Beneath a Broken Sky

• Author: Joshua Moehling
• Genre: Mystery
• Publication Date: May 26, 2026
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Series: Ben Packard #4

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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.

I had initially discovered this wonderful series through a NetGalley ARC, and have been a huge fan since the very first book. Book one was gripping and beautifully told, and I loved the idea of a queer detective who left Minneapolis for the shores of Sandy Lake, Minnesota in the wake of a tragedy. He already had ties to Sandy Lake through family vacations, and navigates the politics and prejudices of small-town living. So it was a given that I was going to read this one, even if I didn’t quite get to it before the publication date.

The first thing I noticed was how much the atmosphere contributed to the story. Dealing with the aftermath of serious damage from a severe storm, Sandy Lake is also facing an especially hot summer, and smoke from Canadian wildfires affects the air quality. The descriptions of the oppressive heat, smoky haze, and storm damage all made this so easy to visualize that the weather practically jumped off the page. I found myself fanning myself while reading, even though I was in an air-conditioned house. Unless you’ve experienced a catastrophic weather event,  it can be hard to imagine what goes through your mind during a hurricane, tornado, derecho, or typhoon. But the impact can last long beyond the storm itself—downed trees and power lines, damage to homes and cars, and it often takes a lot of work to repair damages. 

In this story, we discover that Packard is not immune to the effects of the storm. He’s got a gaping hole in his roof and massive water damage to the home he has been slowly restoring in his free time. Instead, we see how the case got in the way of Packard’s home, and he’s limited in which parts of the home he is able to use. Additionally, he bounces around quite a bit and winds up having to board his dog, Frank, who has become one of my favorite characters, along with Packard himself. A three-legged Corgi that Packard rescued, I loved that he isn’t just a side mention—he’s mentioned in many scenes and Moehling truly captured not only the responsibility that a pet involves, he also perfectly captured the bond that exists between a human and their dog.

There are a lot of moving parts in the story, and I was able to focus and process them easily while reading the ebook, but I’m not sure I would have been able to follow the complexities of the plot, the many twists and turns, and the various subplots that arose.

Aside from the recent homophobic vandalism directed towards a teenager, the murder of his mother in their own home, and Packard working to solve all these mysteries with limited assistance from the sheriff. In addition to that, elements from Packard’s past in Minneapolis come up, one of whom was a major surprise. I really enjoyed seeing how things unfolded with the various people Packard surrounds himself with—Thielen, a coworker who has become a close friend; a cop that he worked with in Minneapolis; and the potential romance that has been building for quite some time with Kyle, a local brewer.

For me, the middle part of the novel moved a little slowly, probably to accommodate all the new characters present in the story. In addition, there are a lot of characters who are new to the story—all the storm damage has attracted various construction crews to the area, including roofers and a tree cutting crew. They do play a major role in the story and how everything works out, but it did leave the cast of characters feeling a bit overcrowded. However, I really enjoyed Darla’s banter with Packard, and the use of humor in the story was wonderful. I especially liked Packard’s interaction with a suspect in the homophobic vandalism case. As an openly gay man in a small-town, he typically lets things roll off his back, but there’s one scene where a character gets under Packard’s skin. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his closing words to the suspect: 

“‘The next time you feel like bullying a f****t [homophobic slur], you come and see me. I’ll beat your ass,’ Packard said, leaning in close enough that he could smell the peppermint flavor of Darrel’s chew and his bad breath behind it. ‘Don’t believe me? F**k around and find out. I dare you.’”

The humor added a bit of levity to the serious events occurring in Sandy Lake, and chapters were told from Packard’s perspective, but also that of a transient alcoholic worker on a roof crew named Charlie. I thought both perspectives were done really well. Charlie really does embody someone with advanced alcoholism with his thoughts and behaviors, and I always love seeing Packard’s chapters. Charlie also provides as much background as he knows or uncovers about the other men on the crew.

Overall, this was an outstanding addition to the series, even if it was a touch slow in the middle section. It dealt with some difficult topics, like homophobia, immigration, small town-politics, and addiction, along with the checkered pasts of some of the transient workers. This gave the feeling that everyone had a secret to hide, including people in the town. Charlie’s chapters give us insight into the crew, even if it was difficult to figure out who was really responsible for the murder. There were some plot twists that I saw coming, but for the most part I found myself relatively surprised and genuinely excited to see what would happen next. An atmospheric read, this was done really well, even if it was a bit unevenly paced and a little crowded with characters. It still made me thrilled to step into the world of Sandy Lake again, and I’m already eagerly anticipating the next book.

Bottom line: A great addition to the series, this one is chock full of subplots and suspicious characters, with a little humor to lighten the heavy mood of the mystery. 

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through my links.