isn't one of them. He'll stick around in my mind for quite some time. Moehling does a great job of filling your head with horrible images without feeling the need to graphically describe them. It works very well for this book.

***MINOR SPOILER***

My only complaint is that I wish a bit more had been explained about Emmett and Myra. He sees her in town and then he has that run-in with the librarian about her, but then nothing else is said. It didn't bother me enough to lessen my enjoyment of the book. It just left me curious and felt a bit unresolved.

***END OF MINOR SPOILER***

Anyway, loved the book, and I'm thrilled that this is going to be an ongoing series with Packard! I'll definitely be reading the next one!

A super big thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I apologize for the slight delay. :)

Thank you @sourcebooks and @PoisonedPenPress for granting me the opportunity to read and review this #ARCeBook through @netgalley. I love the suspense, the constant chasing, bantering, bickering and easy-to-read. It is predictable but I actually enjoyed reading it since some parts from the book didn’t seem to fit but the author made it work! It is now available, so go and grab a copy!

This is a story about consequences.

I’m torn on rating this, because I really liked the stuff I liked… and was really put off by the one thing I didn’t.

The good: I’m shocked this is a debut! I loved the small town setting, and the thoughtful details and descriptions of the setting and locals. I loved the duel perspectives & the mounting dread present in every chapter. I also really enjoyed the queer rep! I never expect it in thrillers because I see it so rarely 🤷‍♀️ (hit me with your recs!)

What I didn’t like: the repeated, constant mention of the villains weight. We get it, he’s fat. So fat he damages cars and has no friends. His weight is mentioned literally every single time he is, to the point where the narrative felt somewhat fatphobic bc I knew more about his weight than his motivation for keeping women in the basement (this isn’t a spoiler if you’ve seen the cover & read the title). This was really distracting for me and I’m not sure what the goal was here- he isn’t a monster bc he’s overweight, he’s a monster because he does monstrous things.

Overall, a solid thriller! Looking forward to more from the author for sure.

Thank you so much @netgalley, @poisonedpenpress & @dreamscape_media for the e & audio copies!!

To be 100% honest, I’ve put off this review because I don’t know how I feel about this book.

You know within the first few chapters that 2 teens are missing and what happened to them. You know Jenny is being held captive. So I kept waiting for some big plot twist. Like Gary or Emmett turned out to be Packard’s missing brother. I guess I was more intrigued on finding out what happened to the brother because the rest was very predictable.

While I did enjoy the majority of the book, and the authors writing style, I expected more out of this book since it was labeled as “Mystery & Thriller”. I’m giving this a 3.5 rounded up, and would definitely read more from this author. I was just disappointed in the ending.

Thank you Net Galley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Joshua Moehling for an ARC copy of this book.

Fast paced and ever so disturbing….a must read!
And There He Kept Her has so much going on within the story!
Secrets, deceit, mystery, supsense and so much more.
A debut novel from author Joshua Moehling that really kept me engaged and intrigued in the storyline. He has written a intense and compelling thriller that kept me reading way late into the night. Hoping this will be part of a series. I want to know about Ben Packard.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and author, Joshua Moehling, for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A wonderfully creepy debut that kept me up and turning pages well into the night. I love the main character acting Sheriff Ben Packard. He is a tortured soul with a mysterious past.
I know after reading this book, I will be looking more closely at the old man living across the street.
I am looking forward to next book in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy of this book for review.

And There He Kept Her was a suspenseful thriller. I believe this was the authors debut and he did a grand job. Fast paced with nail biting suspense. The whole story was well developed and intriguing. The author kept me involved with each and every character. I saw long stretches of humanity, love and deep rooted evil. I read and listened to this and the audiobook was narrated by Linda Jones. She was a fine choice and I highly recommend this novel.
If you love a solid suspense thriller then you’ll enjoy this one.
Thanks Dreamscape Media and Poison Pen Press via Netgalley.

In this extreme case of wrong place, wrong time a girl ends up a prisoner in the "pink room." Ben Packard, a local detective, must try to find her before it's too late. Mystery and intrigue abound and this book leaves the reader anticipating a follow-up that delves deeper into Packard's life and past experiences.

And There He Kept Her is a beautifully written dark story and shows a very, very promising new author, one I'll be looking forward to reading again. The story is compelling and thrilling, and the reader feels like the investigation is being done in front of him, therefore, it's very easy to understand the plot and what's going on. As the hidden secrets are being revealed and the truth is being exposed my hair started to rise, I'll certainly remember this story for quite a while!
I downloaded a free copy of this book through NetGalley and this is my unbiased review.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3!

A very middle of the road read - I didn't dislike it but I didn't overly enjoy it either. I feel like this one kind of falls into a gray area of genres, it's not necessarily a mystery because you know almost immediately who has done what and where they are, and it's REALLY not a thriller as it is very, very slow paced and did not have any kind of twists or reveals.

