Jesse and Jenny, two teenagers from a small rural lake town, disappear while out together one night. Acting Sheriff Packard has a hefty mystery to unravel as another teen in town shows up dead and it appears to be no accident. The locals in town seem to have a lot to hide, including the missing girl Jenny. Will Packard find her before it's too late?

I very much enjoyed this police procedural type mystery even if it's not my typical type of read. I was extremely invested in finding out what would become of Jenny and her captor as well as the angle of Packard and his personal story. Overall I found this excellent and fans of Long Bright River would likely also enjoy this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was everything that you want a thriller to be - creepy, surprising and addicting. I finished it in one sitting because I just needed to know what was going to happen next. I was surprised to hear that this was a debut novel from Joshua Moehling but I am excited to read what he publishes next!

And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling

Nothing happens in small-town Minnesota...until it does. Two teens missing. A worried mother. The other mother just wants her missing car back.

Secrets begin to unravel as acting Sheriff Packard is looking at every angle to find his cousin's missing daughter, Jenny, and her boyfriend, Jessie. The fact that their cell phones were left behind and the car is missing are not good signs. What has happened to them?

Packard keeps getting called away from the case for other things, like the ongoing feud between neighbors Gary and Cora, who are as different as oil and water. No wonder they can't get along.

When names start to be tossed around about high school drug dealers, the case starts coming together. But, when an unexpected thing is found when they go to question someone, everything changes.

Jenny, chained in a cell in a basement, is doing everything she can to survive. She not only has to stay alive being chained to a wall but also is in a fight to stay alive long enough to get more insulin. Will Packard find her in time?

Suspenseful! Unexpected? Very realistic! Reminds me of a headline in the news!-Books and Pens on Green Gables

I was given this book to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Joshua Moehling and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As creepy as the happenings in the pink room are, I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. Returning to a sleepy lakeside town where he spent a lot of time growing up at his grandparents place, Sheriff Deputy Ben Packard is a very likable character with a few secrets of his own. Determined to find 2 teenagers who go missing, he leaves no rock unturned. I thought the book had a great pace and the characters were all well developed.

This was a great story where we know who the bad guy is almost from the beginning. The characters are well-developed and the plot moves along without any wasted tangents. The book has series potential and I can't wait to see what the author does next.

I love stories where everyone has secrets, and this one doesn't disappoint.

Very dark and disturbing crime novel. The police elements were very interesting, since we already knew the crime and who was the perpetrator.

This is not your usual edge-of-your-seat suspense as you know the perp from the beginning, but are following along with the acting sheriff as he works to determine what happened to two teenagers .

There seemed to be a lot going on, but much of it wasn’t necessary.. Others will love it, but this one just wasn’t for me.

And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling

Review: What a fantastic debut thriller!! I started to see some buzz around this one and was very excited to grab an early copy. Two teenagers sneak into a house to steal narcotics and encounter the homeowner, Emmett Burr, an elderly man they thought was disabled. Ben Packard, the sheriff, looks into the story and uncovers a colorful cast of local characters,and picks apart the clues to this story.

I loved so much about this book!!
Excellent protagonist, Ben Packard, a gay police officer, acting as Sheriff while the current one is in recovery
Dark, disturbing, edge of your seat feeling You know all the details up front - who the villain and victims are, what the crime is. No big twists, but I loved how we just observed the police as they figured out the mystery. It's a race against time for Ben to get through all the clues and solve it.
Great overall story structure, easy to follow, and very engaging. Fantastic writing and a chilly, small town narrative.

I am so excited that this may be the start to a series! This will definitely make my list of best thrillers of the year!

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll start with saying that I really enjoyed Linda Jones narration of this book. She switched characters seamlessly and was a delight to listen to! The story itself had me hooked from the beginning and I loved that you got to see from the bad guys point of view as well and the detective. Without spoiling anything, I will say that parts of the ending still took me by surprise and I have no doubt that others will also enjoy this book!

What a ride! This one has lots of twists and turns guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

I was so lucky to receive a copy of And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. HOLY COW! This book was fantastic from start to finish. It's so dark, twisty and you won't be able to put it down. I can NOT wait to read more by this author - so good!

