Book Review: And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐

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.