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Synopsis
A mystery thriller from USA Today bestselling author, P.D. Workman that will keep you turning the pages!
There’s been some trouble
That was the understatement of the year. A call from private investigator Zachary Goldman’s older sister puts him on to a murder case, but this time he is trying to help the murderer rather than tracking him down.
From the beginning, Zachary has his own ideas of what happened and is confident that he can gather enough evidence and background information to prove that Luke is not guilty of murder. But Luke is not contributing to his own defense and the facts that Zachary uncovers are not what he was expecting.
Zachary begins to doubt whether he knows the real story after all.
But he is not giving up.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This highly suspenseful tale took me on a roller coaster ride of emotion as I feverishly flipped the pages navigating the plentiful twists and turns in hopeful anticipation of Luke being exonerated. P.D. Workman has once again worked her literary magic to produce another story filled with traumatized “imperfect” people facing daunting challenges and somehow managing to survive, prevail and inspire.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ P.D. Workman expertly weaves her way to the centre of a psychological thriller, combined with fascinating characters and events that will grip you firmly by the imagination throughout, in They Came For Him. Make sure you get it today!
Zachary Goldman, Private Investigator, is flawed with a capital F. Shattered by the tragedies of his own life, he will somehow still manage to pick himself up and dig just a little bit deeper than anyone else to piece together the vital clues and solve the mystery.
Maybe being broken makes it easier for others who have faced tragedy to trust him. Walk with Zachary as he solves cases that will stretch his abilities to the limit.
Even with his own life in shambles, Zachary Goldman is still the one you want on the case.
Looking for a thriller that will keep you up all night and stay with you long after the last page?
Investigate this P.I. Mystery now!
Release date: November 18, 2022
Publisher: pd workman
Print pages: 301
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Behind the book
Author Notes may contain spoilers!
I already knew at the end of She Told a Lie that Luke would be getting in trouble again. That’s the reality. As a long-term addict buried as deep in the trafficking business as he was, he had little chance of getting clean and out of it.
He’s been working hard at it. He’s been through rehab. He’s got Joss, who is as experienced as they get, working in his corner. But I had little doubt that at some point, he would step over the line. And there have been hints at that in the last few books.
You may wonder why Zachary puts up with Joss’s angry and bitter attitude toward him. Of course he feels guilty for what she has gone through, believing that she would not have been trafficked if she hadn’t been put into foster care when he burned the house down. But there’s more to it than that. Even with Joss’s angry jabs, she and Zachary are bonded with each other, she helped to care for him when no one else did, and she is more of a mother figure than his own long-lost mother. There is a special close relationship between them, no matter how angry and irritable Joss acts.
In this book, maybe you will see a little bit of that and Joss’s well-hidden softer side.
Author updates
They Came for Him
P.D. Workman
CHAPTER 1
Zachary’s phone rang as he breakfasted with Kenzie. He knew better than to answer it at dinnertime unless it was an emergency, but he didn’t usually have to worry about it ringing during breakfast, so he wasn’t sure how to handle it. He glanced at Kenzie, who raised her brows questioningly. Zachary decided he’d better at least check to see who it was. It could be Heather, his older sister, calling to let him know that there was a client he needed to deal with urgently. Or it could be Lorne Peterson, his old foster father and long-time friend, who wanted to reach him while Kenzie was still home to invite them over for dinner or let them know something that was going on. It would be rare for a client or anyone else to call him first thing in the morning.
The caller ID was Jocelyn Goldman, his oldest sister.
Zachary’s stomach plummeted. He couldn’t think of any reason Joss would call him so early. The fact was that she never called him at all. He occasionally called her to see how she was doing, ask after Luke, or let her know that he would be in the area and was hoping to stop in for a visit. But Joss kept herself separated from everyone else, not getting close emotionally.
He swiped to answer and held the phone to his ear.
“Joss?”
“There’s been some trouble,” Joss said, bypassing any greeting or small talk.
Zachary swallowed. Had Joss gotten herself into trouble? Or had Luke? Was it something to do with Madison, Luke’s former girlfriend, who Zachary had rescued from human traffickers? Or with Rhys, Zachary’s young Black friend who was romantically interested in Luke? Zachary had been doing his best to keep them apart, but Rhys was a teenager and wasn’t about to be told what to do.
As far as he knew, Joss hadn’t had any contact with her old life and had been staying away from drugs. Still, he had thought the same of Tyrrell, his younger brother, before he had given in to his addiction a few months earlier. Was she the one who was in trouble?
Or was it something completely different? Since Joss kept to herself so much, there could be a hundred things going on that Zachary had no idea of.
He licked dry lips. “What’s wrong?”
Across the table from him, Kenzie had put down her toast and was leaning forward, dark eyes worried, echoing his concern.
“Luke has been arrested.”
Zachary swore under his breath. What had the boy done now? He knew that Joss had been worried about him lately, concerned that he could be tempted back into his old life. It was difficult to leave behind a life of addiction and almost impossible to leave a crime syndicate like the one that Luke had been involved in. Despite the abuses he had suffered at the hands of his bosses in the human trafficking ring, it was easier to be told what to do than to have to make his own decisions. It was easier to be supplied with all of the drugs and money he needed as long as he lured in new teens and brought in more business. The approval of his superiors was almost as strong a drug as the substances he had been addicted to. With long experience in the life herself, Joss had tried to explain to Zachary what a battle it would be to keep Luke not only clean and sober, but away from sex trafficking and the cycle of abuse that he had become accustomed to.
That was beside the fact that Luke had been making the organization a lot of money and they would do whatever they could to get him back if they knew where he was living now.
