And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling

Published: June 14, 2022
Poisoned Pen Press
Pages: 337
Genre: Thriller
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Joshua Moehling works in the medical device industry by day and writes at night. And There He Kept Her is his first novel. He lives in the Twin Cities.

“There was no hurry.”

Ben Packard moved to the small town he visited as a child and worked as a sheriff's deputy. It is a long way from the streets of Minneapolis, but he was drawn to the area, despite the traffic loss he experienced there. When his cousin's daughter and boyfriend go missing, it’s a race against the clock to find the kids alive.

I loved this book so much. There were so many beautiful themes and scenes. The plot moved quickly, the characters were bizarrely human, and the twists- honey!

I adored meeting Packard. I loved the weight of his past trauma mingling with his current woes. I loved that while he is a gay man and accepting of that, he isn’t ready to be out for fear of how that could impact his career.

I found the way Joshua humanized each of his characters absolutely brilliant. From our hero, Packard, to the villain.

I enjoyed the alternating narrators and the fact that there was humor woven throughout. The storyline was feasible. Having lived in a small midwestern town (I went to college in Grand Forks, ND), I found the descriptions accurate.

I always enjoy reading novels that take place in places I have been, and this was no different. From the way the town is described to how the small town folk behaves, the accuracy was spot on.

I loved that we knew who was the guilty party from the start. That aspect added such a twisted sense of shock to the storyline.

I would love to see this become a series. I loved Packard and think he should get his happily ever after. Also, we have to hear more about life with Frank!

One day read - had to see what happened!
Great first novel - hope to see lots more - especially more of Acting Sheriff Packard. Really good characters and depiction of small town, rural life. Plot moved a a very good pace. Enough action to keep you guessing

This book had small town vibes and true crime like elements which made it a very quick paced read!

It’s up to Acting Sheriff Packard to determine whether two teen lovers are off on a rendezvous or if there’s something more sinister at play. What he uncovers unravels secrets of this small town, and eventually the whereabouts of the missing teens.

Expertly paced thriller. Great debut novel. Who's the victim? Who's the criminal? Is it possible to be both, depending on the circumstances? Interesting characters, most of whom are well-developed and three dimensional.

"'They thought he was a helpless old man. They were wrong.'

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.

Personal tragedy has sent former police officer Ben Packard back to the small Minnesota town of Sandy Lake in search of a fresh start. Now a sheriff's deputy, Packard is leading the investigation into the missing teens, motivated by a family connection. As clues dry up and time runs out to save them, Packard is forced to reveal his own secrets and dig deep to uncover the dark past of the place he now calls home."

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a good mystery suspenseful story that had my detective cap on trying to figure out what was going on.
Author Joshua Moehling wrote this book well and knew how to keep the reader captivated in finding out the outcome of this story.

Totally enjoyed this book.

The story takes place in Sandy Lake Minnesota. Two teenagers break into a house to steal drugs from Emmett Burr, but Emmett has more than drugs concealed in his house. Ben Packard is in charge of the investigation of the missing teens and he has his own reasons for returning to Sandy Lake.
This mystery is not all it seems at first as we learn that everyone has an agenda.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Read this debut novel in two days!!

I so enjoyed Joshua Moehling's first novel "And There He Kept Her." Really well-plotted suspense, race-against-the-clock, will the good guys save the kids? Or will deeply disturbed evil win out? The central character is so likable, and I found myself cheering Sheriff Packard on the whole way. Already looking forward to what happens next for him. And if you like gruesome, there are a couple of scenes towards the end that will really satisfy. :)

Will easily recommend this book. 4/5 stars.

One of the best thrillers I've read lately. The depth of character development, which is very important to me, alongside a plot that never plods yielded an extremely satisfying read.

I loved the inclusivity and variety of characters. I didn't like how the only Native character was also the one on the sex offender list. But it made more sense later as to how some people are unfairly targeted.

My litmus test for a great book isn't always how I feel immediately after finishing the read. It's also how the story and people linger days afterward. What has stayed with me is how the acting sheriff finally realized he had built a relationship up in his mind and worshipped the idealization of it, which kept him from opening up to those around him. Also, the one who seems to be purely evil could be a protector too. These are people I would love to see carry on with their lives in other books. I would love to see how they grow and change.

Kudos to the author!

Just because a homeowner is a senior doesn't mean that it is safe to break into their home. Jesse and Jenny thought that this would be a perfect break in for the drugs that were in the house b/c Emmet Burg at the age that he was on prescriptions but little did the robbers know that he was home at the time. Emmet confronted them and this is when all the problems started more so for the robbers than Emmet. Would these teenagers get out alive or will Emmet have the last laugh. Who do you root for the Emmet or the robbers. A page turner for sure.

This book left something out for me. There was another main event that happened that was never resolved but discussed often. I feel like that could have made this book twice as interesting. It was a fine read and I liked the officer but it definitely could have been more.it was odd we found out the bad guys so quickly without a major twist but still a decent read.

3.5 stars rounded up. Entertaining in a way but dark and moves with a rather slow momentum. I was interested to see how the story unfolds since you know the kidnapper from the beginning. The whys were definitely interesting but not enough for nothing major to happen. Liked the premise just needed more intense dialogue than we were given.

