This is a story about consequences.

I’m torn on rating this, because I really liked the stuff I liked… and was really put off by the one thing I didn’t.

The good: I’m shocked this is a debut! I loved the small town setting, and the thoughtful details and descriptions of the setting and locals. I loved the duel perspectives & the mounting dread present in every chapter. I also really enjoyed the queer rep! I never expect it in thrillers because I see it so rarely 🤷‍♀️ (hit me with your recs!)

What I didn’t like: the repeated, constant mention of the villains weight. We get it, he’s fat. So fat he damages cars and has no friends. His weight is mentioned literally every single time he is, to the point where the narrative felt somewhat fatphobic bc I knew more about his weight than his motivation for keeping women in the basement (this isn’t a spoiler if you’ve seen the cover & read the title). This was really distracting for me and I’m not sure what the goal was here- he isn’t a monster bc he’s overweight, he’s a monster because he does monstrous things.

Overall, a solid thriller! Looking forward to more from the author for sure.

Thank you so much @netgalley, @poisonedpenpress & @dreamscape_media for the e & audio copies!!

What a great story! I enjoyed the dual storylines with Acting Sheriff Ben Packard and psychopath Emmett Burr. Packard is trying to find Jesse & Jenny & Emmett is busy being a crazy person. The pace of the story was amazing and I was really wanting Jenny to be saved.
I am curious how someone goes from their wife leaving them to building a room & locking girls inside for nefarious purposes. Emmett was awful and by the end of the book I was actually satisfied with who didn’t make it except Jesse of course.

Thanks to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for an audiobook copy of this book.

"And There He Kept Her" will have you hooked from the first chapter! It is a very straightforward book that doesn't have a lot of twists and turns, but has enough excitement to keep you coming back for more. I found myself caring about the characters and invested in knowing more about them as well as what their ultimate fate would be. The main character, officer Ben Packard, is likable, mysterious, and relatable.

Critiques:
(Without giving spoilers) there is another case that is brought up throughout the book that has a direct impact on Ben Packard. He seems fueled by his connection to this previous case to uncover answers in the current case at hand. There is enough detail given that makes it seem that there will be final answers given at the end of the book or at least more information that will lead to answers. That doesn't end up being the case. It felt odd to have that much detail without resolution, even though the case was relevant to the main character. It would make more sense if it was set up for a sequel.

A couple of important characters were mentioned at the beginning of the book and then dropped off-never to be brought up again, even though 1.) They're significant characters, and 2.) Their extended family members play significant roles throughout the book as well. I was left wondering what their take on the situation was and if the one undergoing treatment for cancer was able to beat the cancer or if he died. Again, perhaps there will be a sequel that will answer those questions.

Lastly, it seemed like Ben was able to come to conclusions pretty quickly that would have been a bit of a leap given the evidence/information at hand. Some of the conclusions drawn were very specific and not something that could have normally been deduced based on what knowledge was at hand.

Overall, I would recommend this book! It was entertaining and had unique perspectives on situations. The LGBTQ+ addition was refreshing in this genre!

And There He Kept Her was a suspenseful thriller. I believe this was the authors debut and he did a grand job. Fast paced with nail biting suspense. The whole story was well developed and intriguing. The author kept me involved with each and every character. I saw long stretches of humanity, love and deep rooted evil. I read and listened to this and the audiobook was narrated by Linda Jones. She was a fine choice and I highly recommend this novel.
If you love a solid suspense thriller then you’ll enjoy this one.
Thanks Dreamscape Media and Poison Pen Press via Netgalley.

I was quite captivated by this police procedural, it's a reverse whodunnit--we know the identity of the bad guy(s) from the beginning and the book is about the police figuring everything out.

Two teens break into Emmett Burr's home to steal prescription drugs. The male is killed right away and the female is taken captive. We come to realize quickly that this isn't the first time Emmett has held a woman in his basement room. Police detective Ben Packard has recently moved to the small town of Sandy Lake, the place where his brother went missing many years before. As he begins to search for the missing teens he is wrestling with his own issues.

I really liked Packard and his character was one of the reasons I rated this book so highly. I love that it seems to be part of a new series because there are a few threads left unresolved, particularly with the case of his brother's disappearance. I appreciated the character development and the fact that he's a gay man looking for romance, which is unusual in a police procedural.

I listened to this as an audiobook and thought that the choice of Linda Jones as the narrator was a bit odd, considering the book is from the points of view of Ben and Emmett. Although Jones is a stellar narrator, I think a male voice would have been a better fit. I was still fully engaged throughout and had a difficult time setting the book aside, so overall it's not too big of an issue.

A solid four stars from me for this interesting story, can't wait to read more about Ben Packard and Sandy Lake.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3!

A very middle of the road read - I didn't dislike it but I didn't overly enjoy it either. I feel like this one kind of falls into a gray area of genres, it's not necessarily a mystery because you know almost immediately who has done what and where they are, and it's REALLY not a thriller as it is very, very slow paced and did not have any kind of twists or reveals.

