Moehling is such a talented storyteller. I always look forward to reading his books. This book is super immersive and dark. I could not stop reading. Perfect setting for this time of year making it a chilling read for winter.

After a shooting, Deputy Packard is on leave with a lot of time on his hands. He uses the time to chase leads on his brother's case now that some new evidence has come to light. In the midst of his search, he stumbles upon another suspicious death.

I have really enjoyed reading about Ben Packard and I hope to see the series continue! I enjoyed the pacing and the deeper dive into Ben and his family.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A Long Time Gone

This book was executed perfectly with a mind blowing twist. Joshua Moehling is a force to be reckoned with and is about to take the internet by storm with this sure to be bestseller.

This is also the concluding book 3 of 3 in the Ben Packard series. If you're asking if this book can be read as a standalone, the answer is yes. However, why would you want to skip out on two banging pieces of this incredible series?

Equal parts family drama as it is police procedural.

Im typically someone who shy's away from procedurals as I get pretty bored pretty easy but this was never the case with Moehling behind the pen.

This book needs to be on everyone's wish list.

Check out this teaser :

It's time to put the past to rest…

Ben Packard was just a boy when his older brother disappeared. Ben watched him walk out the back door of their grandparents' house and into the cold night.

His brother was never seen again.

Decades later, Deputy Packard finds himself with too much time on his hands. A shooting has him on leave and under investigation, and all he can do is dwell on the past. For the first time in years, new information about his brother has surfaced that may lead them to the location of a body.

The midwinter ground is frozen solid. Worse, Packard is cut off from department resources. As he strikes out to finally uncover the truth behind his brother's disappearance, he stumbles on a separate, suspicious death. A tenuous connection exists between the two cases, and as Packard starts to dig, he meets fierce resistance from friends and foes alike who want him to stand down.

The winter is long and cold. By the end of it, Packard will risk everything to catch a killer and reveal the shocking truth about his brother.

3.5 stars. I don't think I would have read this if I realized it was third in a series, since I usually like to start from the beginning, and I did feel like I was missing some back story here. But overall, you can understand this story without having read the previous books. Pretty good mystery here--I liked that it was based on a recent Minnesota fraud scandal, as I enjoy ripped-from-the-headlines stories, especially if they're local. Ben Packard wasn't a hugely compelling character to me, but again--I might feel differently if I'd known him for two books already, and I did start to get a better sense of him towards the end as the storyline about his missing brother wrapped up. I may go back and read the earlier books and see if I can connect with the series better that way.

I absolutely love this series! I will never miss a Ben Packard police procedural book! I'm hoping it doesn't stop at 3 for a trilogy, although I could see how the author wrapped up somethings nicely. Ben's mother is HILARIOUS! While trying to figure out what happened to his brother, he stumbles upon another mystery and cold case...go figure! Get ready for another wild ride!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is just an awesome addition to an equally awesome series!! I love Ben Packard! I was so excited to see this become a series. This is Book 3. I suppose it can be a standalone, but you will miss all the great character development and motivation understanding. Ben is a deputy in Minnesota. He walks to the beat of his own drum and does things his way, which is usually the best way. He will beat a case to death until he solves it, which can rub people the wrong way. He also manages to be totally likeable (at least to me) while doing this. Ben has run for Sheriff, lost and is now checking bags at the local courthouse. Ben stumbles upon a suspicious death case while investigating the case of his missing brother who disappeared as a teen. What follows is just a good old-fashioned mystery without all the smoke and mirrors and AHA! moment plotting that we get so often now. I loved it! I hope there is a Book 4, but this is a nice ending. Also, the atmosphere alone is worth the read. I am over here in Texas where we freak out if the temp gets down to 30. I loved reading about a Minesota winter!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Joshua Moehling and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and other social media and retail sites upon publication day of February 4th, 2025.

I can’t not love a Ben Packard book. It’s just impossible. The dialogue, the sass, the characters and all the different walks of life one encounters just in Sandy Lake, Minnesota makes me want to visit the state. The mystery that unfolded all just from Packard trying to find out what happened to his older brother nearly 30 years ago makes me think he’s either the luckiest or unluckiest man in the fictional world. Imagine just trying to do your job and people make it about themselves and you trying to ruin their lives? I’d like to thank NetGalley and Joshua Moehling for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Can’t wait to see what else lies in store for the Packard Pack! Ben’s mom is most definitely my spirit animal now. What a wingman!

