Read by Lewis Arlt and Karissa Vacker

In this gritty, high-stakes thriller perfect for fans of S. A. Cosby and Allen Eskens, Joe Pendergast must go all-in as he grapples with ghosts from his past and present. Sixty-four-year-old Joe has known violence his entire life. For forty years, he's worked as an enforcer for loan shark and close friend Maxie Smith, breaking more than a few bones along the way. When Maxie abruptly fires him, Joe isn't sure where to lay the blame-on Maxie, the man he once considered his brother, or on the early-onset Alzheimer's that made Maxie lose faith in him in the first place. To keep his head above water, he begins to operate a food truck that's barely getting by. Desperate to regain some purpose in his life, Joe makes a life-altering decision: he's going to take down Maxie Smith by any means necessary, once and for all. However, his plan of revenge is sidelined when he meets twenty-two-year-old Paula Jessup, a wise-cracking amateur detective with a few scheming cards up her sleeve, who's on the run from a trafficking ring she's been investigating. The two form an unlikely bond: Paula needs some protection and Joe needs a purpose. With the stakes running high and the clock ticking down-will this gamble pay off? A gritty, high-stakes thriller perfect for fans of S. A. Cosby and Allen Eskens

Mode of access: World Wide Web