Joshua Moehling

Acting Sheriff Ben Packard, a former of the Minneapolis PD and a former detective in the Sandy Lake MN PD, is called to the scene of a murder of a member of a disfuctual family member. His early investigation is not short of suspects. His task is complicated by trying to determine who is lying and who is not. Complicating matters is he's asked to run for Sheriff of Shady Lake. Packard does not want the Sheriff's job permanent but wants to remain a detective. In addition to his current investigation Packard wants to solve the death of his brother from years ago in Sandy Lake. I throughly enjoyed this books and will be seeking out the first book in the series.… (more)

Acting Sherriff Ben Packard of Sandy Lake, Minnesota, has his hands full solving the murder of a man who was shot to death in his own bed as well as running for the position of Sheriff after a tragedy leaves the position vacant.

Bill Sanderson’s death is surrounded by a cloud of lies, deception, and family secrets. Bill had gambling debts, was investing in a business venture with a friend, and his personal life was complicated, to say the least, and Ben discovers in the course of the investigation. Who wanted him dead and why? Was it a burglary gone wrong or was the motivation more personal? The narrative follows Ben as he tries to unravel small-town secrets and find the killer all the while trying to navigate the internal politics within his department and people who would rather see him fail at his job.

Joshua Moehling’s Where the Dead Sleep is a well-paced and tightly plotted police procedural. The author does a wonderful job of setting the scene with the small-town secrets, an interesting cast of characters and quite a few surprises along the way. Though not entirely unpredictable, I enjoyed the build-up to the finale. This is the second book in the author’s Ben Packard series. As in And There He Kept Her, I really enjoyed the procedural aspect and liked how the protagonist’s character arc is being developed. In fact, I enjoyed this installment more than the first book in the series. I look forward to the next book in the series, especially for the unraveling of a decades-old mystery from Ben’s past.

Though this book is the second in a series, it would work well as a standalone.

I paired my reading with the audiobooks narrated by Linda Jones, who has done a decent job of voicing most of the characters. I do think, however, the narrator was trying a bit too hard while voicing the Indian character. But I guess that’s more of a personal observation and overall, I did enjoy listening to the audiobook.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy and to Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Two teenagers attempt to break into a senior citizen’s house to steal prescription medication only to be interrupted by the homeowner, Emmett Burr, who is armed and ready to take on the trespassers.

When two teenagers go missing in Sandy Lake, Minnesota, Sheriff's Deputy Ben Packard (acting Sheriff on account of the previous Sheriff’s terminal illness), leads the investigation into their disappearance. The case is also personal on account of one of the teenagers being the daughter of his cousin. As the story progresses, we find out more about Ben's personal life and his family's connection to Sandy Lake including a personal loss from his childhood and the mystery surrounding the same. Secrets from Emmett's past are also gradually revealed. We also get to meet some of the residents of this small town as the police leave no stone unturned in tracing the whereabouts of the two missing teens.

Dark and disturbing, And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling is a well-written debut that I am guessing will be the first in a series. The story is told in the third-person narrative style and switches between Ben’s and Emmett's PoVs. The author successfully weaves in some light-hearted moments in the narrative with the small-town dynamics and an interesting cast of characters among whom are two neighbors who require police intervention to resolve their feuds! The author does touch upon some important themes- substance abuse among schoolchildren, seniors’ safety, kidnapping and sexual abuse and some of the scenes are more than a bit disturbing. Having said that, I do not consider this book to be a “thriller” in the true sense of the term. Yes, crimes are committed – as sick and disgusting as one may imagine, but the reader knows mostly everything from the get-go - where the missing teenagers are, what happened to them and who is responsible! So all we have to do is follow the police as they uncover the “mystery”- no twists, no shocking reveals and therefore nothing much that makes this book stand out. The police procedural angle was well executed and the Deputy Sheriff’s trials and tribulations in navigating through his not-so-competent department, the gossip mill and speculation about his personal life while dealing with his own personal tragedies made for an interesting story.

While I enjoyed the read and truly liked the main character, I can’t say that this had me on the edge of my seat or rapidly turning pages to find out what happens at the end . Thus for me, though this is a well-written book I cannot give it more than an average rating.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the DRC of this novel. All opinions expressed here are my own.… (more)