The writing was done well and I will definitely pick up more from this author, but this one just didn't really do it for me. I really enjoyed the multiple POV and chapters from the perspective of the captive and her captor, but did not so much enjoy the chapters from the perspective of the sheriffs deputy. Unfortunately though most of the chapters were from the deputy's POV, so this really kind of took me out of the story. Also doesn't help that I'm not a huge fan of police procedurals that are very slow-paced, but that's my own fault for going in more blind so this didn't affect my overall rating.

I've seen high reviews for this one from some of my friends on goodreads, so if the premise sounds good to you and you enjoy slower burn police procedurals where they slowly put together all of the pieces we already know as readers - then give this one a try! Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my audiobook copy for review.

⛓ B O O K • R E V I E W ⛓
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Title: And There He Kept Her
Author: Joshua Moehling
Rating: 3/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Wow I really feel like a downer recently because I really haven't been rating a bunch of my reads that high. Am I finally becoming more critical of my reads or am I just in a pretty bad slump? Hard to tell. Anyway. Unpopular opinion time over here. While this one has some absolutely raving reviews for this debut, this one was just okay for me. 
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And There He Kept Her is a reverse who-dun-it, where we know who the killer is within the first chapter. The story is told in third person POV of both Ben Packard, a cop searching for two missing teenagers, and Emmett Burr, one who has a lot to hide. This story isn't very suspenseful or thrilling and if I am being completely honest, the description of the story is basically in a nutshell what you read in 304 pages. There isn't too much left to the imagination. I really just don't think I am a fan of reverse-who-dun it's. They don't give me that heart racing, adrenalin rush that I look for in books. Also where’s the fun in trying to figure out the killer, when within the first few pages you already know?
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With that being said, I still enjoyed this one, I listened to it on audio while reading along in my physical copy. I did enjoy the backstory of Emmett and Ben. There were great descriptions in this one that transported me into this book and there was definitely a eerie element to this one, there just wasn't enough thrill or suspense for me. The character of Packard is probably the main reason that my star rating is a three, I literally love everything about him, i think he is going to be a great character to continue in a series. I say that as if I KNOW this is going to be a series; I don't, however, I think with the way this one ended (yes, I liked the ending) that we will be seeing more of Ben Packard. The narration in this one was well done, though I wish this was narrated by two different men, to be the voices of Ben and Emmett but overall, I definitely would recommend the audiobook.
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Overall, this one didn't do much for me, though I still liked it. If this does become a series, I will most definitely be grabbing the next book to see where the story takes us. Again, let it be known. I did like this book, I cannot rave about it; though there are plenty of rave reviews on this platform that you can look up. A huge thank you to netgalley and dreamscape media for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. And There He Kept Her was just released on 6/14, be sure to grab your copy today!
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Are you a reverse who-dun-it fan?
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#netgalley #netgalleyaudiobook #dreamscapemedia #reversewhodunit #notahugefanofreversewhodunit #thedescriptiongavethebookaway #notaravereview #verydescriptive #transportedintothestory #eerieelements #obsessedwithbenpackard #antherehekepther #joshuamoehling

I only read 25% of this one but just didn’t want to keep going. All of it up to this point has been dark and depressing and I just did not want to hear any more about the creepy old man. Sorry, but this “thriller” was not working for me.

My thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to read this audiobook copy of And There He Kept Her.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling.

When two teenagers break into an old man's house, they have no idea what they are getting themselves into, and how hard that man will fight to protect some old secrets that he holds.

Ben Packard is a cop in a small town keeping a big secret. But really what he needs is a fresh start and a lot of distractions. That's exactly what he finds when two teenagers go missing without a trace. But will this case be the one that runs him out of town?

Ooof, this is a doozy, and a lot of fun. I listened to it on a road trip and it had me on the edge of my seat! The character development is complex and very well done. I loved the suspenseful story, without it being overdone or hokey. I liked how human the author kept the characters, even the bad guys. Great read!

There's very, very little action in this book, which is not what I expect from a thriller. Most of the book is actually spent with the sheriff, Ben Packard - more than the old man and the girl. The chapters sort of rotate back and forth, and the chapters featuring Ben really make the tension from the old man's house seem a lot less important.

This was a solid procedural novel - but not really a thriller. It focuses on a solid investigation that Ben leads in trying to trace Jesse's drug dealing network and figure out exactly where he went. This has small-town mystery vibes which should work for a lot of readers.

This book had some serious creepy moments that had me pausing before continuing. I seriously enjoyed the idea of a retired old man who has gotten away with so much having it all on the line because of a break in.

Though this is just one of the main storylines we follow, I found myself with unanswered questions about this man’s background and hoping for flashbacks when it came to this past he doesn’t want exposed. Emmett Burr was still a very fun and creepy villain but he’s not counting on this thief being brave, smart and even charming when needed to survive.

We also follow Ben Packard, new sheriff deputy back in town. I honestly thought his story had a very slow start but I think it worked very well. He was written in such a way I found myself believing he existed and that I would know more about him in more books to come. (A series, please?) To not give away too much about his life before moving here, I think his character is a very important one to have and hopefully someone we see more of.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook. Will for sure keep an eye out for future Joshua Moehling books!

