Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of this dark thriller. As a debut author I think Moehling did a wonderful job. The writing is excelllent. and the characters are very well-developed. The pace was good and although it wasn't really a mystery it definitely kept me reading. It was a bit too dark and somewhat creepy for me though.

Debut author Joshua Moeling has penned a novel that started with a bang (literally) and ended with a splash. So much happened in between. I'm not usually a fan of books where I know the bad guy from the start, but here it worked.

We don’t know the why of what happened or even the other who’s but what follows is a twisted journey both to the past and through the present. Between feuding neighbors, dysfunctional families, love & loss, and drug use I was kept on my toes with a vast cast.

It’s a disturbing story with lots of backstory into the life of Ben Packard and has the feels of the start of a new series. The characters here are so flawed both through their own doing, society, and privilege. The story moved along at a nice pace but knowing so much at the beginning kinda took some of the suspense away.

Storyline seems good but about 1/3 of the way through it, it got a bit sexually graphic for my taste. It describes a picture that is sexted. This just isn't my thing and I quit reading the book since there's no telling if more was coming. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This mystery/thriller kicks off when two teenagers break into an old man's house in search of prescription drugs. They expect him to be asleep, an easy target, but Emmett has secrets he wants to keep hidden using any means necessary. The next day, when the teens don't show up for school, the local deputy, Ben Packard, begins his investigation. However, when most of the clues start coming up dry, Packard will have to delve into the deeper secrets of the small town in order to find them in time.

TW/CW: death of a loved one, death of a pet, drug use, kidnapping, homophobia

Based on the description and cover, I was expecting this to be similar to the movie Don't Breathe where it was primarily focused on the old man vs the teens in the house. However, this read much more like a typical police procedural with occasional chapters that followed the events in the house. I was really expecting the subject matter to be much more dark on page as well. We get characters talking about past events or threatening to take certain actions, but I never really got that really gritty, dark subject matter that I was expecting (based on the cover/title). That being said, this was still a really great read and a well-paced mystery. However, if someone was going into this expecting more of a thriller/horror vibe then they may be disappointed.

I really loved the characters, especially Packard. The reader is sort of just dropped into this town as the teens are breaking in and we don't get a whole lot of character info-dump on them or anyone else. Instead, Moehling does a great job of sprinkling in character details throughout the story and investigation. What could have been some pretty cliche characters - teens acting out, depressed deputy, weirdo who tortures girls in his basement - turned into a really great mix of personality details and backstory. I found Packard to be the most fleshed out of all the characters, which makes sense considering we are mostly following his investigation plot line in this story. I really enjoyed that Packard, while he does have some trauma from his past that he's trying to ignore/work through, he doesn't fall into the depressed deputy trope. He also doesn't go rogue and ignore procedure. He's good at his job and the people in this small town respect him pretty well. I'm not sure if this is only going to be a standalone novel, but I would love if this turned into a police procedural series following Packard.

As I mentioned previously, this read more like a standard police procedural with occasional chapters flashing to the events with the teens and Emmett. I think the dual storyline elements worked well, but I did find the chapters with Emmett to be lower tension than I was expecting. They eventually increased in tension toward the end and, looking back, I can see how Moehling was laying the breadcrumbs to build up to Emmett's climactic moment, but in the moment it really felt like the lowest stakes version of this type of story. For the majority of Emmett's plot line, it really felt like they were just sitting around waiting for Packard to find them. Thankfully, I was more interested in Packard's sections so I used these Emmett chapters as more of a little break. There were a few times where the two story lines crossed but in a way that only the reader knows about (the characters involved did not know about the other story line going on) which did increase the tension. I really enjoyed the way the two storylines came together in a really logical way. I was afraid maybe they would connect due to being lucky or some sort of coincidence but instead a lot of the little pieces we've been following come together in the end.

The investigation elements were really well done and I enjoyed how much the town is included in the investigation. We really get a good sense of this small town through the investigation path and there was such a good mix of local details as well as investigation threads for Packard to follow. Again, I think this would be really great groundwork for the first book in a series based in this small town. I think a lot of small town mysteries fall into a cutesy almost cozy-mystery vibes which isn't always what I'm looking for. In this case, Moehling was able to capture the feeling of a small town without veering into that overly cutesy territory. We have a really interesting cast of characters that felt like genuinely real people and not caricatures. The investigation has Packard visiting a number of different locations in town such as the local high school, the diner, and a few different homes at different areas of town. Since the investigation is more of a missing persons case, we don't really get a whole lot of technical forensic stuff to wade through in the narrative. Instead, the investigation mostly focuses on trying to find people who knew what the teens were up to the night they disappeared. We do get a little bit of technical investigation when it comes to tracking cell phones and such but not as much as a typical murder-investigation police procedural.

