My thanks to Net Galley and Poison Pen Press for this arc to review.

Lt. Ben Packard returns to his old hometown in Minnesota to solve the mystery of 2 missing teens after they broke into a house to steal drugs.

Great page turner with lots of twists and turns with interesting characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for letting me read and review this book.

One thing this book did exceptionally well at is nailing the small town feel. Everyone knows everyone else, hushed gossip, quarreling neighbors, family drama - Joshua Moehling nailed it.

If you're looking for a high stakes, high action detective thriller, this isn't the book for you. Instead, Moehling brings us a tiny police force doing the best they can. Honestly, it brought a better sense of realism to the book to see more of the day-to-day of our protagonist from the outset. Ben Packard isn't a hero, he's a traumatized man appointed to acting sherif that's just trying to do right by the town he lives in (while ignoring his own personal demons).

The book also flips several tropes on their heads, which I quite enjoyed. The victim-turned-villain setup of our main antagonist, Emmett Burr, reminded me a lot of the movie Don't Breathe, where people break into a blind man's home expecting him to be an easy mark.

I also think the LGBT representation was done well. The topics of repression, outing, and small town bigotry were handled realistically if not tastefully despite some of the incidents being hard to swallow.

My biggest complaint was the lack of notification at perspective shift. Moehling excelled at creating a different voice and tone for each character whos perspectives we watched through, but I still found the transitions a bit jarring at times. The perspective doesn't change each chapter so they might not have thought it was necessary to annotate the shift, but in my opinion simply putting the name of the character at the beginning of their chapter or section would have added clarity (especially at the beginning of the book when we're learning all of the characters).


Another minor qualm is the lack of palpable urgency in finding the kids that go missing early on in the book (especially one with a time-sensitive medical condition). Perhaps it actually conveyed the lackadaisical policing and community attention that exists in many real cases, but regardless it was still frustrating to watch unfold.

This book set itself up nicely for a sequel, with our lead detective finally moving on a bit from his walled off nature, embracing himself, and digging in to the family tragedy that ties him to the little town of Sandy Lake. I'm hoping we get to see more of some of the characters briefly mentioned in this book, and begin to unpack more of the town's mysteries.

In a world drowning in detective novels, this one certainly carved out a unique niche and I'm curious to see where it goes.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4720519793

I honestly dont think this book was for me. I tried to read it numerous times and it just wasnt going well for me.

I was hooked on page one. This book really kept me on the hook and I loved every minute of it. Officer Ben Packard has his hands full when he moves from Chicago to sleepy Sandy Lake, Minnesota. Small towns hide secrets every bit as sick and twisted as big city nightmares. The race is on to find two missing teenagers before it’s to late. I was glued to my Kindle late into the night, I really enjoyed the twists and turns.

Detective Ben Packard moves back to a small town in Minnesota where he spent summers and holidays with his family. While working as the stand in sheriff two teens go missing while attempting to steal prescription drugs. What comes next is a story of secrets and a resident with a dark past. What a debut! Seriously this book had me flipping pages until it was over. I loved every second of this. The authors writing style will have me keeping an eye out for any future books he writes. If you’re a lover of dark thrillers I highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

THIS IS A DEBUT NOVEL! WHAT?! 😱
I am so impressed. Truly.

This book has top notch suspense. Almost every chapter ended with me needing more answers and scrambling to read the pages that would get me there.

Also, it’s darrrrk. If you’re a Karin Slaughter fan and lover of crime/thriller novels that aren’t afraid to go straight-up grim, then you’ll enjoy this one.

The book begins when two teens break into a house to steal some prescription pain killers and get much more than they were expecting. The owner of the home ain’t playin around and has some skeletons in his closet…and a creepy lair in his basement. 💀 ⛓

I greatly adored the character Ben Packard, a straight-laced and determined acting Sheriff in a small town. Ben was multilayered and someone I know readers will grow attached to. I was super excited when I found out he will be returning in future books as the series develops.

I also loved how this book all came together and how the lines of morality were often blurred. No one except for the corgi is purely innocent!
jk…kinda.

I will most definitely be looking forward to reading more novels by this author. He’s a new favorite. 👏🏻

4.5/5 stars rounded up to 5 for this review

When two teenagers break into a house on a remote lake in search of prescription drugs, what starts as a simple burglary turns into a nightmare for all involved and Sherriff Ben Packard must get involved to help the teens. Intriguing and suspenseful, I found the small town setting added to the entirety of the story and the complexity of the interconnectedness of the characters. Highly recommend!

