WHERE THE DEAD SLEEP is book #2 in the Ben Packard series by author Joshua Moehling. Ben is acting sheriff in a small town in Sandy Lake, Minnesota where's he's struggled to be accepted as a gay man not originally from there. Things get complicated when he's called out to investigate the death of Bill Sanderson who died by gunshot while lying in bed. There are three distinct and convoluted suspects, and it's Ben's job to sift through the family drama, lies, secrets and sparse evidence to reveal the truth. Meantime, Ben has some big life decisions to make. Should he run for sheriff in the next election? While he prefers being out in the field, the other two candidates are poor choices plus they can make his life miserable if in power. Ben Packard is a man with a lot on his mind and some life altering decisions to make.

Author Joshua Moehling has penned another riveting police procedural in the series. The story is character driven, unfolding mostly through Ben's point of view. Ben is a well fleshed out, intriguing character with great instincts and sense of self and a wry sense of humor. While locals are leery of him, readers will find him sincere, likeable and intelligent. WHERE THE DEAD SLEEP is well paced with a twisted plot line that keeps readers turning the pages. The book can be read as a standalone with no issues as the author does a great job of including backstory, including appearances by a character or two from book 1, WHERE HE KEPT HER. Highly recommended to fans of psychological thrillers and police procedural stories. I'm looking forward to book #3!

This is the second book in the Deputy Ben Packard series. I definitely think it can be read as a standalone. I didn't read the first but listened to this on audiobook and I loved it. I'll have to get to the first at some point. Narrated by Linda Jones, and she was really good! This is a Police procedural thriller with lots of small town secrets. It takes place in Minnesota . I liked that this was more than a gritty crime mystery. It also dives into Deputy Ben Packards personal life as well. He is investigating a murder/home invasion on a man who was a gambler. His wife and ex wife are sisters and he also has a business partner who he has stolen from. The murder could be any of these people. He's also debating on running to become the full time sheriff. But as a gay man in this small town red state, he's not sure if he should just step down or run.

This was a good pace book with lots of suspense and even had some funny lines. I really enjoyed this one.

Out NOW.

Thank you to the publisher, netgalley and librofm for the gifted copy and audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Deputy Ben Packard is back and I am so happy about it!!

When Bill Sanderson, a beloved local who left debts behind, is found shot in his bed, Packard has no clue who actually wanted him dead. While he's investigation, a terrible incident at the Sheriff's office leads Packard to question if he should run for office or not. As he contemplates his place in Sandy Lake, secrets of the small community come to light that he never expected to find.

I really love Ben Packard, and I would probably read anything with him in it, but this case was truly a great one to watch unfold.

Where the Dead Sleep is a fast-paced mystery. Joshua Moehling is an expert storyteller. Packard is a character that the reader will quickly become attached to and anxiously awaiting the next book. I highly recommend any book written by Joshua Moehling.

Joshua Moehling vaulted his way into my must-read category with his debut thriller And There He Kept Her. This wasn’t accomplished with excessive theatrics or grandiose characterizations, but with a solid police procedural, the highest of stakes, and a dedicated and tenacious Deputy Ben Packard, Sandy Lake’s acting sheriff. Ben is back to prove he’s not a one-hit-wonder in Where the Dead Sleep. He does nothing but solidify the truth that when a mystery needs solved, he’s the best man for the job.

Whereas book one in this series was a nail-biting race to save a young woman’s life, this installment is more sedate, a classic murder mystery rather than a story fraught with terror. Bill Sandersen was shot dead in his bed, in his home, with his wife as the only witness. And, at first blush, perhaps the only suspect. The challenge in this case is a seeming lack of motive, a dearth of solid evidence, and the fact that the deeper Ben digs, the more convoluted the investigation becomes. He’s clearly being stonewalled by the Gherlick sisters; and their mother, who has dementia, is a less than reliable source of testimony, which doesn’t lead Ben any closer to the truth. If he’s going to solve this case, it will take diligence and focus. Too bad there’s a special election on the near horizon. Oh. And someone’s trying to kill Packard too.

