When two teens break into a house to steal drugs, they end up walking into a nightmare. After a string of break-ins, Emmett Burr is prepared to stop them this time, and protect the secrets he has kept hidden in his basement for decades.

Not long after Ben Packard returns to Sandy Cove and become acting sheriff, he gets a call from his cousin that her daughter is missing. While Ben and his cousin hardly have a relationship, he of course jumps to help her out, especially after learning her daughter is diabetic and without her insulin.

I loved how the chapters alternated between points of view of Ben and Emmett, with a few others worked in. I also liked how the storylines all came together in unpredictable ways, but that never seemed forced or too farfetched. The book built suspense at a perfect speed and kept me not wanting to put it down!

It seemed like the book was left open to a sequel and I would definitely read another book following Ben Packard and his team. Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I found this to be dark and depressing. This is one of those where you actually feel sympathy for the "bad guy", and that's just pure talent on the part of the author. This is not truly a thriller, at least in my definition. You know what's going on and you're just waiting for the people who are trying to solve the puzzle to figure it all out and wonder how it's going to come together.

I read this over the course of a day. It flowed quickly for me and I really enjoyed it. From the start, we know who did it, the question is if and how he gets caught. Police procedural and a lot of character development filled out the majority of the story, with a few small twists along the way. If you enjoy crime fiction, you’ll like this one. Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for my eARC. And There He Kept Her is available today.

I enjoyed this book - the characters were creepy. The story was engaging. The writing was spectacular - I was literally transported into the town and felt as if I interacted directly with the characters. There are no big twists or jump-out-of-your-chair moments - instead all secrets are revealed early on and we have to wait for all the pieces to come together. The book never felt boring, since the characters and storyline were so engaging.

Told in alternating perspectives - Emmett Burr has secrets kept in his basement that may be revealed when two teenagers break into his house. And Ben Packard, a sheriff who is leading the investigation on the missing teens, despite the family connection and personal tragedy he is recovering from. As the investigation continues, will Emmett and Ben’s personal secrets be revealed?

Happy Pub Day!

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy!

What a wonderful debut novel and not cliche like so many thriller kidnapping stories. I loved how we knew who , what where and when throughout the story but yet still felt compelled to read on. I loved the characters and how we learned a lot about them and the small community they lived in. I loved that we had a gay lead character who was in a powerful prominent career position and he was learning to navigate his life and accept happiness after loss. I found myself not wanting to put the book down…..and would recommend this book to family, friends and my book club.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own

Too creepy and disturbing for me. I didn't finish it. I love thrillers but a line was drawn in this one that I wasn't crossing. Never heard of this author before but clearly not for me.

This book was very average. The writing wasn't too deep and neither was the plot. The characters were basic cookie cutter back water roughneck hillbillies, smoking and drinking their lives away while their drug dealing kids run around town.

The mystery wasn't that interesting. This book was easy to skip through and still understand what was going on. Basically two junkie kids got it in their minds to raid the guys place for pills to sell and just got caught. Dumbass boyfriend dies and conveniently diabetic girlfriend is held hostage in the basement, which should've held a bigger threat since she's out of insulin but i didn't feel the urgency on that end. The "bad guy" Emmet wasn't threatening. I think Carl made for a better kidnapper/rapist asshole than Emmet. He was more an underling until he miraculously managed to kill Carl and get rid of his body. We all have murder in us, but it wasn't very climactic. So long story short, wife left Emmet, cuz he's a fat pervert that creeps on women and watches way too much porn for his own good so he partnered with another low life who lives out his fantasies.

The detective was meh. Honestly none of these characters were very likeable which made the pace slow and boring, much like the town this takes place in.

Overall a meh story. I expected better considering the title and cover. Something Criminal Minds-esque instead of this tepid "thriller."

A thriller set in his own hometown in Minnesota is the setting for debut novelist Joshua Moehling’s And There He Kept Her. Two teenagers have gone missing and acting Sheriff Ben Packard is on the case. Initially believed to be a romantic tryst, the investigation reveals more sinister possibilities. After his own personal tragedy, Ben moved back to the small community of Sandy Lake, once the fond site of his childhood family holidays. As the complications of the case unfold, Ben is forced to confront his own nature and small-town gossip. With an entertaining flowing narrative, building tension and a complex hero revealing the ambiguity of victim, abuser or protector. A polished first novel of a town with its own dark secrets and a protagonist struggling with his own meaning of self. A fine new addition to crime fiction with its three and a half star read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

Errrmmmm .. unpopular opinion coming in hot!

