Beneath a Broken Sky

Tornados are scary enough, but when you throw murder into the mix, things become downright terrifying. Detective Ben Packard is investigating the murder of a woman in her home who was upset that the local school was doing nothing to protect her gay son from being bullied. On top of the investigation hitting too close to home for Packard, a blast from his past arrives in the form of the sister of Marcus, a man he used to date.

I have enjoyed the Ben Packard series since the very beginning. I enjoy the author’s take on a small-town life paired with Ben Packard being a gay detective trying to make a name for himself while protecting his new community.

Beneath a Broken Sky was atmospheric, tense, and brimming with dread. As storm chasers’ descent upon the town, so do those looking to fix roofs. This makes for a book full of many characters and more than one murder. Who is taking advantage of the damage done by the storm to do their own damage? How many will come to harm before the case(s) is solved. I always like to try and figure out whodunit, while reading a mystery and could not come up with a viable suspect while reading.

Joshua Moehling provides readers with a bigger look into Packard’s personal life while also having him investigate the murders in town. I always enjoyed his banter with Thielen and was happy to see her in this book. This investigation is not an easy one, and readers watch as Packard investigates clues after clues.

There were some twists, turns, and reveals in this book. There were also, as I mentioned, quite a few characters. I believe I would have enjoyed this book a bit more if there were less characters to keep track of. While this was not my favorite book in the series, I still found it to be enjoyable and look forward to reading more books in the series.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.