By Harry Pinkus
Human Collateral
Detective Thriller
Lakeville Private Detective Miles Darien and his friend journalist Ryan Duffy are hired to locate a missing woman, Olivia Sims. Her Chicago apartment offers a singular clue: a medical bill detailing a number of laboratory tests which left Miles with more questions than answers.
On a second trip to Chicago, Miles and Ryan locate Olivia’s friend and co-worker, Janine, who takes them to see her. They find Olivia battling a massive infection, the result of an amateurish surgical procedure to remove a kidney. She had been in seemingly insurmountable financial trouble and had turned to a loan shark for money. This loan sharking operation required their clients to pledge body parts, suitable for transplanting, as collateral for loans. When Olivia was unable to repay her loan, she was forced to surrender her kidney.
The heart of the story is how Miles and Ryan, with the help of the FBI, attempt to thwart the attempt of the criminals to silence Olivia and preserve their illegal enterprise. Their actions result in a dramatic showdown with the mastermind of the loan sharking operation.
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5-Star Review of Human Collateral by Jennifer Ibiam for Readers’ Favorite.
All Ryan wanted was a break from his journalist job and a holiday at his best friend’s home. But the vacation turned into the biggest
adventure of his life. Ryan’s best friend was Miles, a P. I. extraordinaire who gained fame by bringing down a corrupt political
party. His feat brought in a client named Mrs. Cora Sims, who wanted to find her daughter Olivia. Cora knew Olivia was missing
when she received an impoundment notification of the car she had loaned her daughter. Ryan teamed up with Miles for a job that
seemed like a simple investigation. However, the case degenerated into hunting down a ring of loan sharks cum organ traffickers. They
took Olivia’s kidney and now wanted hers and Miles’ lives. Who goes down first? Find out in Human Collateral by Harry Pinkus.
How far would you go to raise money for your passions? Human Collateral by Harry Pinkus was a riveting tale of cheating death,
crimes, showing kindness, giving hope, near losses, and finding love. This novel would appeal to those who enjoy lighthearted
stories with some action. I loved everything about Human Collateral, from the even pace to the storyline and development.
Organ trafficking is a pandemic, and the illegal market is expanding. While some people deliberately sold their organs, others
did so through deception and coercion. Pinkus sheds light on this issue in the most captivating way. I loved the characters as they
were impressive. George, Ryan, Jim, Olivia, Audrey, and even Molly were appealing. I also loved the relationship between Bobbie and
Miles. If only all landlord-tenant relationships were that great.
Thank you for a beautiful book.
Review of Human Collateral by Thomas Anderson, Editor In Chief, Literary Titan.
When a young woman goes missing it’s up to two lifelong friends, Miles Darien and Ryan Duffy, to get to the bottom of things. When Miles starts his PI service in Lakeville, he didn’t anticipate a desperate mother to come knocking at his door. Cora Sims asks Miles to find her missing daughter, Olivia, after she up and leaves one day to start a new life in the big city of Chicago. With the help of his best friend, Ryan, Miles tracks down Olivia and undercovers a loan-shark organization that asks for organs as collateral. A penniless Olivia doesn’t realize how dangerous her situation is until it’s too late. In Harry Pinkus’ thriller novel: Human Collateral characters dodge bullets left and right, but will everyone make it out alive?
Author Harry Pinkus has written a riveting crime fiction story that is clear, concise and to the point. There is not a single plot structure or character that doesn’t fit in the story. The book is realistic when it comes to the political chain of command and police procedures. Even though Miles notes how the FBI blocks him from their investigation, he’s not trying to step on anyone’s toes or override police procedures to get the information he’s looking for. Generally, in murder mysteries, you have the noisy detective who jumps through loopholes to get to the bottom of things, not caring who they have to step over to find their killer. Not Miles though, he respects the police force and doesn’t push the investigation. Even though, as a reader, I wanted more information to help find the killer, I respect Miles for not bulldozing through the chain of command and letting the FBI do what they do best.
This is a realistic police procedural that puts the facts over the need for thrills. We follow the investigation with few surprises due to the methodical method with which everything is provided. Miles and Ryan’s day-to-day life is one that readers can understand, if not relate to, because of how grounded they are. Every character in this story has a very polite air about them. Their conversations reflect this and everyone has the same cordial sensibility.
Human Collateral is a compelling mystery novel that takes readers into the trenches of the private investigator world and tells a crime fiction story that feels realistic while still being interesting. If you are a reader looking for a meticulous who-dun-it that takes a pragmatic approach to solving a heinous crime, then this will certainly entertain you.
4/5
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