And There He Kept Her: A Novel

Joshua Moehling

Jun 2022 · Ben Packard Book 1 · Sourcebooks, Inc.

About this ebook

"A dark and complex mystery that will consume you."—Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight

They thought he was a helpless old man. They were wrong.

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. As he gets the upper hand on his tormentors, the lines blur between victim, abuser, and protector.

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.

Unrelentingly suspenseful and written with a piercing gaze into the dark depths of the human soul, And There He Kept Her is a thrilling page-turner that introduces readers to a complicated new hero and forces us to consider the true nature of evil.

Follow Acting Deputy Sheriff Ben Packard back into Minnesota's North Country August 15th with Where the Dead Sleep.

Ratings and reviews

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 f

And There He Kept Her is a beautifully written dark story and shows a very, very promising new author, one I'll be looking forward to reading again. The story is compelling and thrilling, and the reader feels like the investigation is being done in front of him, therefore, it's very easy to understand the plot and what's going on. As the hidden secrets are being revealed and the truth is being exposed my hair started to rise, I'll certainly remember this story for quite a while!

This was a very enjoyable thriller. I couldn’t put it down and I can’t believe that it was a debut novel. There was a lot of twist and turns and suspense. I hope there is more coming by this author. I received a complimentary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

About the author

JOSHUA MOEHLING is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ben Packard series. The first book, And There He Kept Her was a Barnes & Noble monthly Mystery/Thriller pick and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ+ Mystery. His second novel, Where the Dead Sleep, was described as “a well-paced whodunit” and “devastating” by The New York Times. Joshua lives in Minneapolis.