Overall, this wasn't nearly as dark of a story as I was expecting based on the title, cover, and description but I still ended up enjoying this. Great characters and setting as well as an intriguing investigation. I hope this becomes a series and I'd be interested in reading more from Moehling in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC

Expected publication date is June 14, 2022

I received an ARC through NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This story begins with Jesse and Jenny entering a house to steal some drugs when they are confronted by the owner. Later Ben Packard, the acting sheriff, is called to a scene of a bear attack. When he arrived at the scene, the bear was gone. Another call comes in and this time he winds up shooting the bear. After he finished, he went to visit with the sheriff and his wife. The sheriff has been diagnosed eith cancer and that is why Ben is the acting sheriff. Later, Ben receives a call from Susan Wheeler, Jenny's mother and Ben's cousin, where he is told that Jenny has gone missing.

Ben begins to start a search and attempts to discover where Jenny might have gone. As you learned in the beginning, Jesse and Jenny were confronted by the owner of the home where they were going to steal drugs, Jesse was killed and Jenny was wounded and locked up in a room. After Ben discovered that Jenny had gone with Jesse, he started looking into who Jesse was and eventually pieced together what might have happened.

Ben discovered that Jesse was dealing drugs and learned how and who started him on this path. Once Ben found this out, he went to talk to a suspect who might have an idea where the two had gone. When Ben arrived at this person's location he found him dead. Following up on the dead person's activity, he found evidence which put him on the track to learning what happened.

To find out what Ben discovered and how he was finaly able to locate Jenny, you need to read this book.

Thankful for the ARC and chance to preview this debut novel. Excited about what I had seen of the book, diving in was quickly rewarded... and kicked off a page-turning adventure. About the time that this not-a-horror-genre-fan reader began to get a bit leery of where Moehling was headed... the depth and intensity kicked in! More mystery and thriller than horror, this was a great read. Interesting, with believable and conflicted characters, There He Kept Her pulls you in, leads you along, and makes you feel a bit ill-at-ease with momentarily rooting for incredibly-flawed people and remembering that even "bad" people have moments, even if not redeemable. Some neat complexities captured in this quick rush of a read.
Grateful for the chance to read this one, I am left excited for more from this author.

A nail biting page turner! This one kept me up into the wee hours of the morning because I just couldn't put it down. The characters are authentic and well rounded, and the descriptions vivid. I love the end, everything wrapped up but left a little open, so I am hoping this will be a series because I really Like Ben Packard! Thank you to Netgalley and Poison Pen Press for the opportunity to review this one!

And There He Kept Her follows Acting Sheriff Ben Packard in a small Minnesota town. After moving to this small town Packard can be described as all about the job.he is trying to figure where he fits in or if he fits into small town life. When his cousin Susan reports her daughter Jenny missing Packard does everything in his power to find out what has happened.

This book was different than a lot of mystery/thrillers I have read. The “villain” or bad guy in this story is written to be more than just this horrible person who has done horrible things. The author has made the reader look at things from the “villains” perspective which at times makes you sympathize with their situation. This doesn’t take away from all the bad things they’ve done but it reminds us that people are multifaceted. Packard is also a character that is dealing with a lot and you see him hide himself in his job. As the case progresses he comes to term with truths he hasn’t been able to truly accept in the past. This book kept me wanting to know what would happen next but it was a bit hard to read at times. Jenny has type 1 diabetes so this is a big part of her story and not knowing whether or not she would be okay enough to survive this situation was hard. Overall I enjoyed this novel and I appreciated the differences to other mystery/thriller novels I’ve read in the past. 3.5⭐️

From the description: 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.

A fantastic debut novel. Suspenseful, and riveting. I found myself thinking about the story and how the same person can be a victim and the villain at the same time. I will certainly be looking for more novels from this author and also hope these characters show up in another story as well.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

I found the plot very good. Packard, a police officer, who recently moved to a small town in Minnesota, tries to find two missing teens. You know early on what happened to the teens, but the path to the ending was good. There weren't long passages of unrelated story branches.

One branch that was included and that I particularly enjoyed was Packard's acceptance of his sexual orientation and concern about the town's reaction. I thought it was handled realistically and perfectly showed current viewpoints. There was a little "it's a sin" and homophobia, but most people really don't care. I was happy that it did not depict Packard as a stereotype, just a person.

The book does contain physical and sexual violence. It is not graphic, but it is a prominent part of the plot.

I am only giving it four stars instead of five because, although I liked it a lot, and liked it better while reflecting now, a few days after finishing, it was too easy for me to stop to check my email, text a friend, etc. I just wasn't engrossed. It was put-downable, especially through the first 2/3. But I always was happy to pick it back up.