“What for? Drugs? Or…?”
“I wish that was all it was,” Joss said with a sharp laugh. “If it was only that simple.”
How could it be worse than that?
“It’s murder,” Joss told him baldly. “He’s been charged with murder.”
CHAPTER 2
Murder?” Zachary repeated, his stomach tying itself into even tighter knots.
Kenzie’s eyes widened. For an assistant in the medical examiner’s office, murder was part of her everyday life. It was what had brought them together initially, as Zachary had been investigating the death of Declan Bond. But the deaths that she was involved with were not usually anything to do with anyone they knew.
There was a deep sigh from Joss. “Yeah, murder. You know that’s what I said.” Her tone was irritated. She had probably been up all night. And undoubtedly, she didn’t really want to have to deal with it all. Zachary was encouraged by the fact that she had called him, but wasn’t sure what she needed from him. Just a listening ear? Did she want him to call someone? Suggest a lawyer?
“Do you know what happened?”
“Apparently, he killed a pimp. Someone he knew while he was in the business. Not like they’ll give me any details. I’m not even legally his guardian. But they had to call someone, and better me than child services, since they know nothing about him.” Joss let out another sigh. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about this.”
“What did Luke say about it? Did he explain what happened?”
“He’s not saying anything. Which is probably best because they’ll just use anything he says to convict him.”
“And he didn’t tell you anything either?”
“I haven’t talked to him. They haven’t finished processing him yet, so he can’t see anyone.”
“He’s allowed a phone call. He didn’t want to talk to you? Did he call a lawyer? Public defender?”
“No. He didn’t make a call. The cop who talked to me said that he hasn’t had anything to say. Hasn’t defended himself. Didn’t want a lawyer. You know what’s happened. Obviously, this pimp had contact with this Luke in the past or was trying to pick him up.”
“He’ll probably get a lawyer in time. It’s only the first day. Once he’s had a chance to think about things, to talk to you and figure out what he’s going to do…”
“Can you look into it?”
“What do you want me to do? Talk to the police? They won’t tell me any more than they told you. They probably won’t talk to me at all.”
“No. I want you to find out what happened. Just ask around. Get the scoop from any witnesses.”
Zachary tapped his finger against the table, thinking about it. “Sure… I’ll do what I can to help. But the police won’t want me talking to witnesses right now. They need to do their investigation first. And once Luke has been processed, he’ll probably let you know what happened. He’s just being careful right now. He knows how this works.”
“They’re going to railroad him!” Jocelyn snapped. “A kid like Luke isn’t going to get any sympathy. They’ll say he’s in the business. He killed his pimp. He got into an argument over payment. Luke has got a record; they know exactly what kind of a life he was leading up until you brought him to live with me.”
It wouldn’t look good for Luke. Zachary knew that sex workers went to prison for much less. But he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around what had happened.
“Was Luke back in the business? I know you were worried about him. What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know. I’m not his mom or his babysitter. I don’t always know where he is. I do my best to keep him out of trouble, but he’s old enough to make his own decisions. I can’t physically keep him from doing anything he sets his mind to. And he knows his way around. He doesn’t need me to take him anywhere.”
“I know that. I’m not saying that you should have kept him home or that you did anything wrong. You’ve been doing a great job with Luke. I can’t think of anyone who could have done a better job with him. But you were worried that he might be tempted to get back into the life. The pull of the drugs and the money and positive strokes from the people he used to work for. Or a new boss.”
“He’s been out some nights. Not all the time, and not usually overnight. Just for a few hours. There’s not much by way of entertainment around here. Popcorn and Netflix isn’t exactly exciting for a kid who has been used to partying and the nightlife.”
“So, he’s drinking? Drugging?”
“I don’t know. He says not, but…” Even though they were on the phone, Zachary could see her expressive shrug in his mind’s eye. “Of course that’s what he’s going to say. Any addict who falls off the wagon is going to deny it to start with.”
As Zachary had discovered with Tyrrell. Tyrrell had assured Zachary and Kenzie that he hadn’t started drinking again. Until he’d disappeared on a drunken binge and Zachary had to track him down. He couldn’t exactly deny it anymore at that point.
“But you must have seen the signs. If he was using again.”
“He seemed fine to me. But if he stayed away for long enough to hide the signs… and those nights that he did stay out overnight…”
“Well… I’ll find out what I can, but I don’t know how much that will be. Do you think he’ll talk to me? Once he’s been processed?”
“No. Probably not. Kids are taught not to talk if they get scooped up. If you just keep your mouth shut, the cartel will get you out. Maybe you serve some time, but as long as you don’t talk about anyone else… you can go back again when you are released.”
Zachary made a noise of acknowledgment. His brain was busy, trying to figure out how he could do anything to help Luke. If the police wouldn’t tell him anything, Luke wouldn’t tell him anything, and Luke didn’t even have a lawyer to defend him, how was Zachary supposed to get any information that might be helpful for Joss or Luke?
“I’ll try to get in to talk to him later today or tomorrow,” Joss said, lowering her voice a little, letting up on the anger that Zachary knew hadn’t been aimed at him. “I’ll find out what I can. I’ll try to get him to get a lawyer and tell him to talk to you.” She cleared her throat, but her voice still sounded tight as she went on. “You just had to bring him here, didn’t you? You just had to go and let me get attached to someone. I care about what happens to him. You may think I’m a tough chick who won’t let herself get hurt by anything…” That was certainly the image she tried to project. “But I do care about what happens to Luke.”
“Of course you do,” Zachary reassured her. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
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