Moehling tosses out breadcrumbs to keep readers on the trail as Ben navigates everything thrown at him as well as everything he must dig deep to uncover. Top of the list, of course, is finding a killer, and that means digging into Sandy Lake’s past. As a man whose only connection to the area is the long-ago vacations with his family—until tragedy struck—Ben doesn’t have the advantage of an insider’s trust from the townspeople. He’s simply trying to keep a low profile and do his job to the best of his abilities, but the rumor mill is going to grind, regardless. Deciding to run for office when Sheriff Stan Shaw ultimately succumbed to cancer wasn’t a decision Ben made lightly. It most assuredly did open up a can of worms, though, leaving Ben suspended in the midst of a mystery he may not be able to solve.

Deputy Ben Packard doesn’t rely on flash and bang to carry a story. He’s far removed from the snarky, posturing, tough guy cop stereotype. Ben is smart, he’s steady, and he’s dedicated to his duties. He’s the investigator Sandy Lake needs, because he’s the investigator who’s not going to stop until he solves a case. Whether the townspeople know this is another matter. Time will tell how politics and underlying, not to mention underhanded, agendas influence everything in this insular community as things move forward. One thing is certain: there’s bound to be much more criminal intrigue.

Readers who love an excellent investigative mystery should visit Sandy Lakes, Minnesota. The best part is you can do it from the comfort of your favorite reading spot.

I loved And There He Kept Her, so was excited to read this latest instalment. Can happily say it did not disappoint!

Ben Packard is back and fast becoming one one of my favourite detectives. While this is a follow on from his first, I feel it can be read as a standalone - although you’ll be missing out on a great book IMO!

Highly recommended if you’re a fan of crime procedurals and thrillers. This is masterfully written, with red herrings aplenty and a colourful cast of characters. Fast paced and totally compelling.

I was grateful to have the e-arc and ALC to go between. I loved the audio narration by Linda Jones. Can’t wait for the next instalment 🤩

Many thanks to @poisonpress and @dreamscapemedia for advance reading copy and ALC 💌

Ben Packard is back, and this time he has a murderer on the loose. This book takes you on the thrill of solving who killed Bill Sandersen. A man who loved to gambled, swindled his friend out of money, divorced Sherri Gherlick, and married her sister, Carrie. Not only does Ben navigate secrets of the small town, but someone takes a shot at him as well. Ben deals with shady politics, a bad deputy, and finds himself looking into past murders as well. It's not easy being a gay sheriff. Even though he constantly feels like he's under a microscope, Ben is tough as nails.
Joshua Moehling takes you deep into Sandy Lake, Minnesota where money talks, and secrets run deep. When the truth is revealed, things from the past and present come to light. Be ready for a gripping cliffhanger that will leave you on pins and needles until the next Ben Packard mystery is released. I couldn't get enough of this book, and Joshua Moehling knows how to keep you sucked into the story. You can't help but want more.

I love Joshua Moehling!!!

I'm not usually a fan of series but I stumbled upon And There He Kept Her last year and loved it. The story totally sucked me in, I loved how authentic the procedural felt, and I absolutely loved Packard as the protagonist.

Jumping into Where the Dead Sleep a whole year later, I didn't expect to remember much (if anything) from the first in the series. I was shocked when Packard and Emmett Burr came tumbling back and was even more surprised about little details I remembered along the way. I loved that pieces of And There He Kept Her came back naturally - so often series spend the first chapter rehashing the last book and I generally find it tedious and poorly written. SO not the case here! So much so that I truly think you can read this as a standalone novel and still absolutely adore it.

Even more strange with a series, I think I actually liked Where the Dead Sleep MORE than the first book! The crime was super intriguing and I was totally sucked in to the family drama. I had NO idea how the pieces fit, who was guilty, or why Bill was murdered. It was really fun putting the puzzle together with Packard. Further, I truly enjoy the Sheriff's race. It's not often that politics interest me but Moehling presented the race in such a great way. I also appreciated that there was less focus on Packard's sexuality in a negative light - it really could have been the focus with the Sheriff's race but I thought it was classy that it wasn't.

