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Kenzie Kirsch Medical Thriller #1
Unlawful Harvest
When an Urban Legend becomes the truth
Kenzie Kirsch had led a sheltered life; daughter of a wealthy lobbyist, her way had been paved for her, and she wasn’t really required to do much in life. There were events to make an appearance at, boards to sit on, fundraisers to support, but she could pick and choose what she wanted to do and how busy she wanted to be.
When she set out to find out why her sister Amanda was so ill, she had no idea where her amateur investigation would take her. Amanda’s illness had never been discussed. Amanda deserved her privacy.
As Kenzie’s questions take her deeper and deeper into the murky world of transplant tourism, Kenzie starts to wonder just what her parents have been covering up, and who else’s life might hang in the balance.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 20, 2019
About the author
P.D. Workman
242 books502 followersAward-winning Canadian author P.D. Workman has written over a hundred addictive page-turners featuring diverse and divergent sleuths, high-stakes investigations, and stories that linger long after the last page. Her books dive deep into characters’ minds while exploring timely social issues through fast-paced, emotionally charged plots. Readers praise her work for its powerful emotional truth combined with unputdownable suspense.
Shunning sleep, when Workman is not writing, formatting, or marketing, she’s probably running, reading, or spending time with her family.
Check out her catalogue at pdworkman.com to start your next page-turner and sign up for news and special deals.
Shunning sleep, when Workman is not writing, formatting, or marketing, she’s probably running, reading, or spending time with her family.
Check out her catalogue at pdworkman.com to start your next page-turner and sign up for news and special deals.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
June 8, 2019
Absolutely fabulous as always. Trying to find out what her sister’s illness is, doesn’t seem to prove to be easy to find. Having an easy life, for Kenzie, isn’t always what it seems. Couldn’t put the book down.
July 8, 2020
A socialite interrupts her life of social functions and casual hook-ups to investigate the circumstances surrounding her younger sister's death. The sister was a recipient of a foreign kidney transplant and had been plagued with symptoms subsequently. Kenzie was not informed of the operation and was perturbed about the secrecy. When the sister dies of complications from malaria, Kenzie investigates and is troubled both by what she finds and the reaction of her family to her investigation.
I didn't care much for this book. it is really an info dump about human trafficking and improper organ donation. Fair enough but a dull, suspense free story. Kenzie is not interesting. She is more concerned about her booty calls than anything else. There is no satisfactory resolution to the murdered P.I., the evil doctor, or follow-up on the other transplant recipient. The only thing that seemed to matter is that the trust fund baby found some direction for her rudderless life of privilege. Bah.
I didn't care much for this book. it is really an info dump about human trafficking and improper organ donation. Fair enough but a dull, suspense free story. Kenzie is not interesting. She is more concerned about her booty calls than anything else. There is no satisfactory resolution to the murdered P.I., the evil doctor, or follow-up on the other transplant recipient. The only thing that seemed to matter is that the trust fund baby found some direction for her rudderless life of privilege. Bah.
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November 21, 2021Interested in finding out Kenzie Kirsche's backstory? Unlawful Harvest gives you the origin story for this Medical Examiner's assistant from the Zachary Goldman Mysteries and Kenzie Kirsch Medical Thrillers.
May 5, 2019
Do No Harm by Collected Authors is a box set. This book will be / is released originally as part of the box set.
Which side of the organ transplant are you on?
P D Workman has done it again. she has managed to write a book that will push your buttons. If it doesn't then you need to take a another look.
How far will you go to get the transplant you need? Would you go to another country and use a questionable organ? How was it obtain? What diseases was it exposed to?
Do the organizations that are in charge, really tell us the truth about how organs are obtained? These are all involved in the book.
This is my honest and freely given review. I did receive an ARC book.
Which side of the organ transplant are you on?
P D Workman has done it again. she has managed to write a book that will push your buttons. If it doesn't then you need to take a another look.
How far will you go to get the transplant you need? Would you go to another country and use a questionable organ? How was it obtain? What diseases was it exposed to?
