My favorite reads are those series I've been reading for awhile with characters that have grown and matured into friends. They tell excellent stories, setting the characters in the middle of unfamiliar terrirtory and watching them use everything they know to get out and save those important to them. Series like CJ Box's Joe Pickett and Marc Cameron's Arliss Cutter. Joshua Moehling's Ben Packard series stands as a favorite next to any of the others.
A LONG TIME GONE is Book #3 in the series. As in any series, there is an over arcing thread, in this case, it's the disappearance of Ben's brother......a long time ago. Ben's character has lived through many challenges to get to this point. He's lost the job he loves and has no immediate plans, so will update the investigation of his brother's case while giving himself time to work out his future.
I easily spent an entire day reading this book in one sitting. It's an excellent chapter in the lengthy future I predict for Joshua Moehling's series.

Bravo! In A Long Time Gone, author Joshua Moehling delivers a beautifully written thriller full of mystery, emotion and suspense that leaves the reader sitting back in their chair saying, “Wow.”

Life hasn’t been easy of late for my favorite sexy detective. In this third book in the Ben Packard mystery series, we find our protagonist pulling court-security detail when a shooting puts him on leave and under investigation with too much time to think - not only about recent events and his future but his older brother’s decades earlier disappearance from the family’s lake house, as well.

After more details of that tragedy had come to light, a visit with his mother to visit the owner of his grandparent’s former home brings back memories. It also sends Packard on another investigation with life-threatening consequences.

Moehling should teach a master class on creating rich, fictional characters as real as they come. From Ben to his mother, his friends/coworkers and romantic interests, it’s all there with depth and easy, subtle strokes.

I highly recommend A Long Time Gone for thriller, mystery and LGBTQ fiction fans. I received this advanced reader copy of A Long Time Gone from Poisoned Pen Press, courtesy of NetGalley.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest in the Ben Packard series by Joshua Moehling. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Ben Packard was just a boy when his older brother, Nick, disappeared. Ben watched him walk out the back door of their grandparents' house and he was never seen again. Decades later, Deputy Packard finally has some new information that may lead them to the location of Nick's body and provide some closure for their family. When Ben and his mom visit his grandparents' house, he comes across another dead body. Is there a connection?

This is one of my favorite series - just wonderful characters in a sharp police procedural. If you haven't read the first two, you definitely should, but this would stand alone on its own merit as well. Both mysteries are gripping and tense, and kept me guessing, but it's the characters that really shine. I loved Ben's mother and she added some comic relief to the suspense. I also appreciate that nothing is over the top graphic. The author juggles both mysteries, family dynamics, a small town Minnesota setting, and I couldn't look away. I can't wait for the next book in this series - highly recommended!

Well plotted with beautifully drawn characters and vivid atmosphere. This one is a winner for anyone who enjoys police procedurals with meaning and depth.

If you like crime fiction, you need to read this series!

Synopsis:
After losing the election to become sheriff, Ben is put on court security duty where he is forced to shoot a defendant who starts shooting up the courthouse. Ben is put on leave as the incident is investigated. While on leave, Ben finds out about an accidental death that might not have been an accident, discovers a dead body and may have uncovered a governmental fraud scheme. Ben is also still actively looking into his brother Nick’s disappearance from 30+ years ago.

My Thoughts
This is the third book in the Ben Packard series, and I have loved them all. Joshua Moehling’s writing is terrific, and I flew through the pages. I really adore Ben as he is tough, sympathetic, selfless and deeply flawed. In this book, we also dive deeper into Ben’s personal life which made me love him even more. I am so happy that we finally get answers surrounding his brother’s disappearance and the answers are truly heartbreaking. If you like crime fiction, you are going to love this series.

There are a slew of adjectives I could use to describe Deputy Ben Packard. Among them would be tenacious, perceptive, and sincere. Those are just a few of the things that make Packard a brilliant investigator. What makes him a lovely human being are his compassion, integrity, and humility.

The mystery in A Long Time Gone delves deep into corruption, malice, greed, and depravity, which offers up a sad commentary on humanity with plenty of suspects. Louise Larsen’s death was ruled an accident at the time. But Ben (being Ben: curious, intuitive, observant) gives full rein to his suspicions that the “investigation” into the elderly woman’s death was mishandled. Not that he would accuse the newly-elected Sheriff Howard Shepard of botching the case—even if it’s the truth. Shepard is lazy, smug, and didn’t win the election because of his proficiency at the job. Packard is nothing if not diplomatic, though, and has a way of getting what he wants, which is to reopen Louise’s case based on new evidence.