Packard is just the best. He's so genuine, intelligent, and true to himself. You can tell he's just a hardworking, good human and we need more of that!

I listened to this novel on audio. I had also listened to the first one on audio and it was the same narrator. I think this fact is important because the narrator was partly what transported me back and helped trigger memories. She does a stellar job and it's safe to say I was totally hooked by page 1.

There's no doubt in my mind I'll keep following Packard's story and I can't wait for some of our questions to be answered!

Thank you to Poisoned Press, Libro.fm, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for the copy.

This is the second novel in the Ben Packard series by Joshua Moehling. I haven't read the first one, but this one was good enough to lead me to read many of the reviews of the first book in this series and it seems to be very popular. So, I may have to read that one too, even though I believe that this can be read as a standalone.

There are police procedural books that begin with immediately revealing the answer to the murder and then follow with how the murder was solved. Think Columbo. Another kind begins with a crime and then takes a winding road, along with the investigators, to keep you guessing, amp up the suspense factor, and then find out who the murderer is. Where the Dead Sleep falls into the second category.

We learn a lot about the main character, Ben Packard, who spent many of his summers with his grandparents in Sandy Lake, MN, where he is now the acting-sheriff. He is an easy character to like and will surely take this series far. There are plenty of other characters and red herrings in this story to constantly keep the reader on their toes also.

Family drama takes center stage when conniving, shrewd, husband and gambler, Bill Sandersen, is found murdered in his bed. In his investigation, Packard finds many possible perpetrators, with the primary ones being Bill's first and second wives who happen to also be sisters. There is no love lost between the sisters as they constantly accuse each other of killing Bill. But Packard has a hard time pinning down the motive for the murder. Is it money, theft, infidelity, jealousy, or revenge?

The mystery is well laid out and solved. And, there is plenty of fodder for another book in this series' future. It will definitely be on my radar. I would recommend this to readers who love a good crime novel or police procedural type of book.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A carefully crafted mystery that keeps a reader guessing even after the story ends.

Acting Sheriff Ben Packard moved to a small town in Minnesota with some heavy baggage. As the plot in Where The Dead Sleep unfolds, the author unpacks this baggage, a few items at a time. It is brilliant mystery writing. Small revelations about Packard are layered within the clues regarding Packard’s investigation into who murdered Bill Sanderson. Eventually, the murderer is arrested, but a few items remain in Packard’s baggage.

Where The Dead Sleep is foremost a classic detective story. It is unusual among modern day mysteries, which are often tainted by thriller components designed to appeal to that massive audience that looks for action on every page. To be clear, there is thrilling action in Where The Dead Sleep, but it doesn’t saturate the plot. At one point a gunman shoots at Packard and then leads him on a wild boat chase in a lake. Another time, Packard is assaulted by a suspect he is attempting to take into custody. And then there is the suspenseful final arrest during which the antagonist shoots a hole the size of a baseball in a door behind which Packard stood the moment before. But these brief explosions of action involving Packard’s physical prowess are a sharp contrast to a multitude of his internal associations that are metaphysical in many respects. Most novelists approach this metaphysical side of their protagonists by writing the story in first person narration. Moehling chooses the third person point of view, which allows him to jump in and out of the mind of one of the antagonists. This gives the reader a broader connection to the story. More importantly, it presents a complex, yet ambiguous, world where the difference between truth and lying is uncertain.

The use of the third person narrative means that the plot is conveyed in a manner similar to the dismantling of a Russian doll. Packard’s mind approaches the murder by first looking at the largest doll. Not finding what would be an obvious solutions, he next extracts the second, smaller doll. Here reside additional clues that allow Packard to apply a new perspective and compile a list of suspects. As smaller dolls are taken out, Packard not only learns more about the crime, but makes associations relating to relationships among the suspects. The story beats come faster as the dolls get smaller. Finally, the murderer is revealed, but the story isn’t over. Moehling’s final revelation in the novel is brilliant. There is one more, tiny doll.