Do the organizations that are in charge, really tell us the truth about how organs are obtained? These are all involved in the book.
This is my honest and freely given review. I did receive an ARC book.
November 9, 2021
This is a brilliant read! It pulled me in from beginning to end and held my attention. The world building is detailed and imaginative. This novel has strong, well developed characters and an interesting story line that keeps you turning the pages. I recommend this novel and would read more novels by this author. I gave this honest, voluntary review after being given a free copy of the novel.
October 16, 2021
UNLAWFUL HARVEST is the first book in the A KENZIE KIRSCH MEDICAL THRILLER series. It's connected to the ZACHARY GOLDMAN MYSTERIES series, of which I've read a few, and it gives a lot of background information on how they met and how she got into the medical field. There are a lot of twists and turns to the story as well as medical jargon, especially how it relates to transplants, and it held my interest from the first page to the last.
While it can be read as a standalone it did fill in some of the blanks for me. I liked Kenzie's relationship with her younger sister but not her parents. They were both very narcissistic and they always put themselves first. There were a lot of family secrets that were withheld from Kenzie and it made their family very dysfunctional. People were not always as they seemed in the story and it left a sour taste.
There are family and friends, scandals, private investigators, security, police, investigations, amateur sleuthing that upset a lot of people, protectors, crimes committed, tears, anger, sadness, fear, injuries and deaths. There are a lot of clues being presented of who's involved in some of the coverups and crimes. There is closure that brought more sadness. I look forward to reading more in this series as well as others written by Ms. Workman.
If you like mysteries with some real life situations, give her books a try.
While it can be read as a standalone it did fill in some of the blanks for me. I liked Kenzie's relationship with her younger sister but not her parents. They were both very narcissistic and they always put themselves first. There were a lot of family secrets that were withheld from Kenzie and it made their family very dysfunctional. People were not always as they seemed in the story and it left a sour taste.
There are family and friends, scandals, private investigators, security, police, investigations, amateur sleuthing that upset a lot of people, protectors, crimes committed, tears, anger, sadness, fear, injuries and deaths. There are a lot of clues being presented of who's involved in some of the coverups and crimes. There is closure that brought more sadness. I look forward to reading more in this series as well as others written by Ms. Workman.
If you like mysteries with some real life situations, give her books a try.
July 17, 2020
Unlawful Harvest was part of an anthology under the book, Do No Harm, that had 17 medical mysteries. This was a frightening thriller that brought forward the horror of transplants in foreign countries. How safe is it? Do other countries have a system like the USA?
Kenzie Kirsch, in good health, is the daughter of a rich family in politics who lives the life of luxury. Her sister is not as lucky being ill from a young child with a kidney disease. What Kenzie doesn’t know about her sister’s illness and sudden death spurns her on to investigate. Why did her parents not tell her about Amanda’s body rejecting Kenzie’s donated kidney? Why did they have to go to a foreign country for some kind of surgery? What Kenzie finds out with the help of a PI makes her distrust her parents’ decision that may have put her sister’s life in jeopardy. Who can she trust to find out the truth? What could she have done to stop it?
The mystery kept this reader involved as the possible suspects grew. This was an enjoyable medical thriller that brought forward all the horrors of illegal transplants. The author did a nice job with the story line and character building. I look forward to more in this series.
Kenzie Kirsch, in good health, is the daughter of a rich family in politics who lives the life of luxury. Her sister is not as lucky being ill from a young child with a kidney disease. What Kenzie doesn’t know about her sister’s illness and sudden death spurns her on to investigate. Why did her parents not tell her about Amanda’s body rejecting Kenzie’s donated kidney? Why did they have to go to a foreign country for some kind of surgery? What Kenzie finds out with the help of a PI makes her distrust her parents’ decision that may have put her sister’s life in jeopardy. Who can she trust to find out the truth? What could she have done to stop it?
