AND THERE HE KEPT HER immediately sets an uneasy, ominous atmosphere which erupts into horrifying acts. Tension catapults higher and higher with every turn of the page. Chilling, riveting chapters fly by. Suspense skyrocketing leading to a heart-racing action packed, race against time and dynamite explosive finish.

Small towns are unique in their make up. Everyone knows, or thinks they know, everyone else. The characters in this story were well written and brought the story to life. The arguments between neighbors, the secrets of old men, the stupid things kids do to try and find a way out that only trap them further; all added to the intensity of the story.
I hope to hear more from Sandy Lake and Deputy Ben Packard.

And there he kept her was a wild ride dark and twisty book. I kept trying to guess who was involved and who wasn’t. There were times I was right and times I wasn’t. The beginning puts you in the edge of your seat wanting more and for that I could not put the book down.

The ride with the main character sheriff Packard was intense and he himself had some mystery about him. I enjoyed him.

Emmett was someone to hate and feel sorry for and that is a hard pill to swallow for the villain. He has a soft side but very misguided in the affairs of love.

If you like dark and twisty thriller books pick this one up you won’t be disappointed.

And There He Kept Her will draw you into this small drama. The characters are deverse and well developed. You will have to keep reading to see how things will be resolved.

What was a attempt at a robbery of prescription drugs turns into a murder kidnap dilemma. People think it a better choice to move to a small town to escape big city woes. After reading this book, nothing could be further from the truth. What started out as two missing teens turned into many secrets. Elder people were ‘missing’ pills, a detective/deputy sheriff was hiding why he left the big city and one the missing teens was not really missed. As the detective digs deeper, more and more connections are made to some questionable persons in the town. As the circle gets tighter, the end is shocking. Read this book if you like great thrillers.

I so enjoyed this new book by a new-to-me author. It seems as if Joshua Moehling has invested his considerable time and energy into a reader’s delight! If “delight” is the right descriptor for a book with a considerable quantity of violence, especially violence against women. To my reader’s mind this thriller is more than a one off book. It’s a springboard set for Mr Moehling to jump off into an entire series set in Sandy Lake featuring Deputy Ben Packard. Make room Ben, I’ll be right there with you.

Deputy Packard is conflicted by his sexual identity, the return to his family’s hometown, the long ago loss of his brother and more recently his boyfriend. Nonetheless, he takes on a missing persons case with determination. He soon realizes it’s more than just a “run-away”.

As a longtime reader of thrillers, I believe Mr. Moehling has brought to life some unique characters in this book, Ben Packard being one. Emmett Burr being a second. Even though he is a thoroughly despicable human being, there are some elements that caused me to feel a few grains of sympathy for him. Short-lived sympathy, but still . . .

I am so happy to have received what I hope is the first of many books by Jason Moehling. Thank you Net Galley for the ARC and the chance to offer my thoughts.

Teenagers Jesse and Jenny break into a house and stumble into a very angry homeowner with a dangerous past. Hours later, Sheriff’s deputy Ben Packard gets a call from his cousin, saying that her daughter Jenny is missing.

Even though it’s focused on a police investigation of a missing girl, this is more of a thriller than a mystery, since we know from the outset who is responsible for Jenny’s disappearance. There’s still bits and pieces to be revealed, though, about what came before – not just how Jenny and Jesse came to be in this situation, but about disappearances from years past. I don’t always like to read an investigation story while already knowing the answers that the investigator is looking for, but in this one I didn’t mind it. It actually led to more tension, rather than less, and allowed for the bad guy to be three-dimensional instead of just a shadowy menace to be revealed at the end. The characterization in this book was fantastic across the board - all the characters were vivid, distinct, and complex personalities. Also, there’s a dog, which is always a bonus.

Overall, it was a good thriller with even better characterization and I’d happily read more from this author, especially if it involves the same characters.

Representation: Gay main character and other LGBTQ+ characters, Native American character

CW: Kidnapping and captivity, homophobia, mention of sexual and physical assault, physical and psychological abuse, parental neglect and abuse, drug addiction and alcoholism

Thank to NetGalley for an early ebook copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

And There He Kept Her explores the horrors of a young kidnapped girl and her aging, serial killer captor. True, Jenny and her boyfriend broke into Emmett's house in order to steal drugs, but Emmett has too much to hide to just call the cops and be the victim of a robbery. What is especially scary here is how evil manages to hide in plain sight.