I went into this one totally blind. The cover looks creepy, the title sounds intense, it’s listed as a thriller. That was more than enough to sell me. I read the synopsis AFTER I finished reading the book and I am just left shaking my head. If you read the synopsis along with only chapter 1 , done , you basically have read the whole story. By only reading the synopsis and chapter 1, you know who the killer is, you know what happened to the teenagers, leaving absolutely no mystery throughout the story, no plot twists, nothing.

I hate to say this but I was beyond bored. The story is more of a detective investigation where nothing is shocking ... because again, we already solved the case in chapter 1 as the reader… 😑

Also there was just so many eye-roll moments … picture this … you are in a small town , a girl gets kidnapped and she is a type 1 insulin dependent diabetic … obviously this girl is going to run out of insulin … so what does the kidnapper do ? Well he just walks in to the pharmacy of course and gets himself some insulin from the pharmacist . 😑 wouldn’t you be a TAD suspicious about this grungy, sweaty, nervous man coming in and asking for insulin and will pay with credit card when it’s literally posted on every block and in the news that A GIRL WHO IS INSULIN DEPENDENT IS MISSING. And since when can you get insulin over the counter with no prescription? Especially in a small town… pull up that customers file .. hey .. you don’t take insulin …smh. After that I just wanted to start skimming. Was totally over it.

I could go on and on about this one, but I think I’ve written enough. Blegh. I don’t recommend. 5 stars for chapter one. 2 stars for the book itself as a whole.

Great premise, interesting read

I wanted to like this more. The writing style will appeal to many but it was a bit too wordy and descriptive for me. I know I was supposed to visualize the setting but all those words just made me skim and shrug. This is a personal thing, mind you, I like a very concise description.

The plot is out there from the beginning and the story will show you how you got there by the end. Unfortunately it’s not a stretch of the imagination so more seasoned thriller reader may feel a bit meh by the lack of suspense or twists. I liked some of the characters and saw the potential to develop this into a series. I would look at the next/more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, Poisoned Pen Press for a copy in exchange for a review.

This is so well written. I had begun to give up on finding really well written suspense novels but this new Minnesota author did such a good job! The premise of the book hooked me right away but the great character development, descriptive writing, thought-provoking twists and suspenseful story kept me reading into the night.

Two teens break into an elderly man's secluded house to steal his prescription pain meds. They don't expect the morbidly obese, pain-ridden elderly man to get the upper hand on them -- or to find out that he has a basement room with a chain on the wall and a horrible past they've walked into.

Meanwhile, the acting sheriff has taken this job in a small Northern Minnesota town to get away from his recent tragedy and the rumors about his romantic life. One of the missing teens is his cousin's daughter, and he follows every lead to try to figure out what's happened and to try to save the teens.

I don't know that I've read a cop thriller where the main character is a gay man, and this one did it so well. He's smart, competent and complex. The other characters are also suitably multi-dimensional and interesting. You won't get them out of your mind any time soon, or any of this story and how it unfolds.

I hope Moehling turns this into a series, because I'd happily read what all of these characters get up to next. Highly recommended.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

Is this the first in a series? Can it please be a series? I really want it to be a series! I want to read more about Ben Packard. I want to know how things go with the sheriff. I want to find out what happened to Nick and learn about more residents in Sandy Lake. Needless to say, the character development (and wow what solid back stories!) and suspenseful plot kept me up turning pages. I liked that we knew early on who the bad guy was and were able to follow his own history into how he got where he was. No excuse, but it was interesting. This book was well laid out and complete as a stand alone but also gave me hope for future installments in a series. Did I mention I'd like this to be the first in a series?

Two teenagers, Jesse and Jenny, break into the home of an older man to steal his painkiller medications. The unexpected happens and they are faced with the owner, Emmett, and his shotgun. The two teenagers are missing for days and acting Sheriff Deputy, Packard, leads the investigation into their disappearance.