This will be a brief review because this plot didn't connect for me, so I'll try to neutrally give feedback on the writing. The premise of the book is strong and I was intrigued by the concept. The beginning is a quick start and I was invested right away. After that though, it began to move much slower and I just couldn't get into it. In fairness, I read a lot of thrillers and mysteries and if something feels a bit familiar or slow to me, it might not to someone who is more casually reading in this genre. Overall, it's a well-written book and the right length - what holds it at a liked not loved is the slower pace and somewhat predictable turns.

I am so very grateful to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the chance to listen to an advanced copy of this book - I wish it had been a hit for me and I could have provided a more thorough review!

Okay, so this book has 2 ratings for me. My personal rating would be 3.5 stars since I'm seasoned in thrillers and I feel like this one was too simplistic for me. But as a debut novel, it's 5 stars. This is the perfect book for someone who wants to dip their toes into thrillers without getting too overwhelmed.

Meet Ben Packard, the new acting Sheriff in Sandy Lake. I liked Ben from the moment he was first introduced! He is no nonsense, down to business, smart, and gay. I read a lot of mysteries and reading from the perspective of a gay man is a refreshing change in perspective that I thoroughly enjoyed. Ben works well with the locals and his fellow deputies to solve the mystery of two missing teenagers. The story line moved along very quickly. I listened to the audiobook and found I could not listen to this book fast enough. We know right away in the story who the bad guy is, so from there it is just watching Ben and his team work through the details in search of the answers. As the reader I knew where he should look and found myself cheering him on as he moved closer to finding the right answers. I enjoyed the process and the way the book concluded. It would be awesome to see another Ben Packard book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook version of this book in exchange for my honest review. The narrator did a fantastic job with all of the characters.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC of And There He Kept Her.

I had such high expectations for this book but about a third of the way through it felt a little disjointed and honestly bored me I wanted to DNF this book but I kept going. However, I could not connect with any of the characters, parts of the story made NO sense and there was a real lack of believability. For example, the detective talking about adopting a dog in the middle of an intense high profile investigation just didn’t make sense to me. This book was just not for me. Interesting concept but failed on delivery.

Thrilling story that did a good job at keeping me guessing. We know what happened but there’s still an ambiance about how it will end

I didn't realize it was an audiobook at first which are really hard for me. Made it very hard to get into and I can't be certain if it seemed meh and slow, and got to be a very average procedural type book because of the audio, but I dont think so the story is what it is and didn't work for d

I enjoyed reading/listening to the first book in what I hope will be a continuing #crimefiction series featuring a gay small town Deputy Sheriff Ben Packard.

We get a small glimpse into the past that still haunts Packard which made him return to his home town of Sandy Lake, Minnesota where he is an acting Sheriff. But the main focus of this book is Packard solving the case of two missing teenagers. We watch as Packard pieces the evidence together throughout the book in a race against time to find the teens.

This book is told by an omniscient narrator from the POV of Packard and Emmett Burr the man responsible for their disappearance.

I liked how the author went hard on the description of Emmett Burr. Everything about him from the way he looks, the food he eats, his hovel mold filled home and his personal hygiene is repellent. It helped bring the "creepy" factor to this book.

Along the way we are introduced to a few of the towns quirky residents with shady pasts of their own who will no doubt be featured in future books in the series.

Overall this was a solid debut crime fiction #thriller that introduced us to the enigmatic Sheiff Deputy Ben Packard. I can't wait to see even more of his personal life and love in future books. I also love the #queerrepresentation in this book and I look forward to even more #diversity🤞🏾(#BIPOC folks please )in the series.

4 stars. And There He Kept Her is a solid addition to the police investigation/murder mystery genre. I was impressed by the author's attention to detail - the characters and setting are well fleshed out. The bad guys are bad, but not one dimensional. The small town and its inhabitants are completely realistic and imaginable. The story is not so much a mystery as a "when will the cops figure it out" since the story is told from both the protagonist's and the villain's perspectives, but it was no less engaging for that - I was hooked by both sides. Nice LGBTQ+ representation. The ending sets up a second book nicely, and I hope that's the case. I'd love this to be a series.

Two teens sneak into the basement of an old man’s home in the middle of the night to find themselves stuck in a horrible nightmare. Now, one of them is dead and the other is being held in a hidden basement room that is set up for just that.. Keeping prisoners.

From the prologue of the book, I really thought this was going to be a fast paced thriller that bordered on disturbing. I was hooked right away, but it quickly turned into a very slow police procedural that digs deep into the character development.

Being from Minnesota, I did enjoy the setting and the many references to various places around the state that I am familiar with. Beyond that, I wanted to like this book more than I did. I kept waiting for a big twist or for it to turn into something more plot driven. However, it just did not become something gripping for me. It was enjoyable, and I needed to finish it to see how it would all play out, but it just wasn’t the edge of your seat I had anticipated.