The mystery kept this reader involved as the possible suspects grew. This was an enjoyable medical thriller that brought forward all the horrors of illegal transplants. The author did a nice job with the story line and character building. I look forward to more in this series.
November 23, 2021
Why did I finish this book?
This could have been a good book but it wasn't. The premise was compelling but the characters were totally vacuous. The women were 60s stereotypes, even though the book seemed to be set in the 1990s or later. They had no jobs or apparent means of support other than family money but we never learned where the money came from or anything about the women. I am amazed to see that there are sequels to this book but I won't be reading them.
This could have been a good book but it wasn't. The premise was compelling but the characters were totally vacuous. The women were 60s stereotypes, even though the book seemed to be set in the 1990s or later. They had no jobs or apparent means of support other than family money but we never learned where the money came from or anything about the women. I am amazed to see that there are sequels to this book but I won't be reading them.
January 18, 2020
Well Unlawful Harvest by PD Workman is different than any of her other series. I enjoy Medical Thrillers as I've been in the medical profession for many years.
I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters. The story line was one that made you think that this stuff is really going on. And that's a sad fact.
Great job.
Cheers
Lynn🇨🇦
I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters. The story line was one that made you think that this stuff is really going on. And that's a sad fact.
Great job.
Cheers
Lynn🇨🇦
July 4, 2019
As usual from this author a very well written book, and this time dealing with very serious matter. To call it a thriller is not right, however, and some of the main characters' reactions don't seem very normal. But the book is well worth a read!
March 28, 2020
Slow starter
It took quite a while to get into the story, but once I did it actually got interesting. I teach English Composition, and one thing that struck me about the story was how it seemed like a research paper with a twist of mystery.
It took quite a while to get into the story, but once I did it actually got interesting. I teach English Composition, and one thing that struck me about the story was how it seemed like a research paper with a twist of mystery.
October 20, 2020
Interesting
I loved this mystery story about organ donation. It was filled with suspense and twists and turns. I learned a lot about transplants and how some companies are illegally harvesting organs. I would highly recommend this book.
I loved this mystery story about organ donation. It was filled with suspense and twists and turns. I learned a lot about transplants and how some companies are illegally harvesting organs. I would highly recommend this book.
August 20, 2021
Workman is a master at taking a social issue and making it both thought-provoking and entertaining. It's a great book, so sad the topic is not something that gets the headlines it deserves.
May 12, 2025
Medical Thriller
MacKenzie has lived her life in fear of her sister's kidney disease. Having donated a kidney to keep Amanda alive, she's filled with dread at Amanda's recent illness. She's even more confused when the doctors keep referring to a recent kidney transplant. After all, Kenzie donated her kidney 7 years ago. As her parents dodge her questions, though, Kenzie starts to worry that she's missing something. When Amanda takes a turn for the worse, Kenzie starts to dig deeper. She doesn't like what she finds.
I loved the premise but wasn't as enthralled by the execution. At times, Kenzie seemed bright as a bulb. Other times, she was just wilfully ignorant. That inconsistency left me a bit cold on her. Overall there were some good twists, but just as many predictable missteps.
MacKenzie has lived her life in fear of her sister's kidney disease. Having donated a kidney to keep Amanda alive, she's filled with dread at Amanda's recent illness. She's even more confused when the doctors keep referring to a recent kidney transplant. After all, Kenzie donated her kidney 7 years ago. As her parents dodge her questions, though, Kenzie starts to worry that she's missing something. When Amanda takes a turn for the worse, Kenzie starts to dig deeper. She doesn't like what she finds.
I loved the premise but wasn't as enthralled by the execution. At times, Kenzie seemed bright as a bulb. Other times, she was just wilfully ignorant. That inconsistency left me a bit cold on her. Overall there were some good twists, but just as many predictable missteps.
August 18, 2023
I was expecting very little from this book as I got it for free on a deal, but I was nicely surprised by an exciting and twisty medical thriller. I was pretty hooked from the start and read this book almost entirely on the beach, once I started I didn’t want to stop.
