REVIEW
Beneath a Broken Sky by Joshua Moehling
Ben Packard #4
~ Hot muggy weather, skies filled with wildfire smoke, and a murderer on the loose had me following avidly to find out where this story would take me as I followed Ben while he solved the cases ~ Great addition to the series ~
What I liked:
* Ben Packard: seasoned detective, wise, team player, empathetic, good friend, tenacious, dedicated, persistent, strong, caring, has suffered loss, open minded
* Frank: Ben’s three-legged corgi rescue dog
* The people Ben works with, the way they support one another, their team spirit, and getting to know them better – Suresh (IT), Reynolds (newest detective), and Jill (on maternity leave and good friend of Ben’s)
* Ben’s knowledge of the people in Sandy Lake and his willingness to accept them as they are – his wise counsel to some, encouragement of others, and easy way of getting cooperation/information
* The police procedural aspects of the story
* Meeting Symphony, her relevance to Ben’s past, and the interactions she had with Ben
* Getting a glimpse into Ben’s personal life and finding out a bit more about his past, present, and perhaps future romantic interests – Curious about Kyle and Garrett
* The impact a devastating storm had on the community and how those who follow storms to do repairs played a part in this story
* Learning more about the two groups of men that were staying in town working on the damage to the town and the roles they played in the story – some I felt sorry for…others, not so much
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* Knowing that there will be another book in the series
What I didn’t like: * Who and what I was meant not to like
* The way Sheriff Shepard treated others in his department
Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
BLURB
From award-nominated and USA Today bestselling author Joshua Moehling comes a tense, atmospheric thriller about one detective's search for a mysterious killer in the chaos following a deadly storm… Detective Ben Packard has put down roots in the small town of Sandy Lake. A difficult thing to do; it's a hot, miserable summer, and a tornado has swept through causing irreparable damage. Trees are felled, homes destroyed, and people are desperate. Worse, the storm has also blown in a group of storm chasers with something to hide. Then a woman is killed in her home. The mother of a gay boy and unpopular among the locals for the hell she recently raised at school when the administration refused to punish a group of students who were bullying her son, there's almost too many suspects to count. But to Packard, the case hits close to home. And when someone from his past shows up on his doorstep out of the blue, he realizes he'll have to confront the reality of navigating life as a gay man in a small town bent on tradition, no matter the cost. The heat suffocates. The violence simmers. Before the summer is out, someone else will die.