“Once upon a time he had an older brother who had lived.”

An omnipresent mystery over the course of the first three books in this series is the death of Ben’s older brother, Nick, thirty years ago. The Packard family has never gotten answers or closure to all the questions that linger over Nick’s disappearance. Until now. Ben’s investigation into newly-uncovered clues seems nothing but obstacles and Catch-22s, not that that has ever stopped him. Ben being a brother and son (his mother is a little quirky and simply the best) offers a warmth and relatability to his character. It brings him down to earth when he seems too good to be true.

The Ben Packard series isn’t flashy or pretentious, much like Packard himself. Joshua Moelhing writes a brilliant mystery, covering the procedural with a focus towards seeing with intuition as much as with an eye to detail. Packard is the consummate investigator who doesn’t do what he does for the attention. He does it because he’s sworn to serve the people, and he takes that duty seriously. There is a comfort in Joshua Moehling’s voice that leads readers along with a deep-seated need to not only see what happens next but to watch Packard close a case and deliver justice. I will read every single thing this author writes, mystery or otherwise.

A Long Time Gone
by Joshua Moehling
Pub Date: Feb 04 2025

“Long Time Gone” is the third book in the Ben Packard series. Although I haven't read the first two books it didn't take me long to catch on to the main plot of the book. I feel the storyline was very interesting with a steady pace. The main character, Ben Packard is a diligent cop with integrity and is very likable. Most of the storyline is about Ben searching for his missing brother from decades ago. A great police mystery/thriller!

Synopsis: 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.

Many thanks to #alongtimegone #NetGalley and #poisonedpenpress for providing me with an E-ARC of this 5 STAR book!

This is the third novel in the Ben Packard series and picks up 6 weeks after the second novel, Where the Dead Sleep. Ben Packard’s brother disappeared when Ben was just a boy, leaving only the memory of him walking out the back door into the cold night and never returning. Now a deputy, Ben is on leave after a shooting and haunted by the resurfacing of new information that might finally lead him to his brother’s body. As he investigates the case, he uncovers a suspicious death that may be connected, facing resistance from all sides as he risks everything to uncover both the truth about his brother and a dangerous killer.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this digital e-arc.*

What a story. This thriller has so many twists, turns and connections. I loved it! I did not see the ending coming.

The best of the series. I adore Packard! There is a lot going on in this one. The cases are interesting. I was invested in the answers. And we get a lot of answers. The ending was perfect. I hope we see more in this series.

4.5 stars.

Deputy Ben Packard was a boy when his older brother disappeared. He had watched him walk out the back door of their grandparents’ house and never saw him again. Decades have passed and Deputy Packard finds himself on leave and under investigation after a work-related shooting, leaving him with lots of empty time on his hands. He decides to dig deeper into what really happened to his older brother, Nick, and ends up stumbling across a separate, suspicious death. As Packard digs further into both cases, he is met with fierce resistance, leading him to risk everything to uncover the truth.

A LONG TIME GONE marks the third book in the Ben Packard series. While I think they can be read as standalones, I’d recommend reading them in order to better grasp the intricacies of the characters and the politics of small-town Sandy Lake. I was beyond excited to be approved for a digital ARC of this book, eager to get back to Sandy Lake and see what’s next for Deputy Packard.

That said, I think that A LONG TIME GONE may be my favorite of this series to date. It contains two cases: the first, a cold case dating back many years and the second, a more recent and suspicious death. The novel starts off slow, building up the scene and giving context to the characters, the office politics, and the cases; but as new leads start to come in and possible connections crop up, the pacing begins to pick up. One case is much more complex than the other, but each are interesting, gripping, and well-paced. They each had me guessing as twists and turns led me down different paths, always staying a step ahead, leaving me nowhere near the correct reveals.

Deputy Packard is a great character and an excellent protagonist. He’s tenacious, brave, and always eager to get to the bottom of any story, no matter how simple or complex it may look at first glance. His character gains depth here and I love seeing his growth. I loved catching up with the other relevant characters in the Sheriff’s office, like Theilen. It was also interesting to meet Packard’s mom, who is a true hoot with interesting advice.

