And There He Kept Her
Ratings11
Average rating4.1
"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.
Series
Featured Series
3 primary books#1 in Ben Packard
Ben Packard is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2022 with contributions by Joshua Moehling.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
Rating: 3.25 leaves out of 5Characters: 3/5 Cover: 3/5Story: 2.5/5Writing: 4/5Genre: Fantasy/Historical FictionType: AudiobookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked Liked Loved FavoritedWant to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to listen to this book. This book reminded me A LOT like Don't Breath, but less scary. You got a couple teens go into a house and don't come out. Hell, even to the point where the man who has them has a disability AND they had kidnapped someone before. That wasn't a problem though, it was the unnecessary bits that were in there. One, Ben's sexuality. Don't get me wrong, I do love me a LGBT book but this? I feel like Josh drizzled JUST enough so the book can be included in the tag but there was really no need. It added NOTHING to the story. If anything it was an insult. Secondly, his brother... what was the point of bringing in his deceased brother? We got nothing, but it did seem like it could have another book... yet the book is a stand alone novel.Besides that the story was pretty good, if you two those things out. I wanted to know more and got a smidge of Stockholm Syndrome from it.
Crime fiction is one of my favorite genres. I also love police procedurals. And There He Kept Her is a debut that follows Detective Ben Packard as he puts the clues together to solve the mystery of the missing teens. Overall, a pretty good debut.
One thing I loved is the small town setting. This is one of my favorites to read in mysteries. I also enjoyed the different POVs and the thought process laid out by the author as Detective Packard wades through the murky waters of the townsfolk and their history.
As with some police procedurals, the whodunnit is know from the beginning. I don't mind this at all, but if this is the route the author decides to go, I would hope to be locked in and interested during the entire book. This one was pretty slow and dragged on in some places. It definitely wasn't one I was in a rush to get back to.
However, with that being said, it's a solid debut and looks to be a series. I would definitely read more from this author and recommend this one for fans of this genre. I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