I enjoyed the amateur investigator theme and actually really liked the romance subplot, even if it was a little short lived.
The book was actually very well researched and the medical and science terms seemed pretty spot on. The papers attached at the end of the book were also a nice touch for anyone looking to do some further reading.
I might have to take a look at some of the sequels in this series because I liked the main character and would definitely read another book involving her!
I enjoyed the amateur investigator theme and actually really liked the romance subplot, even if it was a little short lived.
The book was actually very well researched and the medical and science terms seemed pretty spot on. The papers attached at the end of the book were also a nice touch for anyone looking to do some further reading.
I might have to take a look at some of the sequels in this series because I liked the main character and would definitely read another book involving her!
February 1, 2025
This was a good book and kept my interest, although there were places that it drug a bit and seemed to be just a bit repetitive here and there, but for the most part, it moved along at a good pace. Kenzie is the main character -- a bit different from the "heroines" that I normally read about, so that made her less predictable. She loves her younger sister Amanda dearly and would do anything for her. Amanda has health problems and has had them throughout most of her life, which has caused Kenzie to be very protective of her and always there for her. The story has a few twists and turns and, of course, a villain who you may or may not figure out before the big reveal. I felt like I actually learned a few things about certain health issues that are discussed in the novel.
October 17, 2024
The issue of organ transplants is a complicated one -- too many people needing transplants; too few organs available. Who qualifies and what can you do if you need a transplant and either don't qualify or are far down the list of candidates? This book seeks to address these issues in a really well written, interesting book. Mackenzie Kirsch is a trust fund baby who doesn't have to do anything with her day. Her sister, Amanda, has failed kidneys. Mackenzie was a live donor for her sister's first transplant. When Amanda is hospitalized with inexplicable symptoms, Mackenzie begins to investigate the cause, leading her to some dark places.
January 1, 2020
Eye Opening
Mrs. Workman does her usual masterful job of taking a troubling social issue and making it both entertaining and thought provoking. Read it because it's a great book. Then ponder whether you can do something about the problem it highlights.
Note to Amazon: This was released December 20, yet I have read it before. This is the second time this winter I have borrowed a book (thank you KU), only to discover that it was an older book with a new title. Could you please flag us when this happens: this book was previously published as "old title." Thanks .
Mrs. Workman does her usual masterful job of taking a troubling social issue and making it both entertaining and thought provoking. Read it because it's a great book. Then ponder whether you can do something about the problem it highlights.
Note to Amazon: This was released December 20, yet I have read it before. This is the second time this winter I have borrowed a book (thank you KU), only to discover that it was an older book with a new title. Could you please flag us when this happens: this book was previously published as "old title." Thanks .
December 21, 2021
This one was a slow start & I really wanted to like it but I just didn’t love it. I felt like there were several unanswered questions, loose ends. No follow up on the other donor recipient. For some reason I just didn’t care for Mackenzie throughout the book but by the very end she did manage to do something with herself. I have never read anything else by this author but I would give her another chance seeing as how I do like the medical thriller genre & it might be interesting to see how Makenzie grows.
November 16, 2021
With the death of her sister, MacKenzie Kirsch is left questioning Amanda's illnesses and the medical decisions her parents made to restore her health. Did the very wealthy Kirsch family engage in questionable practices?
Being ultra-squeamish, this was a difficult book to read through. I will take a look at subsequent Kenzie books - this has really whet my appetite to see how her career turns out.
Recommended cautiously - this book covers a very difficult subject.
Being ultra-squeamish, this was a difficult book to read through. I will take a look at subsequent Kenzie books - this has really whet my appetite to see how her career turns out.
Recommended cautiously - this book covers a very difficult subject.
November 17, 2021
An intense story that is excellently written in an easy to read style. Organ transplant is a very contemporary issue with more and more people looking to prolong their lives with this option. This story takes a look at some of the dangers for people wanting to dig deeper into the practice. Kenzie Kirsch is one such person who is unwilling to accept the lies and wants to get some relief from her feelings of grief. Lots of action and great interactions. I enjoyed it very much.