What makes Where The Dead Sleep a pure mystery is its intermingling of the actions associated with finding the murderer and the exploration of how Packard’s mind sorts through the clues. This involves depictions of his own prejudices and ideologies. So the reader experiences Packard’s blind spots in his thinking, and stays on the end of her seat to see how Packard overcomes his failings, and in the end how he gains perspective on events that occurred in his past, particularly the death of his lover in Minneapolis and the disappearance of his brother when he was a child. Thus, the story becomes a learning one, both for Packard and the reader. Packard is a gay man. That fact is revealed right from the beginning. How that fact affects him is revealed slowly in a way that is behind the scenes of the story action. And this is a learning experience for the reader, which Moehling delivers in both a sensitive and, thankfully, not a sensationalist manner. There are several recent detective novels that contain a gay protagonist, a recent example being a translation of Red Queen by Juan Gomex-Jurad in which a gay detective is suspended for planting drugs in a pimp’s car and goes on a quest to restore his self-respect. But the depiction of the sexuality of the detective in that novel is superficial in comparison to Moehling’s rendition of Packard, and not nearly as believable.

The elements of a classic detective novel that are brilliantly employed in Where The Dead Sleep make a long list. These elements include the authors use of inductive reasoning for Packard, of reveals that gain in intensity as the story progresses, and of red herrings, double clues, self-revelation, and a poetic justice associated with finding the murderer, to name just a few. An analysis of all of these elements is beyond the scope of this review, and would necessitate the inclusion of spoilers, something the reviewer wants to avoid. Suffice it to say that Where The Dead Sleep is a transcendent detective story because it includes a kind of meta fiction, meaning that it is the working of Packard’s mind that tells the story and leads to the truth, what is his synthesis of the story’s events. This makes the novel as much about Packard as it is about finding the murderer. In fact, the use of Packard’s growing consciousness in the story sets up at the end a final, unsolved mystery. How true to life this is! A mirror is held up for the reader to see herself and understand that the discovery of who she is will involve the solving of one mystery after another.

Mark Zvonkovic, Reviewer and Author
Read My Reviews at markzvonkovic.com

Joshua Moehling (favorite author) returns following his smashing debut, where he wowed us with And There He Kept Her (5 stars) by introducing the popular intriguing hunky Deputy Ben Packard #1 and a cast of unforgettable characters.

The author returns with Ben Packard #2, WHERE THE DEAD SLEEP (5 stars)— a complex action-packed crime thriller with scandalous small-town secrets, a wealthy family, murder, and more in the rural lakeside town of Sandy Lake, Minnesota—leaving readers salivating for #3 and more Ben!

I love this series!

After a long summer, Deputy Ben Packard is back, tying up loose ends from the Emmett Burr case (from book #1). He is the acting Sheriff for Stan Shaw (currently elected sheriff of Sandy Lake County), who has cancer.

Ben (gay) is finally getting some action with a hot drummer, Brad, and hopes for a leisurely morning. However, it gets cut short when he is called in on a murder case—a dead body. The victim is William (Bill) Sandersen, husband of Carolyn (Carrie). Second marriage-two years. She has twins- grown children from her first marriage.

The case is not straightforward. William was shot twice while in bed, and his wife claims she was in the other bedroom since her husband has sleep apnea. Bill worked at Sandy Lake Auto. He also liked to frequent casinos.

His wife is the CEO of Gherlick Family Trust. She is the one with the money in the family. William (Bill) had gone out to meet his friend, Roger Freeman, a man he was to go in the chicken wing business with.

However, Ben soon discovers Bill has a thing for the sisters, as he was previously married to Carolyn's sister, Sherri. He divorced her to marry Carolyn. Carolyn dated him back in high school.

But Carrie and Bill liked to party and blow money at the casinos. The mom cut off the money, so I guess he decided to marry for more, but Carolyn does not readily hand out the money. The girls had over a million dollars each, but that was before Sherri and Bill gambled it all away.

Is Carolyn smarter than her sister? And why did the perp murder Bill and not Carolyn?