Thank you Source books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I've read enough thrillers in my life to have a few duds.

It's dark, it's disturbing. It's going to give some people nightmares but I found it a little obvious and predictable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in advance of its release.

This was a really fast paced and gripping book. I usually not one for this type of book, but I was hooked by the end of the chapter! Really great writing and a fast paced story line to keep the reader hooked. Good book!

I love a good psychological thriller and this one delivered. This book was not your traditional who do you think is doing this evil kind of book. You know who is inflicting the evil, you just don't know if the victim will make it. The hero of the book. Sheriff Packard, works diligently to solve the case. Both the victim and Sheriff Packard are strong characters that I truly enjoyed. I couldn't put the book down. The book ended as though there may be more to come for Sheriff Packard and I look forward to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book!

I love the premise of the book, and I enjoy thrillers as a general rule.

As a debut, it’s strong, but not best seller material. I didn’t care for the fact that there’s not a lot of mystery to this storyline. I had a lot of trouble (personally) finishing this, and I might very well be in the minority.

All in all a good read but not one I would recommend.

This book was very well written with well developed characters. I found myself bored with the storyline at times and not much action. I did enjoy the story over all.

I wasnt sure about this book in the beginning but the more i read, the more i couldnt put this down. Such a great story!!

Such an intense read! My gosh. There’s a few triggers in this book but i was held in suspense. I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

I loved the dual POV. The person responsible & the detective. It was interesting getting both sides and to know what is happening but not what will happen next of how it’ll end.

It was definitely a wild ride of a read. And it kept my anxiety up!

I also enjoyed the representation of a gay cop and what that was like in a small town.

I really loved the characters… well not the ones you aren’t supposed to like! Haha. But the character development was great. I’d definitely be interested in a second book.

I read this entire book in about a day. I loved the suspense and all of the characters were so well developed they seemed real. Gary was my favorite! I am hoping for a follow up book to see if Packard can solve his brother's cold case. Absolutely recommend!
Thanks to Netgalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

And there he kept her was such a great book.
Crime, drama, kidnapping and murder. This book has it all.

Jenny and Jesse make the error of their life when they break into Emmits home. The events that unfold after this event, Jenny and Jesse being reported missing, the families search for answers amid fear for Jenny because of her diabetes. The pieces slowly but surely begin to click into place as other events begin to tie the missing teens to other issues.

As the story goes deeper you learn so much more about all of the characters within this book and how each and everyone truly ties to a piece of this story.

I highly recommend this book especially if you like a good crime book!

This book was different then most other thrillers I've read in the past. Its different because we know who the kidnapper/killer is from the start. Most books leave you wondering who can it be? Even though we have this information from the start, the thrill and anticipation of what's to come next is amazing. I loved the way we got to know each character through their own personal stories and how they all tied together. We had a good mixture of different types of characters (the gay cop, the crazy neighbor, the drug addict,
the old man). I also enjoyed that the villain wasn't your average villian in that he was a morbidly obese very old man. I loved how graphic the horror scenes were! I will definitely check out this author's other books.

This book had me from the beginning. Two teenagers break into an elderly man’s house to steal prescription drugs and get caught. The characters in this debut novel were pretty well rounded, showing their good as well as their not-so-good, sometimes evil, traits. Emmett was a despicable man who has hidden his secret from everyone except Carl, an even more despicable man. Ben, the stand- in sheriff, is a likable character who could potentially be in future novels.

I really enjoyed this book and once I started reading. I couldn’t put it down. A great detective crime novel with a possibility of being a series? I can definitely see this as being the first n a series. You meet acting sheriff Ben Packard who has returned to a small town called Sandy Lake. A town with a personal history and tragedy to Packard. Two high school kids, Jesse and Jenny go missing in this small town. It is up to Packard and his fellow officers to find them. If you are a fan of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series, you will love this book. The author brings to light many of the local towns people and develops their personalities and secrets, along with Packard having a secret of his own. A great book. I hope the author does turn it into a series.

I love a good debut author and this was no exception. This was a solid thriller and I've read a lot of thrillers. I will definitely be recommending this to others who love thrillers. I think it's unique in its own right and overall a solid read. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review early!