With few exceptions, detective books are not typically my jam. That being said, this one took me by surprise and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I will definitely be reading the next Ben Packard book as well! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one took me a while to get into but when I did, I couldn’t put it down! This wasn’t a whodunit, this was a how will they figure it out. I’m ready for the next book bc the author left it with a question I need the answer to.

I'm putting And There He Kept Her firmly in my category of why did I wait so long to read this. OMG. I have a new hero, and his name is Ben Packard. I'm already obsessed with this series and can't wait until Book 2. I have a feeling that clues about what happened to Nick will be slowly revealed through the series, and I'm here for all of it.

A perfectly normal crime thriller. Good enough vacation read, but there are others more worth your time.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very dark book, The story was pretty fast paced. There were quite a few characters to keep track of, but they all were important to the plot. Some of the characters were very dark and vulgar. There were a couple that were fun and added a bit of lightness.

this book was super popular. I didn't know what to expect but it didn't dissapoint. I really enjoyed the story line and it kept me entertained. I'm not sure its worth the hype but still a good book.

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. Emmett Burr has secrets he's been keeping in his basement for more than two decades, and he'll do anything to keep his past from being revealed.

Officer Ben Packard arrives back in the small Minnesota town of Sandy Lake in search of a fresh start. He has bad memories of the past, where his brother was missing and never found.

I really enjoyed this character driven story, and thought the audiobook was great!

*many thanks to Dreamscape Media and netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC of this novel in exchange for my review. This novel released on June 14, 2022.

Thank you Netgalley & Dreamscape Media for an ALC of And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling! I alternated this with the eARC version, making it even easier to binge and enjoy.

What’s it about?
Two weeks break into a house looking for drugs - and the situation quickly turns into a nightmare. Emmett Burr has been hiding secrets in his basement for more than two decades, and he’ll do anything to keep them. Former police officer Ben Packard has been sent to Sandy Lake for a fresh start. Now he’s leading an investigation into missing teens and finds himself forced to reveal his own secrets while discovering those of the town he now calls home.

A great debut novel by Joshua Moehling. I love a book that gives a creepy, chilling and atmospheric small town vibe, and this one delivers on that. A unique, dark book with dual POVs that will keep you turning the pages - If you’re looking for a fall or winter read, this one will have you hiding under the covers.

Moehling is a fantastic storyteller. I was hooked from the very first chapter. There are so many secrets in the town of Sandy Lake. You never know who can be trusted and who can’t Any number of people can be the prime suspect. Who took the teens? Where are they? Just when you think you know, you realize you don’t.

This was dark and gritty and really good, I love reading from the perspective of the psychopath and this was a really fun spin on a retired kidnapper and abuser

This is a wild ride! The audiobook was very well done! I really enjoyed everything about this one, it had great characters, an impelling storyline, and lots of suspense!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy of this audiobook!

Enjoyment: 3
Total rating: 3.57

And There He Kept Her is a little basement full of surprises. I was not expecting it to be this dark, disturbing and tense.

Admittedly, some suspension of disbelief is needed, but this is fiction; for me, it comes with the territory. Most characters were well fleshed out, and the highlight of my reading experience was the way Moehling handled a character who is a homosexual officer and is learning to navigate politics and prejudice in a small Minnesota town.

Linda Jones's narration is well-paced and very easy to follow.

Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy of And There He Kept Her.

The audio narration was clear and made listening to the audio a positive experience.

Emmett Burr has secrets he's been keeping in his basement for more than two decades, and he'll do anything to keep his past from being revealed. 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.

Personal tragedy has sent former police officer Ben Packard back to the small Minnesota town of Sandy Lake in search of a fresh start. Now a sheriff's deputy, Packard is leading the investigation into the missing teens, motivated by a family connection. As clues dry up and time runs out to save them, Packard is forced to reveal his own secrets and dig deep to uncover the dark past of the place he now calls home.

I thought this was a completely entertaining book that didn't eave room for guessing but it did deliver grit and disturbing content. I found the pace to make perfect sense and thought the parallel of the Sheriff and the criminals to be a good even balance. I liked that Moehling was willing to give the gritty gritty details of the criminals and wasn't afraid of the story being disturbing.