The writing was done well and I will definitely pick up more from this author, but this one just didn't really do it for me. I really enjoyed the multiple POV and chapters from the perspective of the captive and her captor, but did not so much enjoy the chapters from the perspective of the sheriffs deputy. Unfortunately though most of the chapters were from the deputy's POV, so this really kind of took me out of the story. Also doesn't help that I'm not a huge fan of police procedurals that are very slow-paced, but that's my own fault for going in more blind so this didn't affect my overall rating.

I've seen high reviews for this one from some of my friends on goodreads, so if the premise sounds good to you and you enjoy slower burn police procedurals where they slowly put together all of the pieces we already know as readers - then give this one a try!

And There He Kept Her” by Joshua Moehling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Suspense/Police Procedural. Location: The town of Sandy Lake by Lake Redwing in northern Minnesota, USA. Time: Present, April and May.

Minneapolis detective Ben Packer is in a secret relationship with fellow cop Marcus. When Marcus is killed, Ben is devastated. He decides to change his life by moving north to Sandy Lake, the small town where he spent childhood summers. When the local sheriff gets sick, Ben is appointed Acting Deputy Sheriff. One night two teenagers go missing (one of them Ben’s insulin-dependent niece Jenny). Ben promises to find them.

In chapter 1, we learn the teens were attacked by elderly, disabled Emmett Burr at his lakeside home. We also learn Emmet has secrets he will protect at any cost. The danger is escalating, and Jenny’s insulin supply is almost gone. Thus, the storyline centers on: Will Ben find them in time? Who will live? Who will die?

Author Moehling focuses on Ben’s growing relationship with Sandy Lake residents, including his initial decision to keep his personal life hidden. As a gay man and cop, Ben is an anomaly in this conservative, religious, rural town. He keeps to himself, quietly remodeling his house, but small towns know all.

Although this is a police procedural/suspense story about forced imprisonment, the storyline is very character-driven. It switches between Ben’s personal point of view plus his police procedural methods and Emmett’s personal point of view. Main characters are generally well developed, especially Ben. Occasionally, nameless characters who don’t advance the storyline are described when they probably could have been left out.

The book makes it clear that even small town America suffers from drugs, family dysfunction, and violence. Although there are violent and abusive scenes, the character-driven focus makes this a book that can be read by those who don’t like highly graphic thrillers. It’s 4 stars from me, and I hope Ben comes back in a 2nd book. 🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️”
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Source Books Inc. for this advance copy.

When two teenagers break into a helpless old mans house late one night, they soon find out that they’ve targeted the wrong man.
After suffering a loss in his life, Ben Packard is the acting sheriff in Sandy Lake, the small town he now calls home. As he heads up the investigation into the missing teens, he must come to grips with the secrets in his own life as he searches for Jesse and Jenny. Will he be able to find them before it’s too late? This was a compelling police procedural that was quite difficult to put down. I’m hoping to see more of Ben Packard in the very near future!

Joshua Moehling…you had me by the end of chapter 1. This read was so very entertaining, with humorous parts interspersed between the dark twisted events occurring in small town America. Sheriff Ben Packard makes such an interesting character that he certainly needs to appear again, seeking the answer to the disappearance of his brother, Nick, many years ago. I loved reading his approach to determining what happened to two teenagers, Jesse and Jenny. Joshua Moehling definitely has a knack for bringing characters to life - even twisted Emmett and Carl. There were so many details that added depth to the main storyline - Jenny’s health issues, tracking Jesse’s phone records, Emmett’s background story, Ben’s background story, prescription drug thefts, a gay porn star, a dead body, several older buried bodies, feuding neighbors, dysfunctional family life… all put together in a well written story that leaves you wanting more.
Loved the alternating points of view and the pacing of the action, but most of all the details that moved this from “telling me” about the characters into “showing me” the characters making them very real and very fascinating, like people that you know and care about.
Please keep writing Joshua Moehling. Many many thanks to Joshua Moehling, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for affording me the absolute pleasure of reading an arc of And There He Kept Her as well as introducing me to a new author that I will absolutely look forward to reading in the future.

What appears to be a similar robbery turns into anything but for two teens and the unsuspecting town of Sandy Lake. Ben Packard is the new acting sheriff and has only been in town for 18 month. He came to Sandy Lake after his life in Minneapolis was changed drastically and has been struggling to find his new equilibrium. Now, it’s a race against the clock to find the two missing teams but every question he asks only leads to more questions until finally a break in the case is revealed.

And There He Kept Her is told in dual POV from the perspective of Sheriff Packard and Emmett, the old man victim of the robbery. Packard character is complex and hasn’t been fully explored yet so I have the feeling this is the first book in a series surround Sheriff Packard and the town of Sandy Lake. The story was predictable but the character of Packard keeps the reader engaged wondering about him. A fair warning, this book is dark and disturbing and should not be read by those affected by the triggers.

Thank you @netgalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.