What a debut! I am a true crime ,murder, mystery, any kind of evil character based book lover and this gives you all of it and so much more. I would say it isn’t good for sensitive eyes (or ears if you audio book) it can be crass and gruesome but that to me just makes it more real.
He wrote characters in roles and ways not commonly done -seemingly “breaking stereotypes” but to be honest just writing real life - people of all shapes, sizes, colors, genders, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientations go through it and have secrets. This also makes you challenge your self and your view on morals and is a moral change enough to actually change or can it be situational and self serving still leaving the person at their core to be a murder, a rapist, a pedophile … also raises questions about our assessment for rehabilitation…
The story had me hooked and I really enjoyed it for a variety of reasons - the realness , the characters, the plausibility, the story line , and hello a tripod rescue (I have such a soft spot for the special rescues) I will say Gary was my favorite character and I’m all for a story about him.
I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!

Trigger warning : addiction, rape, pedophilia, murder/blood/gore

I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest opinion. This book is really good and I can't believe this is the author's debut novel. I liked the setting in a small town because I grew up in a small town in Minnesota. The characters are well drawn and the story is unique. I read it straight through. It grabbed me from the beginning and I couldn't stop reading. I really enjoyed the tension and twists. I can't wait to read the next one!

Good description and the characters were revealed in moderation. A bit of surprise behind the key players.
The story was paced well not overstating to up the page count. I would reccomend as a quick read, engaging with a fresh plot.

And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling tells the story of Ben Packard the new deputy in town and 2 teenagers go missing. I hope this story continues I would like to find out what happened to his older brother. I really like Ben and his methodical thinking and crime scene examination and how he decided to be himself and to stop running. This is a very believable story. I love all of the different characters and their personalities. And the interaction and dialogue between them. I will recommend this book. Thank you for allowing me to review.

I really enjoyed this debut novel .
This is a dark compelling thriller .

The characters were well written .

The twists were shocking.

A perfectly plotted and paced thriller .

********UNPOPULAR OPINION*********

Disappointing and disappointed.

The first half of this book was so good even though I really could not connect to the characters and then it became predictable and I saw the ending coming. SMH.

I am definitely one of the few in the minority here but I did not like this, at all. Cannot recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, Joshua Moehling and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 6/14/22

New to me author. Love the story, loved that it kept me guessing til the very end and I highly recommend it to anyone! Can’t wait for more by him!

3.5 stars

Creepy and unsettling, Joshua Moehling’s debut "And There He Kept Her" will keep you flipping the pages and hoping for more from this author. While undoubtedly thrilling, this reads as more of a police procedural than thriller. That didn’t bother me in the least, but I thought it was worth noting since mainly marketed as a thriller.

Moehling’s characters are complex and unforgettable from our stand-in sheriff Ben Packard to repulsive murderer Emmett Burr and everyone in-between. I especially liked Ben Packard. He was unexpected and quirky but capable and likable. He has an entire backstory that was alluded to multiple times and with an open end to his own personal tragedy from his childhood, I’m hoping we may get that story at some point. The small town of Sandy Lake was well-written and each of the characters fit their roll within it. With an array of secondary characters and subplots throughout the narrative, it also leads me to believe Moehling is setting us up for more installments from Sandy Lake. The book starts with a pulse-pounding scene and the remainder of the narrative slows (but doesn’t drag) and is dripping in suspense. There are multiple cringe-worthy, triggering scenes that won’t be for every reading taste.

This is a straight-forward mostly plot driven book that you’ll easily read in a few sittings. The climax underwhelmed me and there could’ve been more tension and time with some of the character’s interactions to take it to that next level. Overall, though, this is a well paced page-turner that checks all the boxes for a marketable and satisfying thriller.

I really loved the main character of this book! I would say this is a great debut and I think it's the start of a series? Maybe I'm wrong!

I would recommend to anyone looking for a bit of a disturbing crime thriller! There are some crimes committed that had me go yeeeshhh BUT I knew what I was getting into! I would definitely say this is a good book for the thriller reader looking for something a bit different!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC copy!

Jenny and Jesse are 2 young teenagers who are attempting to break into an older quiet man’s home who lives across their small town of Sandy Lake, MN, attempting to grab his prescription pills. They are caught in the middle of the night by the man, Emmet. This turns into a captive situation and horror ensues for the captee.
Ben Packard is the town’s acting Sheriff and is working the case and also has a personal connection to the case and things from his past being brought up as the investigation begins. It makes him question and wonder if his recent decision to move back to Sandy Lake after a personal tragedy in his life is the right one.
With each chapter, the creepiness factor rose and rose until I had a hard time putting this story down. Getting to know Emmet and the way his mind worked got scarier as the story progressed. The complexity of his past and present helped the reader understand his thought process as both a victim and tormentor. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded and ultimately concluded.
This was a 4.5 * read! And this is a debut author?? I cannot wait to read more of his work! Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the EArc and the chance to review it!