I really enjoyed this book ! It is pretty intense and dark. I’ll be honest, there’s no big mystery or twist, but it was suspenseful. This book is very character driven and well-written. I’m hoping this isn’t a stand-alone and there’s a second book coming because the way it ended made it seem like there will be 🤞🏽

2.5 Stars.
This book hooked me at the beginning & I was super excited to start it. But within the first 100 pages I just got bored.. I have a hard time with mystery/police typed books holding my attention & this one wasn't working for me. I am more of a thriller type & this just didn't have a lot of thrill for me. I did like the dual POV. I thought the main police officer was a great character but overall the book was just ok for me.

"When two teenagers break into a house on a remote lake in search of prescription drugs, what starts as a simple burglary turns into a nightmare for all involved. Emmett Burr has secrets he's been keeping in his basement for more than two decades, and he'll do anything to keep his past from being revealed. As he gets the upper hand on his tormentors, the lines blur between victim, abuser, and protector."

And There He Kept Her is told through the lens of Ben Packard, acting Sheriff in small town Shady Lakes and captor, Emmett Burr. Ben is determined to find missing teens, Jesse and Jenny. While Ben is peeling through the layers to learn what happened, Emmett is racing to cover his tracks.
This story grabbed my attention from the very beginning. From following Ben and Emmett to meeting a fun cast of small town characters, I was completely engaged. The characters were so entertaining that I'm not ready to say good bye to them - fingers crossed this becomes a series.


⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5)

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook.
Release Date scheduled for June 14, 2022.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the the gifted e-arc.

I'll admit that I was really surprised that this was a debut novel. I want the next book now! I LOVE small town murder books and this book did not disappoint. I really liked the main character Sherriff Packard. I liked how slowly we get to know him better. I also liked how Emmet was such a complex character. Not your typical serial killer!

When I got to the halfway point of the book, I did not put it down. I had to know how it ended. It really picked up the pace.

Overall, I highly recommend it if you like dark thrillers.

3 stars...

Ultimately, this one was just too slow for me. The pacing didn't pick up at all, and I just felt for most of the book, not much was happening. I wish it was more edge of the seat/fast paced. I also wished the alternating POV between Jenny/Emmet in the room vs Packard were labeled on the chapters.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read & review. Out tomorrow, 6/14!

Two teenagers, Jesse and Jenny, break into an older man’s home searching for prescription drugs. Things don’t go as planned and Jesse is shot dead, and Jenny is held captive by the homeowner, Emmett Burr.

Ben Packard is the new sheriff’s deputy and is in charge of the investigation into what happened to the missing teens. Ben Packard has ties to Sandy Lake as his brother disappeared from there when he was a teenager. Jenny is also Ben’s niece.

The story was more of a slow burn, police procedural that kept you engaged. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their back stories. Some of the characters were very vile, and there are some parts of the story that are difficult to read. I felt some empathy towards Emmett Burr as he struggled with his feelings toward Jenny. He wanted to torment and protect her all at the same time. Jenny was also a bad ass with strong survival instincts!

I absolutely loved Ben Packard’s character! I cannot wait to see where the author takes him next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

This is a very good book, though quite dark at times, I would recommend it, I read it in two days. Two teens, Jesse and Jenny, are caught breaking into the house of Emmett, a morbidly obese man, Emmett shoots both kids, not a spoiler, that is part of the blurb. Ben Packard is the acting Sheriff and has recently returned to Sandy Lake after leaving to work in Minneapolis after the death of a colleague. Jenny's mom is a cousin of Ben's, someone he had grown up with, she wants him to investigate after Jenny fails to go to school, Ben is reluctant, thinking that Jenny is taking some time away. Jesse's mom is more concerned about her car than her son, but when a couple days goes by with no sighting of either child, Ben becomes worried. The bad person is known from the beginning and the story is told from Ben's perspective and the bad guy. Although you would think that would diminish the suspense part of the story, the author does a very good job of keeping it high, I was very engaged in the story and the back story on both Ben and the bad guy added depth to the characters. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

A race to the end - a young couple goes missing and it's up to the "acting" sheriff to find them. In search of prescriptions to sell, the couple breaks into Emmett Burr's home only to be met with Emmett holding a gun. From there, you see different sides to Emmett. He's a bad man that shows some compassion. Very contradictory. Sheriff Packard has his work cut out for him trying to rescue the girl with diabetes before she goes too long without them.

I enjoyed this book. It was one that grabbed you from the onset and wouldn't let go until you were done. Can't wait to see what Joshua Moehling comes out with next.