A Long Time Gone

Series: Ben Packard #3

By: Joshua Moehling

ISBN: 978-1728279008

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Publication Date: 2/04/2025

Format: Other

My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)

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It's time to put the past to rest…

Ben Packard was just a boy when his older brother disappeared. Ben watched him walk out the back door of their grandparents' house and into the cold night.

His brother was never seen again.

Decades later, Deputy Packard finds himself with too much time on his hands. A shooting has him on leave and under investigation, and all he can do is dwell on the past. For the first time in years, new information about his brother has surfaced that may lead them to the location of a body.

The midwinter ground is frozen solid. Worse, Packard is cut off from department resources. As he strikes out to finally uncover the truth behind his brother's disappearance, he stumbles on a separate, suspicious death. A tenuous connection exists between the two cases, and as Packard starts to dig, he meets fierce resistance from friends and foes alike who want him to stand down.

The winter is long and cold. By the end of it, Packard will risk everything to catch a killer and reveal the shocking truth about his brother.

Buy the Book

BEN PACKARD SERIES

My Reviews:

A LONG TIME GONE #3

WHERE THE DEAD SLEEP #2

AND THERE HE KEPT HER #1

Praise

"In the dark, icy heart of a Minnesota winter, Deputy Packard, a smart and courageous gay cop, embarks on a mission to uncover the truth about his brother's disappearance. A Long Time Gone is an atmospheric, gripping, and emotional mystery about the intersections of family, memory, grief, and healing. Joshua Moehling's novel dives headfirst into the raw pain of the past, the dangers of today, and the ghosts who haunt us from within."

― Margot Douaihy, bestselling author of Scorched Grace and Blessed Water

"A big thriller with an even bigger heart! Moehling deftly weaves together a riveting present day crime with closely held family secrets and sins of decades past, proving once again that the most compelling thrillers are written about the ones we love but fear we will never truly know."

― Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Still See You Everywhere

"On top of being everything you could want in a mystery―riveting, layered, unfolding in surprising yet inevitable ways―A Long Time Gone is a gorgeous story of loss and redemption that broke my heart, then put it back together. It’s been a long time since I’ve loved a character like I love Ben Packard, with his deadpan humor and warm heart. Moehling is a literary star with a gift for observing and conveying humanity, and he’s written a mystery of the highest order."

― Ashley Winstead, author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour

"With A Long Time Gone, Joshua Moehling returns with the highly anticipated, hard-hitting third installment of his beloved Deputy Ben Packard series. Moehling has once again penned a thoroughly engrossing police procedural with all the trimmings: intrigue, suspense, memorable characters, shining prose, and an ending that is equal parts heart-stopping and heart-tugging. A Long Time Gone firmly secures Moehling’s place as the newest tour de force in the thriller genre."

― Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest and Everyone Is Watching

About the Author

Joshua Moehling is the author of the Ben Packard series. The first book, AND THERE HE KEPT HER, was a Barnes & Noble monthly Mystery/Thriller pick and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ+ Mystery. His second novel, WHERE THE DEAD SLEEP, was described as “a well-paced whodunit” and “devastating” by The New York Times. Joshua lives in Minneapolis and works in the medical device industry. WEBSITE