Happy Sunday! What is everyone reading this weekend? If your looking for an intense and disturbing thriller you need to get author @jmoehling’s debut thriller 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐻𝑒 𝐾𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝐻𝑒𝑟.

I still can’t believe this is a debut novel, it was so good- from the storyline to the silky flow of the writing, everything was just on point. Now this is not a thriller with tons of twists and turns. It is not a mystery. We know who the psycho villain is and we know his plans (for the most part), we are simply just following this creepy story and hoping for the best outcome. I think that’s one of the main reasons I loved this one, it’s unique that although there are some surpsies it’s not a whodunnit and it’s still so addicting!

The plot is heavy and very disturbing, the characters are all so uniquely interesting- especially main character officer Packard. His personality is everything and I love how we see him grow throughout the story. The author did a great job making character Emmet Burr disgusting and terrifying, I promise this character will give you nightmares.

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐻𝑒 𝐾𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝐻𝑒𝑟 is easily a FIVE star read, @jmoehling please give us more!

✨special thanks to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for the gifted copy ! Available JUNE 14✨

SYNOPSIS: “ 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.

Personal tragedy has sent former police officer Ben Packard back to the small Minnesota town of Sandy Lake in search of a fresh start. Now a sheriff's deputy, Packard is leading the investigation into the missing teens, motivated by a family connection. As clues dry up and time runs out to save them, Packard is forced to reveal his own secrets and dig deep to uncover the dark past of the place he now calls home.”

Wow I loved Ben! What a fantastic character! Overall the story kept me reading and entertained! 4 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling. This is Moehling's first novel and he knocked it out of the park. I read this in one day. It's an intense thriller/mystery and grabs your attention from the first page. He creates some diverse characters and a story line that isn't too complex to follow but not predictable enough that I could guess it before it happened. I have read many true crime stories that have similar elements so that made this fictional plot seem all the more real. Can't wait for his next book!

Ben Packard, a deputy sheriff, is the main character in And There He Kept Her. (What an awkward title!)
Ben Packard is just about the only likable character in the novel, although some minor characters had their moments. I hope Frank is featured more prominently in the sequel.
Author Joshua Moehling does a pretty good job of pacing the plot and developing the bad guys. The book held my interest throughout. There was not a lot of suspense despite the despicable nature of the crimes being committed..
Making Ben a gay character was a bit awkward, but I commend the author for making his unusual situation believable while stereotyping Gary, the other living gay character, who has a porn/prostitute past and odd affectations that are not applicable to most gay people.
Seeing the mindset of Emmett as a character who might have been a decent person in another life was interesting.
The interactions between Ben and his cousin Susan were not all that credible and contained some pretty lame dialogue.
Finally, after the novel finishes we are given book club questions that presume a lot, and then a conversation with the author that seems more designed to tell the reader what he or she or they should think of the novel. Not fair!
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC. 4.5 stars.

Man I have been in such a thriller slump lately-almost to the point of giving them up for a while because they had become so predictable and meh but I gave this one a shot and holy moly! It took my slump and body slammed it to the ground and made it say uncle! I seriously hope there will be more books set in this sleepy little town and with these characters!
Ben Packard is moving back to his hometown, which he’s been away from for years because he doesn’t want ti relive the tragedy that struck there. But when the sheriff needs a replacement while he has cancer treatments, Ben decides it’s time to face his past. Little does he know that his past is the least of his worries. While the rest of his family has passed or moved away, his cousin Susan stayed in town and runs the local restaurant. While they don’t have much of a relationship now, when her daughter and her daughters boyfriend go missing, she’s relieved to see Ben in charge of the search. As Ben works the case, we see flashes of his past that have made him the way he is now and how he handles the dark people he meets through the course of the investigation. And when the “villain” is discovered, you find there is so much more to his story than meets the eye. There are so many layers to these characters and no one is all good or all bad and just when you think you’ve got it sorted-you don’t! The pacing is spot on and it’s a race against time to find the missing people before it’s too late.
This does tackle several complex issues and there are several triggers, but if you need a wild ride to keep you burning through the pages, pick this one up and thank me later.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book, even though the overall tone is pretty depressing. Just make sure you're in a semi-good mood before reading.

The character development was good and the author even had me sympathizing with the bad guy. The one thing that kind of bugged me was the number of times the weight of one character is mentioned. I get that the point is that he's old and gross, but it started to feel a bit mean and unnecessary. One line that especially bugged me was when he "itched where his fat rubbed together". It wasn't a major issue, but it was annoying.

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for an advanced copy of this title! Wow! What an unexpected great find! This book flew by! Readers can't help falling in love with the town of Sandy Lake & its quirky residents! Good from start to finish & readers will hope that there are many books in this series. It has been a long time since I liked a character as much as I liked (acting) Sheriff Ben Packard.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it was not the suspenseful, edge of the seat thriller that I was expecting. , Instead it was a well written, character driven novel that was well paced and kept my interest throughout. Yes, there were a couple of kidnapped teenagers, some murders, and lots of individual secrets, but the reader was clued into these leaving few surprises as each characters' individual stories unfolded. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me the ARC! It was a fun mystery with a blah ending. I wanted more from the story. I rate it a 3.1