This was a rough read, but a good one! The bad guys are truly villainous, and the plot is clever with just in time good guys. Great read!

Thank you NetGalley & Publisher for the opportunity to review!

Okay hold on.

I didn't think I liked thrillers. But this? Excuse me while I head to the thriller aisle and buy every book on the shelf.

Chilly small town suspense vibes all the way. I was SO invested in the characters. And every turn kept me guessing. Will definitely recommend!

I loved this book. It was an intense thriller. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the book.
I absolutely loved the characters.
Surprisingly it was a real "thinker". I found myself trying to think of the situation from each character's point of view.
I received this galley from NetGalley.

The title. The cover. I knew I had to read this one.
In a story of bad judgment that leads to nightmare consequences, this book reaches out and grabs your attention. Unfortunately, the pace kind of lagged from there. Still a great read. I’m a sucker for the characters and small town quirkiness.

A good thriller that will keep you on your toes and is full of twists and thrills. A book that I would recommend.

I enjoyed Ben Packard's perspective and character as well as a lot of the interactions with his cousin (the mother of the missing girl) and other people in their small town. Due to past trauma and grief, he's retreated from the world and thrown himself into his work, but on some level still wants to reconnect with family and form some new relationships.

I’m glad I tried this one out. I thought the plot was original and the overall book was super creepy. I read a lot of thrillers and I have to say this one stood out and surprised me. I would go into it knowing nothing!

When two teenagers break into the home of a seemingly helpless old man in search of prescription pills, the last thing they expect is to be held hostage. The new sherif’s deputy, Ben Packard - who recently moved back to Sandy Lake with his own skeletons in his closet - is on the case. But as the clues start to run dry, he’ll have to face the secrets of this town to so find out what happens before it’s too late.

I feel like I reluctantly enjoyed this book. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. There were elements that were really strong - I really enjoyed the way the author made the reader think so deeply about the complex reality of victims and perpetrators sometimes being intertwined - and parts that I didn’t like as much. I think because so much of the story was focused on Deputy Packard, I wasn’t as interested as I could’ve been. He is an interesting character, and I appreciated that he wasn’t your typical small town cop in many ways. But I think at the end of the day, this was still a cop novel and not a thriller (which is what I was expecting). I’ll likely read the next book just because I’m interested in where the story goes next, but it’s not too high in my tbr.

Now available in paperback! This suspense mystery offers cleverly written characters and a plot that doesn’t rely on shocking twists or supernatural intervention. When a young couple breaks into an isolated house looking for prescription painkillers, they are caught in the act and the encounter sets off a disturbing chain of events.
The title and cover give away that the young woman is taken prisoner. In a technique similar to Carolyn Kepnes’s You, Moehling writes some of the chapters from the old man’s perspective, to chilling effect. Betrayed by his broken-down body, Emmett Burr moves through the machinations of taking a captive with the bitter efficiency of someone checking off their grocery list. This matter-of-fact delivery helps ratchet up the suspense between these chapters and the ones from the investigators’ perspective as they close in on the missing young woman and her captor.
Police officer Ben Packard has returned to the small Minnesota town in search of a fresh start, and Moehling gradually teases out details of why one might be required. Ben is so likable, and we root for his success in the investigation and in life. The cat-and-mouse format of the book propels the plot along to a satisfying, if not 100% pleasant, conclusion.
It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel, and readers who want more will be happy to know that the second Ben Packard book is scheduled to be published in August of this year. I’ll be interested to see what’s next for the deputy and for Moehling. 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent spine chilling novel. The characters are brought to life and keep you constantly thinking about it when you have to set the book down.

I would recomend it to everyone!

A disturbing story that you can't put down. And There He Kept Her follows the actions of two teenagers who break into a house, one left for dead and the other locked in a hidden room. As law enforcement searches for the teens, the reader is immersed in the small town of Sandy Lake where secrets are everywhere. There is no big mystery as we meet the creepers in the beginning of the story.

From debut author, Moehling delivers a dark thriller told from the POV of the sheriff and the kidnapper. I hope to read more with Sheriff Packard in the future. Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for the complimentary copy of this novel.