Ben Packard is a great detective, a great brother/son and a great man. In this edge of your seat installment, Packard is reeling after he’s involved in a shooting. While on leave he stumbles upon a suspicious death that leads to more dead bodies. His methodical approach solves the mystery. This installment of the series also finds Ben uncovering the truth of his brother’s disappearance. With his usual calm demeanor and dry wit, this was a pleasurable read.

Ben Packard, after losing the election for Sheriff, is stationed as a guard at the courthouse. When one of the party of a trial opens fire on the other, Ben in caught in the middle and is forced to kill the armed man. While on administrative leave, he picks up the case of his brother who went missing decades before. This is the third in the series and I feel it just gets better with each book. Packard is a likeable character and I look forward to more books to come.

3.5 STARS - A Long Time Gone is the third book in the Ben Packard small-town, police procedural series.

The book has a slow burn start that centres around two mysteries. The first is the cold case involving Packard's older brother who has been missing for decades. The second begins after Packard is put on leave after a shooting incident. He has a lot of time on his hands as the powers that be investigate, but he doesn't stay idle for long. His mother would like him to focus on his non-existent love life, instead he focuses on a suspicious death of an elderly neighbour that pulls him down a rabbit hole of murder and greed.

The heart of this series is Ben Packard. He's a strong main character with a mysterious backstory. He's a gay copy in a small town (that isn't openminded) and he's got a strong crew around him with his mom adding great levity with her funny quips.

This was an easy book to sink into and it starts off strong. The pacing wanes a bit in the middle and while the story kept moving, the tension seemed to be replaced by a lot of character introductions and the story got a bit convoluted for me. Things get back on track with a great twist towards the end when the energy ratchets up for a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to seeing where this series goes next.

Note: The books in this series can be read as a standalone.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for the complementary digital copy of this book which was given in exchange for my honest review.

Review posted on blog and social media - Feb 7, 2025

This was a good story. A bit personal, a bit political, a bit police procedural, a bit of sleuthing. A lot of bad people, and some not so much.Told with a hint of humor, Ben has grown on me and I'm looking forward to his continued career.

I like this series! I really enjoyed finding out what happened to his brother and I liked how the other loose ends from the last book were tied up too

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pub Date: 2/4
•
Ben Packard, may be my favorite cop ever. The stoicism, the one liners, not backing down, this man is just the total package. I love him so much and will always follow his stories. After finishing Where the Dead Sleep (book two in the series), I knew that I was going to have to read book three because of that cliffhanger ending, which was one of my favorite endings ever. So of course, as soon as this went on NetGalley, I jumped at the opportunity to read it. 
•
Just like the other two books in this series, I flew through this one very quickly. I loved how invested I am in this character and wanted to know exactly what happened (I will keep exactly what to myself to avoid any spoilers). I love how Moehling created two different story lines essentially and managed to make them connect while not making them connect if that makes sense. There are new characters introduced who I loved. And lastly, my favorite part - we got answers to the ending of book two!! Fantastic addition to the series!
•
I listened to this one while reading the ebook and it was narrated by Linda Jones. I've said this in my past reviews, but I really don't like that this story is narrated by a female, even if the story is told in a third person POV. She does a great job for sure, but I feel like the story would go better if it was narrated by a male..
•
The series definitely needs to be read in order, but it is a great series, so if you are looking for a new series - be sure to pick this one up!! Thank you to NetGalley, Joshua Moehling, Dreamscape Media and Poisoned Pen Press for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I think the author is now an automatic read for me. I have read all three of the Ben Packard series, I am a bit sad that now the waiting game begins again. Until next time!

The story picks up pretty much right where the second left off. Sadly the mighty have fallen as Ben has lost the election for sheriff. His opponent (and now Sheriff) Shepard, has wasted zero time making Ben’s life as miserable as possible. Ben now works security at the courthouse, mundane days are a plenty, except….

A tragic shooting has Ben now on leave as his actions are under investigation. Little does he know that an even bigger scandal will slowly infold behold him and it is up to Ben to dive into the deep abyss that is this case.

To top it off his old boss, Stan, left one last gift for Ben: a clue as to the possible whereabouts to his long deceased brother. Is it possible to finally get the closure and answers the Packard family have been hoping for? Ben is surely going to try.

I love the writing style and the character development. This series has an amazing balance of crime/mystery and small town drama. I appreciate the ghosts that Ben has to deal with while also trying to create his future. Can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am loving this series! Packard is an amazing main character and I really enjoy how he investigates all of his cases and how he works through his struggles. The plot in this latest novel was so good and I loved that there were the two cases running side by side in the book. I really enjoyed the twists in this book and how we finally have answers for Packard about his brother’s death. This was a great mystery and I hope there will be more books in this series in the future.