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December 2, 2021Unlawful Harvest (A Kenzie Kirsch Medical Thriller Book 1). I've now read 30 books from author P.D. Workman, this may be the best yet. Extremely well written, the characters well-developed. M mystery/suspense than anything I'v read of her other works. Maybe why that's why I like it so much since I love a good mystery. “I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it.(RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
November 17, 2021
Good
This is a fairly good novel although a predictable plot. It has a slow start, before getting interesting. The ending felt a bit lacking though, it didn't fully tie everything up. I was expecting something more dramatic. Overall I enjoyed the book, but I did skim read some bits that weren't moving the story along.
This is a fairly good novel although a predictable plot. It has a slow start, before getting interesting. The ending felt a bit lacking though, it didn't fully tie everything up. I was expecting something more dramatic. Overall I enjoyed the book, but I did skim read some bits that weren't moving the story along.
November 22, 2021
Entertaining
I loved the early part of Unlawful Harvest and the energy with which the story unfolded. I could feel the emotion, see the action, and imagine the heartbreak. Then it got formulaic and predictable. Near the end, I began to read to finish rather than to enjoy solving the mystery.
I loved the early part of Unlawful Harvest and the energy with which the story unfolded. I could feel the emotion, see the action, and imagine the heartbreak. Then it got formulaic and predictable. Near the end, I began to read to finish rather than to enjoy solving the mystery.
December 17, 2021
Gripping
Rich girl has time on her hands and is determined to learn more about her sister’s illness. This is not a run of the mill mystery. It had me engrossed early on. The writing is excellent and seems to be accurate. The editor did a good job. Overall, I have no criticism whatsoever.
Rich girl has time on her hands and is determined to learn more about her sister’s illness. This is not a run of the mill mystery. It had me engrossed early on. The writing is excellent and seems to be accurate. The editor did a good job. Overall, I have no criticism whatsoever.
November 21, 2023
Engaging story, good relaxing read
Trafficking in organs is a worldwide problem, with enough money behind it to sustain it indefinitely. This is the story of a kidney recipient who suffers consequences of that industry. Her sister is driven to figure out what happened and is obstructed by people close to her and who have a stake in the game. Keeps my interest the whole time.
Trafficking in organs is a worldwide problem, with enough money behind it to sustain it indefinitely. This is the story of a kidney recipient who suffers consequences of that industry. Her sister is driven to figure out what happened and is obstructed by people close to her and who have a stake in the game. Keeps my interest the whole time.
October 22, 2025
This was the first book written by PD Workman that I have read. PD is an Alberta author and I’m surprised that I haven’t heard of her books. Apparently PD has penned about one hundred of them. It is obvious that a lot of time was spent doing the research. This book was a real page turner, and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. Action, suspense and medical mystery! Perfect!
July 2, 2021
Great story!
A devious father, a sickly sister, a conniving friend and a mother who cares too much about what others think: how on earth can Kenzi do anything right? Confusing sentence? Yes it is but this book is a little confusing but the ending is easily understood.
A devious father, a sickly sister, a conniving friend and a mother who cares too much about what others think: how on earth can Kenzi do anything right? Confusing sentence? Yes it is but this book is a little confusing but the ending is easily understood.
November 14, 2021
Unlawful organ surgeries?
After her sister died, shortly after a organ transplant, McKenzie feels something is off. Digging deep, even after she was told not to, McKenzie discovers a large scale operation of illegal stealing, and killing, of poor people to harvest their organs.
After her sister died, shortly after a organ transplant, McKenzie feels something is off. Digging deep, even after she was told not to, McKenzie discovers a large scale operation of illegal stealing, and killing, of poor people to harvest their organs.
March 19, 2022
Book is fluent and gives plenty food for thought for some interesting conversations. Author incorporated actually articles and research to an already thrilling story that will have you on the edge of your seat. Am looking forward on reading more from P.D. Workman!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews