And There He Kept Her - Joshua Moehling

Thriller

Rating: 7.5/10

When two misguided teenagers break into a house in search of some prescription drugs, they figure that the sick old man living there is too fragile to even register their presence. Dumbass move would be an appropriate description here. 

In the blink of an eye, they find themselves in the middle of a nightmare and sick doesn’t begin to describe what they blunder upon in that house. Dark and disturbing secrets are to be found in the crevices there.

Full disclosure readers, the thriller part of this story was at times unsavory, but I stuck with it for the complex protagonist at the center of it. Ben is a deputy sheriff who has moved to a small town after a tragedy rocks his world. I love an eerie small-town narrative, rich with furtive behavior and morally ambiguous characters. And it’s in these places where that saying, you never really know your neighbours, comes to life.

Kudos to the author for taking a potentially icky premise and burrowing in just enough to keep the pace moving and not enough to make the squeamish put the book down. Ensuring that the reader was both engrossed and invested.

Thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author for the advanced readers copy.

Book Pairing(s): Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter, Still Missing by Chevy Stevens, Sadie by Courtney Summers