Suspects:
The business partner, Roger
The ex-wife, alcoholic, Sherri.
The wife, Carolyn.
The high-stakes poker buddies.
Or someone else?

In the middle of the investigation, a tragedy occurs. Ben is left holding the bag and must make some big decisions. Should he run for Sheriff? He likes being a detective and not sitting behind a desk dealing with politics.

However, Marilyn, Stan's wife, is backing him and many others. If he does not run, it is Barney Fife Deputy Shepherd (which is pretty much worthless except for gossip).

Then another murder and the plot thickens, plus a mysterious hummingbird pin and a letter.

Packard soon discovers there is a hidden dark multi-generational history to Sandy Lake. Bad blood and old secrets run deep. And someone will do anything to keep it hidden. Before the book ends, someone is shooting at Packard. Is he getting too close to the darkness of Sandy Lake?

Moehling serves up another excellent suspense crime novel that will keep you riveted. There is action and suspense around every corner in this multi-layered mystery crime thriller—readers, if you loved Ben Packard #1, you will devour #2.

In addition to the mystery, danger, and double murders, there is the upcoming election to stress over, and as we were introduced in Ben Packard #1, there is the cold case mystery of Ben's older brother, Kyle. There is new evidence, and it ends on a cliffhanger. We can only hope #3 comes soon!

WHERE THE DEAD SLEEP is a killer whodunit crime thriller! Based loosely on a Minnesota true crime and switched out with a victim that might have made enemies or people who wanted to kill him.

Ben is a fantastic character and has grown since the last book, where he tried to outrun his past. In WHERE THE DEAD SLEEP, he takes center stage, claims his identity, and does the right thing, even when it's not in his own best interest, all while trying to solve a murder, dodge bullets, and uncover the truth of what happened to his missing brother years ago. He is getting anything but a quiet, laid-back sleep town and no hiding out here.

You will be turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning! A massive fan of the author, Joshua Moehling, from his debut; he is a rock star, and if you enjoy small-town funny, larger-than-life characters, riveting suspense crime thrillers, and superb writing blended with dark humor with a highly relatable, smart, leading man—the Ben Packard series is for you.

WHERE THE DEAD SLEEP is for fans of authors: Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter, Heather Gudenkauf, Karen Katchur, Allen Eskens, C.J. Box, and William Kent Krueger.

Joshua and Ben are here to stay! Bingeworthy and prime for the big or small screen. Top Thrillers of 2023!

MOVIE CAST: Now, if there is a movie or TV series, My vote for BEN PACKARD is the hunky, CHANNING TATUM! I pictured him when reading, whether straight or gay, who does not LOVE looking at this man in a cop uniform (or nothing at all). I concur with Lisa Gardner; Ben is my new favorite deputy!

AUDIOBOOK: I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook narrated by Linda Jones for a superb performance for all voices! An engaging listening experience. By the way, you must get the hardcover copy. Look at the cover - STUNNING! Sign up for Joshua's newsletter (website) to get all the latest details.

Special thanks to Mandy at Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC and the author for an autographed hardcover copy with swag. Also, thanks to Dreamscape Media for an ALC via NetGalley.

Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries Q&A with Joshua with AND THERE HE KEPT HER, where we go behind the scenes of the book & the author!

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDColins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Pub Date: Aug 15, 2023
Aug 2023 Must-Read Books
Top Books of 2023

Short and sweet….The writing in this one is great! Hence, the 3 stars…..however, I DNF’d this one at about 70% because it was too much police work and a little slow moving for me. Thankfully, a friend let me know how it ended, so I don’t feel like I missed out on much.

Where the Dead Sleep brings back Deputy Ben Packard, acting sheriff of Sandy Lake, MN, in a compelling, well-paced police procedural. Packard is called out to the scene of a home invasion that has left Bill Sandersen shot in his bed while his wife sleeps upstairs. The investigation introduces Packard to the dysfunctional Gherlick family, where there is no love lost between sisters (Sandersen's current and ex-wife) and money is all that matters. Packard slowly uncovers clues to put the case together while also deciding the future of his career. Although this is book 2 in a series, I think it could easily be read as a standalone. I found myself immediately immersed in the story, enjoying the complexity of the characters and the case. Can't wait for book 3!