Ben Packard is back in the third installment of the Ben Packard series. Deputy Packard finds himself on administrative leave after a court house shooting lead to him having to pull his own weapon and shoot and kill the perpetrator. While on leave, Deputy Packard learns some new information on the disappearance of his brother, Kyle, who went missing when Ben was just a kid. With nothing better to do, Ben decides to devote his time to following this new lead into his brothers disappearance. But following this new lead, brings Packard to another suspicious death and down a rabbit hole of possible murders and suspicious activity. Will following this trail finally lead to the answers he has been looking for his entire life? Will his family find out what happened to Kyle? And who keeps trying to kill him?

Review:
A Long Time Gone was a great addition to the Ben Packard series. It has a lot of drama and a lot of different things going on. I really enjoy procedural books, so this series has been perfect for that! There are a lot of characters in this one and a lot of moving parts which kept me guessing until the very end. I never for a second predicted the outcome and was pleasantly surprised by the perpetrator in the multiple murders during this book. I am glad that we finally found out what happened to Kyle, but the reveal was a little underwhelming to me. I just felt like it could have been a little more intricate or drama filled especially since we had to wait three books to find out. This one also lost me a little bit when it got to the financial aspect and fraud. In general, that is not my favorite thing to read about, so that is more of a "me" problem. Overall, I felt like I had all of my questions answered from the previous two books. I am curious if there is going to be another book in this series because it does wrap up very nicely with no cliffhanger like book 2.
A Long Time Gone is now available and I definitely recommend picking it up if you enjoyed the other 2 books in this series!
Thank you to NetGalley, Joshua Moehling, and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC of A Long Time Gone in exchange for an honest review!

2-5, edited review and posted on TikTok
No spoilers. I was happy to find this because I’ve been looking for more gay detectives. Deputy Packard shines as an engaging hero, and this third book in the series worked as a standalone.

I enjoyed the atmospheric rural setting. The Minneapolis winter is practically an honorary character. Colorful locals, including lesbians, add to the small-town feel. Packard's mother cracked me up. The brave and appealing Packard could carry an extended series. The novel has empathy, intrigue, suspense, humor, a bit of sensuality, and one of the mysteries wraps up beautifully. 

The other mystery took up a lot of the book, and I guessed the perp ahead of the reveal. It suffered from a flat villain with an overused backstory. The prolonged info dump late in the case was the book's low point. I liked the hero's defiance, but his behavior toward authorities became impossible to believe. Some readers may not be distracted by these things.

Parts of the novel were chilling, and Packard's growth and personal experiences were moving. It's a fast, worthwhile, and entertaining read. I finished it in a day. My rating is 3.5 stars. According to a recent interview, he has four more books under contract with Poisoned Pen, so this could become your next favorite series. 

I recommend A Long Time Gone to readers comfortable with detailed crime-scene descriptions who enjoy medium-dark thrillers or crime fiction, as well as to readers seeking non-stereotypical LGBTQIA+ characters. 

Thank you, PoisonedPenPress , for the eARC for consideration. These are solely my own opinions.

Loved this installment to the series! It was so much fun to read and follow Ben Packard.

This is by far my favorite police procedural series. I love the mysteries, the twists, the action! I always recommend it to others and will continue to do so!

Wow! What a great thriller. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.i can’t wait to read more by this author.

I like Ben Packard - he's a complex character. I've read #1 (but not #2) and you could read this book as a standalone, but you'll understand a bit more if you've read the previous books. This is a well-plotted book with interesting characters. There are two mysteries in this book - what happened to Nick, Ben's brother approximately 30 years ago, and a multiple murder/fraud case. The current case is interesting and twisted, with some red herrings thrown in to keep the reader off the scent. The final reveal of Nick's story is heartbreaking. lthough it does give the reader hope for a more positive outlook for Ben should there be a 4th book.

"It's time to put the past to rest…

Ben Packard was just a boy when his older brother disappeared. Ben watched him walk out the back door of their grandparents' house and into the cold night.

His brother was never seen again.

Decades later, Deputy Packard finds himself with too much time on his hands. A shooting has him on leave and under investigation, and for the first time in years, new information about his brother has surfaced that may lead them to the location of a body.

The midwinter ground is frozen solid. Worse, Packard is cut off from department resources. As he strikes out to finally uncover the truth behind his brother's disappearance, he stumbles on a separate, suspicious death. A tenuous connection exists between the two cases, and as Packard starts to dig, he meets fierce resistance from friends and foes alike who want him to stand down.

The winter is long and cold. By the end of it, Packard will risk everything to catch a killer and reveal the shocking truth about his brother."

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.