Deputy Ben Packard may be the new cop in town but he has ties to the lake community. He has his own secrets so working the missing teens' case forces him to interact more with the community and examine his own past. As a character, Ben is physically imposing but you never get the sense that he relies on physicality to impose his will. Rather he is quiet and self-contained, perhaps a touch lonely.

The author certainly left a few threads dangling so don't be surprised if there is a sequel.

#NetGalley #AndThereHeKeptHer

A great thriller written by Joshua Moehling as his debut novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this page turner. Written from both the sheriff’s point of view and the kidnapper’s point of view. Well done! I look forward to the next Ben Packard adventure. This book is a great start to a series.

Fantastic mystery that held me captivated from start to finish. I love Packard! What a fantastic leading character. He’s the towns acting Sheriff and he’s trying to make a new start for himself. I really enjoyed his character and can’t wait to learn more about him.

Jesse and Jenny get caught stealing and their world changes in an instant. And There He Kept Her will take you on an emotional journey. It’s gripping and intense, has a magnificent plot, and is written fantastically. It reads as a movie playing before your eyes.

Excellent suspenseful crime story! Excited for the next book in the series and to see more of Packard’s journey.

"It took two teenagers breaking into the wrong man’s house to set in motion the events that uncovered the truth." - And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling

A burglary gone wrong in a small town where everyone knows everything. He only needed to get what he needed then go, but she came looking for him, breaking into Emmett Burrs house was easy but they would never imagine what they were in for. Jenny is missing and it's up to the newly appointed acting sheriff Ben Packard to find the two missing teens.

This was a bit of a slow burn for me, it was well written but I can't say it had me at the edge of my seat. It's the authors debut novel so I am quit impressed by it.

Thank you to @sourcebooks
@poisonedpenpress
and @netgalley

Dark Thriller ✅
Disturbing & Twisted ✅
Secrets & Lies ✅
Crime Fiction ✅
Police Procedural ✅
Page Turner

A very dark, disturbing and creepy debut thriller with high stakes that keeps you engaged, wanting to know more and more as you read each chapter.

A good amount of the book is police procedural which some readers might not be into. However, I can help but praise the author’s excellent writing. As someone who has been to college for years earning one criminal justice degree after another. I was hooked. Being able to draw the readers into all the aspects of the plot.

In the small Minnesota town of Sandy Lake, something sinister hides. Two of the local teenagers who went missing after breaking into a house looking for prescription drugs. But one event leads to another. Emmett Burr, the owner of the house, has secrets of his own. Secrets he does not want being revealed, secrets that are hidden in his basement.

Sheriff deputy Ben Packard packs up and moves back to the same Sandy Lake town. He is in lead for the investigation of the two missing teens but has to rush against time if he wants to save them. Especially when the clues begin to dry up. With secrets of his own Ben is faced with other forces.

What happens when the case reveals more secrets? Dark, evil secrets? What is the true nature of evil?

When I pick up a thriller I hope that it goes dark and that it consumes just like a scary movie. Joshua Moehling did not hesitate to go grim and I was all for it. Every character was well developed and written. With the storyline moving at a good pace that only increased the tension as the page kept turning.. I was left wanting more towards the ending.

Would recommend for any thriller readers.

And There He Kept Her
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 6/14/22
Author: Joshua Moehling
Publisher: Poisoned Press
Pages: 320
Goodreads Rating: 3.91

TW: ⚠️ Sexual abuse, substance abuse, and senior safety.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Press for providing a copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

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. 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.

My Thoughts: The story is narrated by Ben and Emmett, who provides their perspective in a third-person style. The characters are developed well, in a small town setting with an intriguing array of characters. This is more of a police procedural that is dark and disturbing, not too dark, but still has a dark aspect to it. Ben, the sheriff, is extremely relatable, easy to connect with, and just lovable. This book could be an opening to a series, which would be interesting to see how it develops. This was a slow burn and did not contain any “twists” but there was a suspense aspect to it. I think I would have enjoyed more if the book was shorter and a few twists were added. Overall, not a bad book or a great book, it falls in between.

My thanks to Net Galley and Poison Pen Press for this arc to review.

Lt. Ben Packard returns to his old hometown in Minnesota to solve the mystery of 2 missing teens after they broke into a house to steal drugs.

