"And There He Kept Her plays out like something on TV, resembling Yellowstone in its small-town setting and larger-than-life drama set against captivatingly detailed scenery...And There He Kept Her is a great opportunity to get into a new detective series at the ground level. Especially if you like the idea of the hardboiled detective novel but prefer your stories set in modern times with light touches of current social issues. Moehling’s is a strong debut." — Associated Press
"Whether Acting Sheriff Ben Packard turns out to be the hero of his own life, or whether 'that station will be held by anybody else,' I don’t care. I’m all in with him. " — Minneapolis Star Tribune
Lambda Literary Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+ Literature, June 2022
"Readers will find this book especially well written and polished…And There He Kept Her exploits the rich terrain of a small town where an overactive grapevine thrives and seemingly everyone conceals a secret." — Mystery Scene Magazine
"A book that begins with a shotgun blast can rarely be described as delightful, but that’s the case for Joshua Moehling’s And There He Kept Her. Vivid characters and a sharp sense of place prevent this debut novel from being your average small-town puzzler." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"The characterizations are sharply drawn, with a keen eye for humorous details and dialog. At the heart of all this, of course, is the hard-working, intelligent and deeply conflicted Ben Packard… Following along as [he] comes to terms with both his identity and his grief is almost as gripping as the suspenseful abduction plot, and certainly as entertaining." — Criminal Element
"Fans of Sue Grafton are going to love And There He Kept Her. Compulsively readable, Josh Moehling has crafted a dark and complex mystery that will consume you, starring a protagonist who is equal parts quirky Milhone and steady Gamache. In the wake of a tragic loss, sheriff’s deputy Ben Packard has returned to Sandy Lake, hoping to start over with a blank slate. What he finds is a town populated with eccentric characters and its own dark secrets, proving that small town life can still add up to big trouble." — Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight
"Joshua Moehling is a fresh, powerful new voice in crime fiction. His debut novel is a twisted ride with a detective you won’t soon forget. This book isn’t just unputdownable, it’s the definition of the word." — Samantha Downing, international bestselling author of For Your Own Good
"This is a remarkable debut—sharp, suspenseful, and emotionally powerful—sure to appeal to readers of Karin Slaughter and Lisa Gardner." — First Clue, Starred Review
"There’s a terrific new voice in crime fiction and it belongs to Joshua Moehling. And There He Kept Her is a taut, beautifully written thriller reminiscent of Karin Slaughter. A novel with heart, its protagonist, acting Sheriff Ben Packard, is the kind of hero we need today, a man wrestling with his sexual identity as he searches for missing teens in a small Minnesota town guarding secrets of its own." — Jonathan Santlofer, author of The Last Mona Lisa
"When Deputy Sheriff Ben Packard investigates the disappearance of two teenagers in Sandy Lake, Minnesota, he exposes the seamy underbelly of a small American town. And There He Kept Her is a sharp, intense thriller combining a dark plot with a relentless pace. An absorbing, impressive debut." — A. J. Banner, #1 Amazon, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author
"Joshua Moehling has created realistic, extraordinarily complex characters...this is dark, gritty writing at its finest." — Book Reporter
2023 Lammy Award Finalist, Best LGBTQ+ Mystery
