Book Review: Where the Dead Sleep ( Ben Packard #2)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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 audiobook 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.