Can’t wait to see what will come next for Packard in future books!

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.</i>

The third installment of the Ben Packard series starts off revisiting the disappearance of Ben’s brother, Nick. Nick disappeared from the family’s lakeside home when Ben was a kid and his body was never recovered. The lack of knowing has always haunted Ben and now it appears some of the leads could be promising on figuring out what happened. While hunting down one of these leads, Ben stumbles upon another murder in the same house.

The author did an amazing job of fluidly combining two separate storylines. At the beginning, I was following the investigation regarding Nick only then for it to seamlessly transfer direction to that of the new murders. I only realized, roughly 3/4 of the way through the book that this flip had happened. Another thing that I love about the author is that the characters, especially Ben, are always very well developed. As an aside, we got to meet Ben‘s mom Pam, who made me chuckle.

This book works great as a standalone, but also gives a big payout, albeit heartbreaking, to those of us who have been following Ben through the series. I typically do not like books that are in a series just due to the repetitive nature of them, but this one is not repetitive in the least. Would highly recommend this one, especially if you like murder mysteries without getting into the nitty-gritty of the details.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Long Time Gone by Joshua Moehling
Ben Packard #3

~ Excellent addition to the series ~ Couldn’t put it down ~ Great addition to the series ~

What I liked:
* Ben Packard: leader, team player, wise, seasoned detective, has suffered loss, loving son and brother, good friend, strategic thinker, puzzle solver, dedicated, persistent, doesn’t hold a grudge, empathetic, finally gets closure on Nick’s cold case, intriguing, open minded, would love to see him again
* The small-town vibe that is not always positive but is always real
* The way Ben handles himself I a variety of situations
* Pamela Packard: Ben’s mother, loving, kind, supportive, into a variety of new-age-spiritual ideas, there for her children, made me smile and chuckle as she pushed Ben to be more social
* Frank: Ben’s three-legged rescue corgi and perhaps his support canine
* Detective Jill Thielen: mature, bright, triathlete, happily married, excellent at her job, there for her team, has a big surprise before the end of the story
* Reynolds: detective I training, married, father, has a sense of humor, dedicated, prefers patrol
* The plot, pacing, setting and writing
* That I was invested in the story and wanted to find out what happened
* The way the various threads of murder, crime, and the cold case were pursued, where they led, and how all were resolved
* That even though I read ahead…I was still surprised more than once by a twist or turn
* All of it really except…


What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about how corrupt and evil some people are and what they are willing to do to advance themselves without any care for those they harm in the process

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes…hope there will be more books about Ben

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks-Poisoned Pen for the ARC – this is my honest review.

5 Stars

3.75 stars for me

I enjoyed the book i did feel like i was missing something having not read the other 2 in the series.
You can tell its part is a series and you needed to read them in order to fully understand the characters. I will be reading the other 2 so im glad i got to sample this one.

This is the third book in the Ben Packard series but can be read as a standalone as I have not read the first two and enjoyed this story immensely. I’m looking forward to reading the previous books and any subsequent ones.
Thank you to the author/publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was my first dive into the world of Ben Packard, but I didn't have trouble following the storyline at all. I would like to read the first two books after enjoying this one so much. Ben is a great main character with a complex backstory coming into play with the disappearance of his brother, and a newer case being the focus. I was thoroughly entertained as would fans of crime thrillers or police procedurals.

Bare bones: We are reunited with Ben Packard who is catching consequences of lost election. He's demoted from Investigation to court security duty and the new sheriff is as incompetent and lazy as he was when he worked under Packard. After the unfortunate event, Ben is on an administrative leave which gives him a lot of free time to look into his brother's disappearance. And there is something suspicious about the lethal accident of an old woman who was living in once Packard's family home full of memories of his brother and summers they used to spend in Sandy Lake.


