Fantastic debut novel. Great character development. I was sucked in from the very beginning.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a debut!!

It takes a talented writer to weave a complex story of murder, abductions, drug rings, and a small town cop. This may have been Moehling's debut, but you'd never guess it while being entirely consumed and enthralled by And There He Kept Her.

I listened to this novel on audio and it literally transported me. I could see the story unfolding before me and I was on the edge of my seat wondering how everything would tie together, if Emmett would be caught, and if Jenny would survive.

It takes a true master at their craft to tell the story of a real monster and make the reader almost like him! Emmett was really well developed and it was easy to forget he was a deeply troubled man with a history (and present!) of murder and abductions.

I loved that Packard wasn't your typical cis male detective. The added layer of his being gay added a great depth to the story and to his character.

Linda Jones, the narrator, was new to me and I will definitely be seeking out her work in the future. She had excellent tone, inflection, and was theatrical and entertaining without being over the top. I found her voice soothing but also perfectly stressed in the moments where the suspense and thrill was escalated.

Another piece I really appreciated about this novel was the fact that more than just two missing kids was going on in the town, for example, there were unrelated car accidents and neighborly disputes. This added a great element of believability. So often in detective novels, cops are singularly focused on one matter and that just doesn't seem authentic to me.

I'm really looking forward to more work by Moehling and I will absolutely be recommending this one!

Thank you to Poisoned Press and NetGalley for the copy.

The writing is great. The story is entertainment.. The book in general is fine but not a standout. I enjoyed it but would not re read it.

I did like how the author connects you well to each of the characters.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Just a little slow and unbelievable at some points. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I listened to this one on audiobook and it was a quick read that I couldn't stop listening to. The story starts off quick right away setting the storyline to come. You go back and forth from the cop investigating the missing teens to the monster that’s responsible. This one is disturbing in that you never know what monster is lurking behind a seemingly harmless face. It was gritty action packed and fast paced. I finished this one quickly. I enjoyed the characters and I also think this book can be turned into a police procedural series and I hope it does!

It was a simple burglary, all they had to do was get in, grab some pills, and leave. The two teenagers weren't expecting to find what they did...Emmett Burr. Emmett is an old man with bad health, and his share of secrets. When he finds the two teens in his house he will stop at nothing to keep those secrets hidden. Ben Packard is familiar with the town of Sandy Lake, he used to come there as a kid until tragedy struck. Now he's back and is in charge of the case. Can he get down to the bottom of it, before it is too late?

This was the author's debut novel, and I am excited for what else he is going to bring to the table in the future. I liked the story. I thought it was a good first novel. This is a story that feels like it could really happen in your neighborhood. The villain was a creepy old man. Which at times you felt sorry for. I loved Ben Packard. He was my favorite part of the book. He had his demons and his insecurities but he also had such a calming personality. Plus how could you not love a man who loves dogs?

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio!

Lost and Found

I listened to the audio book and read the print book together. I loved the narration of the audio book. The narrator did a wonderful job.

The story was a fast paced mystery of two missing teenagers, an evil old man, and an acting sheriff with a past and a secret. It involves burglary, drugs, torture, kidnapping, and age old secrets.

It is a bit different in how it is written as the kidnapper is known from the beginning and the mystery is the police trying to figure out how to find the missing teenagers and why they are missing.

The characters are wonderful, the parents, the dog rescuer, the cousin and the other characters throughout the book.

It is interesting which leads are the ones that lead the police to find the criminal and the missing teenagers. The significance of cell phones and surveillance cameras in the investigation.

The story was engaging and kept my interest. It was nice to have both the audio book and the print book.

Thanks to Joshua Moehling for writing an engaging mystery, to Dreamscape Media for the audio book publishing and to Poison Pen Press for publishing the print copy. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with copies to read and review.

Loved this storyline. From an intense opening, to then following everyone outside of it looking for information and working to find them- I’d definitely read this as a series. Characters and narrator were both good- I’m usually super picky about who I can listen to.

I definitely didn’t find this as enthralling as I thought I would. These kinds of stories are my wheelhouse - I read them a lot and this one sounded incredibly promising. It just wasn’t very “edge of your seat”.

Thanks to NetGalley I got my hands on an audiobook copy of this one and the narrator wasn’t my favorite either. Many times even if the story isn’t suspenseful, the narrator can make it seem that way and I didn’t experience that with this one.

On a more positive side, I can definitely say this is a great book to ease into the thriller/suspense genres. It’s not heavy or super scary and it’s interesting enough to hold the attention of the reader.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! What a great debut!!

