Second for the Dead

Second for the Dead by Jim Keplinger

Off the board for a decade. Someone just played him.

Benjamin Radcliffe reads people for a living. He turns human weakness into leverage for clients wealthy enough to weaponize it.

Ten years ago, that work cost him everything.
His name.
His face.
His family.

Then his former mentor, Professor “Red” Weinstein, is found dead in a vineyard.
Throat cut.
Wearing a tuxedo.
Nothing in his pocket but a postcard addressed to Radcliffe.
A single impossible chess move.

The clue points to Limestone, Indiana. And to 1986, when a disappearance broke two families and buried a secret someone is still killing to protect.

Red died before he could finish the game.
Now it’s Radcliffe’s turn.

Second for the Dead is a strategic conspiracy thriller about leverage, buried crimes, and the people who think they’re moving the pieces.