3.5 rounded to 4 for Goodreads/Netgalley

"Solitude is dangerous to reason, without being favorable to virtue... the mind stagnates for want of employment, grows morbid and is extinguished like a candle in foul air."
- from Acencdones of the late Samuel Johnson

When I read the synopsis for this book I was very excited !! It reminded me of the plot for the movie DON'T BREATHE.... I was a bit disappointed. This book is told in the third person from the POV of Ben Packard, the acting sheriff assigned to the case due to family ties... and Emmett Bur, the "bad guy" I really loved Ben's character, he was very relatable- he had secrets, a traumatic past, learning how to be comfortable in his own skin, and passionate about his work- also LOVED the LGBTQ+ rep he provided (AND GARY- HONEY!!!!) Emmett however didn't do it for me. He was an overweight sickly man who had some kids taking advantage of his situation and at most times I found myself feeling sorry for him rather than despising him as the main villain of the book. The book also started off a little slow, so the main action, for me anyway, didn't pick up until about 60%. Luckily I also got the audiobook, and was able to listen while I read and that helped a lot. Overall, a good debut, was just hoping for intensity from the "bad guy" and a quicker pace.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press, Netgalley and Dreamscape audio for advanced readers copy and listening copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

An interesting read, not an absolute favorite, was not an “I can’t put this down” but drawn in enough to finish. I’ll have to read more of this author. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC opportunity!

3 out of 5 stars. A bit darker than I anticipated it being, but I enjoyed it regardless! Two teenagers break into Emmett’s house to steal prescription drugs, and things escalate quickly. If you are into thrillers, I think you will enjoy this one. Kept my attention but did take me awhile to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free eARC copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

I was delighted when I started reading and this book took place in Minnesota! Moehling did an amazing job with this debut novel. The readers were presented with the solved mystery very early on, and it was fun to watch law enforcement figure things out step by step... infused with their everyday lives and struggles.

This was a great book to lose myself in after a stressful day at work.

I hope Moehling keeps writing, he is very talented!

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit of back and forth but was done well so that everything made sense and stayed in order. I wouldn't quite call it a mystery. I think suspense would cover it. Sometimes I have a hard time writing a review as I don't want to ruin the story for anyone. This is one of those times. I would definitelyrecommend this book.

Quite dark and claustrophobic in parts, this highlights the depraved depths that people can, and do, go to, especially some. Such as Emmett Burr. The lesson here is to know without a doubt whose house you are breaking into... Or better yet, just don't do it. You never know what you might find.

Ben is a revelation, endearing, flawed, and quirky, I hope we get to see more of him.

Three stars.

With thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

A complex story about the true nature of evil. A story about two teenagers who break into a house in search of prescription drugs. Emmett Burr, the homeowner, has secrets he's been keeping in his basement for a very long time. He will do absolutely anything to protect those secrets.

Four solid stars for this debut novel. The mixture of suspense and funny was just the right combination to keep a reader turning the pages. I would be very disappointed if I wasn't able to read about Ben Packard and his brother in the near future....wink wink.

As always thank you Net Galley for allowing me to get any early copy of this book.

Thank you Joshua Moehling, Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press, for the advanced copy in exchange for honest review. All thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

The very first chapter gives us an understanding to what happened with the kinds and who the murderer is. What we don't know is how Ben Packard, the acting sheriff in Sandy Lake, will get them back.

Story is being told by Ben's and Emmet's pov, which actually worked very well in this situation. Pacing for this story was jumping between slow to medium. Yes, it had disturbing characters, mystery and somewhat suspense, but it was somehow not enough for me. I will say that for me, Ben was the reason that I kept reading this story. He has a personal link to the missing girl and he has his own personal trauma to deal. All he wanted was a fresh start and uncomplicated life, while living in the small Minnesota town of Sandy Lake.

I think Ben's character has a great potential to be explored in the future books. It could be something similar of what Jo Nesbø is doing with Harry Hole detective character in his series.

And There He Kept Her is Joshua's debut. I did like this book in general and I know his stories will become even better with the next books. I liked his writing and mood setting that gave us more vivid imaginary of disturbing, creepy yet realistic in some ways scenes. I wish you luck with future projects J.M. ! :)