Two teenagers go missing while trying to steal prescription pain meds from Emmett Burr, who is a creepy old man with secrets to hide. Deputy Sheriff Ben Packard is back in Sandy Lake with a private agenda to uncover how and why his brother disappeared but is sidetracked by investigating the missing teens.

This book is not your typical thriller. The story starts with the crime, so we know who the perp is. There are no crazy twists or big reveals. But it’s loaded with dark, creepy vibes in a small-town setting and a well-written police procedural storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed the race against time trope while Ben solves the case.

However, character development is the star of this novel. Ben is a gay cop with both emotional and familial trauma that I want to see him work through. And Emmet is an aging serial killer who I can’t help but empathize with his struggles. In addition to our two main characters, I loved all townspeople of Sandy Lake - so many interesting backstories. Linda Jones, our narrator, excels at capturing all the nuances of these quirky residents.

With so many interesting characters and a cold case that still needs to be solved, I hope Joshua Moehling will continue Ben’s journey with book 2! I definitely will be preordering the next installment!

Rating: 3.25 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 3/5
-Cover: 3/5
-Story: 2.5/5
-Writing: 4/5
Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yeah

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to listen to this book. This book reminded me A LOT like Don't Breath, but less scary. You got a couple teens go into a house and don't come out. Hell, even to the point where the man who has them has a disability AND they had kidnapped someone before. That wasn't a problem though, it was the unnecessary bits that were in there. One, Ben's sexuality. Don't get me wrong, I do love me a LGBT book but this? I feel like Josh drizzled JUST enough so the book can be included in the tag but there was really no need. It added NOTHING to the story. If anything it was an insult. Secondly, his brother... what was the point of bringing in his deceased brother? We got nothing, but it did seem like it could have another book... yet the book is a stand alone novel.

Besides that the story was pretty good, if you two those things out. I wanted to know more and got a smidge of Stockholm Syndrome from it.

This was such a great story! I loved the reverse whodunnit plot, as we knew who the killers were but it was interesting to listen to Packard figure out who was behind it all. Also not to mention that he is gay, which is different as I've never read a story where the detective or police officer is gay. If this is a series or will turn into one, I would read more!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audiobook ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion.

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!

This book was crazy in a good way! I felt a lot of emotions throughout this book and it gave an interesting point of view from the main character. I was very pleased with the way the book ended and if it has ended any other way, I would have been so upset.

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

3.5 stars!
I really did enjoy this book. There weren’t many twists per say, but I was very invested in how the story would turn out. I did like how he integrated the different stories of all the characters cohesively, it felt like puzzle pieces clicking into place. I did feel like there were too many POVs and it would have been more concise to only have a couple, and a few side stories that weren’t needed. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC audiobook!

I am seriously blown away by the fact that this is a debut novel! This started moving right away in the first chapter. I was immediately invested in the story and my interest was held the whole time.

Police procedurals are hit or miss for me. This one was a total hit. The characters were all believable for me and I liked almost all of them. I even felt sympathy for the villain at times even though he was a terrible, disturbing person. There are no crazy twists with this one, but that’s ok! It doesn’t claim to be twisty and the story was strong enough for me to fully enjoy it.

I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator was fantastic. I thought she did the voices well and I could feel the tension and emotion in her narration. I would definitely recommend this format if you like listening to audiobooks.

This was such an impressive thriller debut out of Joshua Moehling. I would love to see more of Detective Ben Packard or anything else that this author comes out with next!

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @dreamscape_media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

This was great! The main character was refreshing. I had no idea how this was going to turn out. I’m so glad it wasn’t another story about a sadist with a woman in the basement. I liked that he struggled with his “new victim” and thst it wasn’t planned. I also liked that the story didn’t have a long confession monologue and played out. Have recommended!

This one was just creepy and borderline icky and slow, really slow in the telling. Ben is the acting Sheriff since the current one's health is failing fast and he is tasked with finding two missing teens. This one hits close to home since one is his cousin's daughter. We are told right away what happens to these teens so there is no surprise there and this story is told through the POV of Ben and Emmett, the man who abducted/killed them. What we do find is there are some really, really bad things going on in this town and it takes a bit to sort them out.

This was an excellent thriller with good characters. I sure hope this is the first book with Deputy Packard I look forward to more with him as lead.

I liked how this book was written it kind of showed everything then you got to go along for the ride of everyone else figuring it out.

2 teens break into a house thinking it will be an easy score but things are not as they seem and now it has gone very, very bad for these 2 kids. I don’t want to give anything away on this story because you need to enjoy the writing!

Linda Jones’ narration was very well done everyone had a voice and she brought the emotions well!

This is one of my favorites of the month for sure!

Highly recommend this one already bought it for the library!

4 Stars