Wow! Great debut for this author and a rare 5 stars from me for a new series. I could not put this one down and was riveted by the story and impressed by the excellent writing. I can't wait for the next one!

This book was mysterious, thrilling, dark, and just down right enchanting. I could not put it down. Really great character development and I loved the LGBTQ representation in the book. The plot was very well down and I could absolutely was intrigued by the writing. Very well done!

The plot line of the story kind of started out slow for me. It picked up midway through the book. Will definitely need to check out more titles from this author. I did like the character development and the story overall.

Wow, what a stunning debut.

When I first came across this book; the title alone had piqued my interest. Once I started, I couldn't stop. It took me a minute to pick it up, and I'm so mad at myself for waiting so long.

"And There He Kept Her" follows a case of mysterious disappearance in the small town of Sandy Lake, Minnesota. While I see some mention that the book didn't pick up, or that it seemed too slow paced, that's actually what I loved about it. In a way it was mundane, just like a small town would be. We learned about the eccentric personality of the locals and we learned how they interacted with each other. Every one knows every one in a way, and it made sense.

While I wasn't on the edge of my seat; I was nestled in the story. I wanted to know what was going to happen, because I was never really able to predict it, but the temporal flow of everything didn't have me on sharp edge. I liked this, and I would say this leans more toward being a mystery than a thriller.

Each character introduced had a distinct personality and something that made them flawed, in a major or minor way. I loved this because that's what made them so human. Even our "hero", Packard, isn't without his own faults.

I really, really enjoyed this and can't wait to see what will become of Packard in Moehling's next book.

This was actually a pretty decent thriller - the plot was very creepy sounding but I ended up getting highly invested in the characters, especially our detective. I will be on the lookout for more by Moehling!

This was a great debut, I loved the plotline - it flowed very well and the multiple POVs made it that much more interesting. I really like that we got to see the bad guy, good guy, and victim dialogue all at the same time - it made the picture bigger and clearer, and I couldn't stop turning the pgs to see what would happen next! I'm excited for the sequel, I see it's coming out Summer 2023.

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced pdf so that I can give y'all my thoughts and opinions 💛

This was a very good debut book. This author definitely knew what he was doing here. I love when a book pulls me in like this.

You'll root for both the good and bad. Yes that is right. Though you will catch yourself at times and say wait you're not suppose to root for the bad guys. It happened. I found myself with mixed emotions for these characters. You know right off who did it so it's not a mystery there. It's basically a story of survival in a way. In a small way maybe.

Well done Joshua Moehling.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

5 big stars.

The premise of this book was so incredibly creepy and the atmosphere and setting were perfect.

If you've seen the movie Don't Breath, the premise of this book felt very similar - a burglary on a "helpless" elderly man gone wrong. The main villain in this book is definitely villainous, and I thoroughly enjoyed unravelling the mystery from Ben Packard, the main detectives, point of view.

Overall creepy, satisfying ending, however I did feel like the book was missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.

A real pager turner and one that you will definitely get involved in reading through the pages. Two teenagers attempt to break into a senior citizen’s house to steal prescription medication only to be interrupted by the homeowner, Emmett Burr, who is armed and ready to take on the trespassers. When two teenagers go missing in Sandy Lake, Minnesota, Sheriff's Deputy Ben Packard (acting Sheriff on account of the previous Sheriff’s terminal illness), leads the investigation into their disappearance. Ben Packard has returned to the small community of Sandy Lake, Minnesota, and learns he’s next in line for town Sheriff. Keeping his personal life private is a priority. But in a small town like Sandy Lake? Good luck with that, Sheriff. The story is more centered around the main character and the sheriff's deputy, Packard, who is carrying his own secrets and trying to escape his past while searching for the two teens. It is a race against time as the anxiety increases and tensions rise between Carl and Emmett. The author successfully weaves in some light-hearted moments in the narrative with the small-town dynamics and an interesting cast of characters among whom are two neighbors who require police intervention to resolve their feuds. I’m shocked this is a debut. Brilliantly written, I was glued to every page from the start. Each character was superbly developed in full color. The storyline flowed at a perfect pace with the tension rising as the situation became more dire.

Thank you to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen and the author for this new thriller. Hoping it is a series!