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)
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.
REVIEW COMING!
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.
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BEN PACKARD SERIES
My Reviews:
Praise
SheReads Most Anticipated Thrillers of 2025
"The third in Moehling’s Ben Packard series is far and away the best...It’s amazing how Moehling keeps all these narrative balls in the air, but even more amazing is how they eventually come together. For those who love classic mysteries, police procedurals, and family drama."
― First Clue Reviews
"Intense and gripping. Joshua Moehling writes a captivating tale...Despite this being the third book in the series, it works well as a stand-alone, although if you haven’t already read the first two books, you’ll almost certainly want to add them to your reading list."
― Mystery and Suspense Magazine
"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
"Joshua Moehling is a star! This book is the proof of his singular talents: a superb and gripping story with immersive setting and unforgettable characters, all gorgeously structured and beautifully written. Only Moehling can craft such an entertaining page-turner of a mystery, an outsider's tale, with life-changing themes and surprising solutions―A Long Time Gone is ultimately and uniquely heartbreaking, redemptive, and rewarding. Standing ovation."
― Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of One Wrong Word
"An engrossing, multi-layered mystery and deftly crafted police procedural. Moehling's authentic small town drama and vividly drawn characters hooked me from page 1 until the completely satisfying―completely unexpected―conclusion. I can't wait to see what Deputy Packard does next!"
― K.T. Nguyen, author of You Know What You Did
"In his third Ben Packard novel, Joshua Moehling takes us into this protagonist's tragic past, adroitly peeling back the layers of his brother's disappearance thirty years ago. With great skill, he evokes the snow-encrusted terrain and characters in his fictional Minnesota town, Sandy Lake, balancing humor with intense detective work. Above all, Packard, a gay man and member of law enforcement, defies stereotypes of police and gay men; he is a new sort of law enforcement hero, rich with complexity and fresh in his perspective; it's a thrill to follow his journey through this series!"
― John Copenhaver, award-winning author of Hall of Mirrors
"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
"The latest book in the Deputy Ben Packard series delivers everything I’ve come to expect from Joshua Moehling: an intricately plotted and deftly executed story, an empathetic, queer detective who fights to stay connected to his values, beautiful writing, and a Minnesota town with buried secrets. Moehling is a must-read for me and A Long Time Gone is simply unputdownable."
― Hayley Scrivenor, internationally best-selling author of Dirt Creek and Girl Falling
"With a page-turning plot, vividly drawn characters, and a compelling, gay protagonist with a dry, deadpan wit, A Long Time Gone is the kind of book you don’t just read but devour. Set in a Fargo-esque town, Ben Packard investigates a brutal crime while also unravelling the mystery of his brother’s disappearance decades earlier. Sharp, complex and emotionally powerful, I love everything about this series."
― Christina McDonald, USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author of What Lies In Darkness
"A Long Time Gone―unflinching as a Minnesota winter―is equal parts compelling mystery and riveting family drama, and I’d follow its hero, Deputy Ben Packard, anywhere. His relentless pursuit of the truth will keep you hooked from start to finish."
― Jess Lourey, Edgar-nominated author of The Taken Ones
"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
"Ben Packard is one of the best new mystery series on the market and each book just gets better and better. In the third installment, two cold cases intertwine to reveal a suspicious death and the devastating truth about Packard’s past. At turns harrowing and laugh out loud funny, action-packed and deeply personal, A Long Time Gone hits on every level. If you’re not reading Joshua Moehling yet, clear your schedule and start today!"
― Mindy Mejia, USA Today bestselling author of To Catch a Storm and Everything You Want Me To Be
"My first Ben Packard mystery won't be my last. The twin mysteries that haunt this complicated, demoted deputy hooked and held me through its emotional end, so much that I plan to rush back to book one."
― Kelly J. Ford, Anthony-nominated author of Real Bad Things
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