While reading sometimes it felt like the story wasn't going anywhere even though you could see both sides working on their own independent storyline. Since you know who did it at the beginning of the book I felt like it took away from the "why" of reading the book.

I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in dark thrillers.

A multiple point of view thriller of a small town where everyone is in everyone's business and secrets still thrive. A cop returns to his hometown to escape the sadness of his lost loved one, and ends up becoming de facto sheriff as the current sheriff is undergoing cancer treatment. Hoping just to deal with traffic tickets and the occasional drunkard, Packard's job becomes a lot harder as his cousin calls him to let him know that his niece is missing and doesn't have any of her diabetes medication, so he needs to find her and soon.
The other side of the story is told from Emmett, an overweight and in pain man who lives out in the woods away from the town. He catches two teens breaking into his house. He shoots the boy and locks the girl in his special basement room. He's too old, overweight, and sickly to really do anything to her, but he plans to keep her until she trusts him. Maybe something can happen then.
The story spirals closer and closer to the conclusion and leaves a mostly satisfying ending. The town's characters were all fun even if they fit a lot of stereotypes and were crass and rude. The narrator does a great job differentiating between them without doing multiple voices. The ending does leave it open for a sequel with Packard maybe finding out what happened to his brother, but also wraps up most of the other storylines. With as crude as it can be there was no overt sexual assaults which I really appreciated, and the violence was described but not graphically. It was a unique story being told from both the cat's and mouse's point of view.

I listened to the audio version of this book, and really enjoyed the narrator. Pregnant Saffron Cutter moves into a cottage she inherited from her grandmother, Rose. Saffron and her boyfriend are living happily until two bodies are discovered buried on their property. The bodies were buried when Saffron's grandmother Rose owned the house. Rose now has Alzheimer's and lives in a nursing home, Will the murders ever be solved?

I thought I knew what was going to happen, but the plot twist shocked me. Definitely a hard book to put down!

I very much enjoyed the simple yet suspenseful plot of this book. It sucks you in at the very beginning, and it was an easy story and pace to follow along with. I would highly recommend this thriller.

*I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator.

Thank you to Joshua Moehling, Poisoned Pen Press, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of a digital advanced reviewer copy in exchange for an honest review!

Debut. Disturbing. Gritty.

“You don’t put a woman in a cage and wait for her to learn to like it.”

REVIEW:
Jenny and Jesse attempt to break into a house to steal the owner's prescription medication when the worst possible scenario happens, the owner, Emmett Burr, is home and has cornered them with his shotgun. Will they make it out alive or are they going to pay for their attempted break-in?
Deputy Ben Packard has returned to the small town of Sandy Lake, Minnesota as acting sheriff of the police department. There, he is on the hunt for missing Jesse and Jenny. He takes a special interest in the case because of of the missing teenagers is his family member.
This book is a dual POV between Ben Packard and Emmett Burr. Will Ben be able to rescue Jenny and Jesse or will he be too late?

I was vested in the story, but didn't get the "wow" factor that the author was going for. The title pretty much gave it all away and there was no memorable twist that readers want to see when picking up a thriller novel. There were multiple scenes throughout the book that I was turned off because it was disgusting. The character development was great and the premise of the story was sound. The audio for this book was well done. I didn't have a hard time following the narration, even though the narrator performed all characters.

FULL DISCLOSURE: This is the first audiobook I have ever listened to so it may have skewed my overall rating of this book due to a new reading method.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was an odd book for sure, not sure how much i liked it but overall it was pretty good. would recommend for a quicker read.

After years away, Packard is back in his hometown. The place that took his brother away from their family. The tragedy struck the family for the second time when the young girl and her boyfriend goes missing. But behind the story of missing teens lays another gruesome secret. And the person behind it is ready to take all necessary measurements to let the dead lay as low as he buried them.

Spine chilling thriller. I was a bit disturbed during some parts of the novel. This is definitely a graphic read. But I enjoyed the investigating part of the novel and was very impressed by Packard's character. The pacing of the novel is very fast, and the author has managed to fit the background stories of the detective and his family, which makes me think the sequel of the novel will follow, and I would like to get my hands on it as well. Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a free and advanced copy of the novel.