There is something so likeable about Ben Packard. He's the acting sheriff in a small town in Minnesota. In the first book in the series (And There He Kept Her), we see Ben escaping his current life to come back to his hometown of Sandy Lake for a fresh start. If you enjoy police procedural books, this is a great one to pick up. It helps to read the first book in the series, since there will definitely be more, although this can be easily read as a standalone.

Ben loves being a detective, and when a local man is found dead, he steps in to investigate. However, right from the beginning, he knows people are lying to him. He has to tread lightly in a small town with lots of gossip and people that want to keep their secrets buried. The book clips along at a fast pace, keeping the reader interested as secrets are revealed little by little because things aren't always what they seem.

I recently got out of a decade-long reading slump, and one of the first books I read was And There He Kept Her. It was suspenseful, kept me wanting to read, and I really enjoyed the characters. Where The Dead Sleep continues with that trend.

Acting Sheriff Ben Packard is met with several stressors in this book: a somewhat expected tragedy amongst the sheriff's department, a murder needing to be solved, and an old family trauma with new information coming to light.

WTDS had pretty much everything I want in a book: it kept me interested and didn't have any slow/dragging parts, I have grown to really care for Packard and his life over the past two books, I wanted to know what happened next and had a hard time breaking away from the book to do real life responsibilities. There were also a couple moment that I audibly gasped and my husband asked if I was ok 🤣 One of the twists I did figure out about halfway through the book, but it wasn't anything that took the fun out of reading the rest.

I'm very excited to read the next book, and am sad that I'm going to have to wait so long for it. Hopefully I will be approved to read an ARC so the wait isn't as long!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for allowing me access to the ARC of this book. And thank you to Joshua Moehling for writing it! I can't wait to see what's coming next!

Everybody lies, even as the truth churns through their mind.

I love an eerie small-town narrative, rich with furtive behavior and morally ambiguous characters. And it’s in these places where that saying, you never really know your neighbours, comes to roaring to life.

Ben is a detective turned acting sheriff who has moved to a small town after a tragedy upends his sense of equilibrium.

When he is called to the scene of a brutal home invasion, at first glance it appears that the well-liked local lying in a pool of blood was killed by a stranger. As Ben and his peers begin investigating, turns out the list of people with motive is a mile long.

The business partner. The wife. The ex-wife. The poker buddy. The best friend.

With plenty of small-town machinations playing out in tandem to the mystery at hand, this was an absorbing page turner with a marvelous cast of characters. To say more would be to spoil the fun…

Good story with a thrilling plot, and interesting characters. A new author to me I found this to be an engrossing read. Will recommend this page turner to friends!!

First time author to me. This was a very interesting book. Alot of twists and turning. Its amazing book.

Great job Joshua.

There are a lot of secrets in Sandy Lake,Minnesota, as Deputy Sheriff Ben Packard finds out when Bill Sanderson is murdered. Sanderson lived, to put it nicely, a complicated romantic life but not to the point of murder. Except he was murdered. As Ben is working the case and serving as active Sheriff, his predecessor succumbs to cancer, leaving Ben to decide whether he wants to run for the office. You'd think that it wouldn't be a big thing these days to be LGBTQI but it can be so Ben's struggling a bit. He's a good well rounded character, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I missed the first novel but this is a fine standalone that's got me looking forward the next one.

I admire Moehling's portrayal of Ben Packard, acting sheriff of a small town in Minnesota. He took the job as acting sheriff, because the man who hired him was dying, and asked him to take over. But Ben much prefers working as a deputy, and solving cases, to attending meetings and serving as sheriff. He doesn’t intend to run, and thinks his status as a gay man would prevent him from winning, anyway.
However, the murder case Ben is working on features a family so evil that it doesn’t seem credible. It's hard to believe what they seem to be capable of.
I also didn't realize that this was book two in a series. That would explain the very abrupt ending, and the way one attempted murder was left unsolved.