This was such a well-crafted procedural. Moehling's attention to details is noted and appreciated by this reader, especially when it comes to timelines and loose ends. The mystery is twofold: there is a complicated investigation of a local crime that grows into big, complicated case of corruption involving a lot of figures who committed several crimes. And then there is the overreaching mystery of what happened to Nick, Ben's brother who disappeared years ago, never to be found.
The biggest take I had from this novel is that perhaps crime rarely happens in isolation. There is a lot of different factors to contribute to it and as Ben was gathering pieces of what happened to elderly woman, there is a mention of events that are a part of zeitgeist, totally something you can pull from newspapers. Yes, it's people breaking the law, but it's also not a very well written law full of loopholes and system is not working that well and it's happening at a particularly sensitive time and so on. Over the top by the end, but I enjoyed it.
By this novel, we already know that Ben is dealing with trauma by stuffing it into a box and getting away from it, throwing himself into work. We get some of much needed self-reflection from him which was a nice development because I don't think that every detective in mystery series has to be as bad in figuring their life as they are good at figuring others. He has a loving family, mom that embarrasses him on daily basis and friends who care for him, some new and some old. Ben is most interesting when he bounces his ideas of his colleagues so I am glad he is not isolating as much because dialogue was snappy and fun to read. Reynolds is becoming a favorite and I hope we will get to see more of him. There is also some awkward flirting, but tragically, there is not enough Garry.
Ben is finally getting answers about his brother and this was the weakest part of the story for me. It read to me like Moehling wanted to wrap this up, especially after that shot from book #2. On one hand, it's good this is not dragged, but on the other I feel like the buildup led up to an answer that was a bit heavy-handed in certain ways and convenient for some of the people involved. It was a bit rushed and processed in a span of a single chapter and I hope it will result in better character development in future stories.
All in all, this is another winner for Moehling. It was so easy to slide right back into Sandy Lake again because these charters stay in your mind and that's the greatest strength of his writing, I think.
Recommended.

Although I did not read the prior books in this series I had no problem to understand A Long Time Gone. Ben lost the election for the Sheriff position and is now relegated to duty at the courthouse and it's where there'll be a shoot out and he'll kill a man. He is relieved from duty for 60 days whilst a review of his procedures is undertaken, with too much free time in his hands he goes back to investigating his brother's disappearance and will learn about the death of the woman who bought his grandfather's house (where his brother is last seen). From then on he pursues a lot of leads and learns that there's much more going on in the small Minnesotan town. He'll also learn that he'll have to work with issues from his past to be able to fully live. Well-written, engaging, I'll read the other books in the series. Recommended!
I thank the author, his publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

LONG TIME GONE by JOSHUA MOEHLING - This was actually the third of a series of three but it doesn’t matter. Ben Packard returns home after being gone a long time to become Sheriff and because of a lost election becomes a worker at the Courthouse. Ben’s brother left home one night when Ben was a young boy and disappeared. Being he is idle right now after the shooting at the Courthouse that has him on leave, He decides to dig into his brother’s disappearance again and tries to find out the essentials of the shooting at the Courthouse of which he was responsible. This was a very good story – it certainly will keep you reading well into the night. There seems to be something going on throughout. I highly recommend this book. I also intend to read the other two books @ Joshua Moehling wrote as well. I want to thank @Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this.

This is the third book in the Ben Packard mysteries. This series follows former Twin Cities police officer, Ben Packard as he navigates small town politics and investigates prior family secrets and the disappearance of his older brother when he was a child. You don’t have to read the previous novels, but I recommend that you do. There is a self-contained mystery in each one as well as developments regarding his brother’s cold case as an overall story arc across the series. Plus this is my favorite mystery series of recent years.

This installment finds Ben demoted to court security after the events of the previous book. Things quickly take a turn for the worse when circumstances leading to an officer involved shooting leave Ben temporarily off duty with time on his hands. Ben decides to use this time to delve deeper into his brother’s cold case, and insinuate himself into a suspicious death that was earlier dismissed as an accident that occurred in his childhood home.

I started off feeling so sorry for poor Ben who is clearly miserable in his new court security position or “checking ladies’ purses” as several others called it, not to mention the misery of the rest of the department trying to keep up with their duties without his extra hands. His mother comes for a visit and gives him an assist both on the case and personally. She was a hoot. I loved her and how she read him like a book, especially regarding Kyle or rather “tall, dark and handsome.”

I really enjoyed the mystery in this one and the resolution of the story behind the disappearance of his brother went into a totally different direction than I expected, which I found surprising in a good way. I love it when that happens. Can’t recommend this series enough to mystery readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy provided for an honest review.