Great page turner with lots of twists and turns with interesting characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for letting me read and review this book.

One thing this book did exceptionally well at is nailing the small town feel. Everyone knows everyone else, hushed gossip, quarreling neighbors, family drama - Joshua Moehling nailed it.

If you're looking for a high stakes, high action detective thriller, this isn't the book for you. Instead, Moehling brings us a tiny police force doing the best they can. Honestly, it brought a better sense of realism to the book to see more of the day-to-day of our protagonist from the outset. Ben Packard isn't a hero, he's a traumatized man appointed to acting sherif that's just trying to do right by the town he lives in (while ignoring his own personal demons).

The book also flips several tropes on their heads, which I quite enjoyed. The victim-turned-villain setup of our main antagonist, Emmett Burr, reminded me a lot of the movie Don't Breathe, where people break into a blind man's home expecting him to be an easy mark.

I also think the LGBT representation was done well. The topics of repression, outing, and small town bigotry were handled realistically if not tastefully despite some of the incidents being hard to swallow.

My biggest complaint was the lack of notification at perspective shift. Moehling excelled at creating a different voice and tone for each character whos perspectives we watched through, but I still found the transitions a bit jarring at times. The perspective doesn't change each chapter so they might not have thought it was necessary to annotate the shift, but in my opinion simply putting the name of the character at the beginning of their chapter or section would have added clarity (especially at the beginning of the book when we're learning all of the characters).


Another minor qualm is the lack of palpable urgency in finding the kids that go missing early on in the book (especially one with a time-sensitive medical condition). Perhaps it actually conveyed the lackadaisical policing and community attention that exists in many real cases, but regardless it was still frustrating to watch unfold.

This book set itself up nicely for a sequel, with our lead detective finally moving on a bit from his walled off nature, embracing himself, and digging in to the family tragedy that ties him to the little town of Sandy Lake. I'm hoping we get to see more of some of the characters briefly mentioned in this book, and begin to unpack more of the town's mysteries.

In a world drowning in detective novels, this one certainly carved out a unique niche and I'm curious to see where it goes.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4720519793

I honestly dont think this book was for me. I tried to read it numerous times and it just wasnt going well for me.

I was hooked on page one. This book really kept me on the hook and I loved every minute of it. Officer Ben Packard has his hands full when he moves from Chicago to sleepy Sandy Lake, Minnesota. Small towns hide secrets every bit as sick and twisted as big city nightmares. The race is on to find two missing teenagers before it’s to late. I was glued to my Kindle late into the night, I really enjoyed the twists and turns.

Detective Ben Packard moves back to a small town in Minnesota where he spent summers and holidays with his family. While working as the stand in sheriff two teens go missing while attempting to steal prescription drugs. What comes next is a story of secrets and a resident with a dark past. What a debut! Seriously this book had me flipping pages until it was over. I loved every second of this. The authors writing style will have me keeping an eye out for any future books he writes. If you’re a lover of dark thrillers I highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

THIS IS A DEBUT NOVEL! WHAT?! 😱
I am so impressed. Truly.

This book has top notch suspense. Almost every chapter ended with me needing more answers and scrambling to read the pages that would get me there.

Also, it’s darrrrk. If you’re a Karin Slaughter fan and lover of crime/thriller novels that aren’t afraid to go straight-up grim, then you’ll enjoy this one.

The book begins when two teens break into a house to steal some prescription pain killers and get much more than they were expecting. The owner of the home ain’t playin around and has some skeletons in his closet…and a creepy lair in his basement. 💀 ⛓

I greatly adored the character Ben Packard, a straight-laced and determined acting Sheriff in a small town. Ben was multilayered and someone I know readers will grow attached to. I was super excited when I found out he will be returning in future books as the series develops.

I also loved how this book all came together and how the lines of morality were often blurred. No one except for the corgi is purely innocent!
jk…kinda.

I will most definitely be looking forward to reading more novels by this author. He’s a new favorite. 👏🏻

4.5/5 stars rounded up to 5 for this review

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 and Sherriff Ben Packard must get involved to help the teens. Intriguing and suspenseful, I found the small town setting added to the entirety of the story and the complexity of the interconnectedness of the characters. Highly recommend!

Thank you Source books and NetGalley for the ARC.