It’s a rare book that makes me slow down reading, so I won’t  finish it too quickly. That’s what happened a third of the way  through A LONG TIME GONE.  Ben Packard, former Sheriff, is now  a Deputy in snowbound Sandy Lake, northern Minnesota. This  police procedural, combined with a personal journey, is book three  in the series, and I had not read the earlier ones.   Demoted to court security work but determined to behave with  diligence and integrity, Ben is on duty when a courthouse  shooting occurs, and he is put on administrative leave. He’s  still a deputy, just not assigned. Ben’s mom, Pam, accompanies  him to visit the family’s former lakeside home. Those days, it  was just where people lived; now it’s worth big money. The  lady they sold the house to turns out to have passed away, a  few months ago, at a good age, after a Memorial Day barbecue  party with neighbours. She fell down the cellar steps in her  home. Ben’s former home. He can’t really articulate why he  feels something is wrong. Maybe it's because visiting  reawakened memories of Nick, his teenage brother, who vanished  into the snow one night at the lakeside. His body was never  found.   The elderly lady Louise Larsen was skimpily investigated,  since the cause of death seemed clear, by Deputy Howard  Shepard. Howard is now the Sheriff. His wealthy backer is Jim  Wolf, a somewhat predatory land investor, and I had a chuckle  at a Wolf putting a Shepard in charge. Ben lost the election  but still knows more about the job and tactfully suggests  things from time to time. The former Sheriff, Stan Shaw, left  some cold case files, and Ben pulls out for review the case of  his brother. While pursuing that trail, which starts at the  lake house now owned by the estate of Louise Larsen, Ben keeps  finding clues that Louise did not die naturally.   The category of police procedural is firmly adhered to, with  evidence carefully preserved and written up, as Ben digs up  corruption in Sandy Lake and beyond. This man thinks his way  into empathy with victims of crime, even with some  perpetrators. The story is fully up to date with news events  referenced. Ben’s mother, Pam, is a lovely lady, determined to  do her best for her son, setting him up with nice young men  and telling him to enjoy life; he works too hard. The deputy  being gay provides an interesting dimension. I also like  seeing Ben caring for his rescue Corgi, Frank, and finding a  missing witness through her spaniel. I had such a good time  with Joshua Moehling’s A LONG TIME GONE. I hope to read the  earlier books and any further stories in the Ben Packard  series.