THE GARBAGE MAN
by Tessa Pacelli
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Pub Date Sep 23 2025 | Archive Date Jan 15 2026
Tessa Pacelli | Zero Day Books, LLC
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Description
What if your dream job became a nightmare without end?
Fresh out of Harvard Business School, Kayla Mousavi lands a coveted job at General Recycling, beating out thousands to work for Americaʼs hottest tech company and its legendary CEO, Frederick Douglass Monahan. It seems like a golden opportunity. GRʼs trash eating bacteria gobble up refuse, rescuing a world choking on garbage. And her job, as the right-hand analyst of a global business celebrity, guarantees a glittering future. But Kayla should have remembered what her father – in prison for insider trading – always said. Inside every great company is great crime.
It's not long before Kayla stumbles onto the kind of dirt that not even the magic GR bugs can disappear. Soon, she’s witness to a professional hit — a hit meant for her — and on a collision course with the truth behind the trash: deep in the bowels of a Wall Street darling is an extraordinary and terrifying business that will reshape everything we believe about psychology, security, privacy, and human nature. Now, to live, Kayla will have to outsmart a ruthless genius with unlimited resources. A man who absolutely intends to change the world…just not exactly as advertised.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
"Wildly intriguing and fresh...You won’t forget Kayla’s story!"
- Jacquelyn Mitchard
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author, The Deep End of the Ocean
EARLY READER PRAISE FOR THE GARBAGE MAN:
“The twists and turns never stopped coming....”
“The story grabbed me from the beginning....”
“Fast paced and had lots of twists and turns.”
“A gripping plot”
“I really enjoyed this story!”
“Realistic in a scary sort of way.”
Marketing Plan
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Available Editions
| ISBN | 9798999093905 |
| PRICE | |
Available on NetGalley
Average rating from 83 members
Featured Reviews
Courtney P, Reviewer
This book was intriguing from beginning to end. Captivating from beginning to end. This book always kept you wondering what was to come next. Be careful what you throw away.
Dani C, Reviewer
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Garbage Man by Tessa Pacelli. This was a really original and thought-provoking read. I loved the premise, a futuristic world where virtual reality created from people’s waste becomes dangerously addictive. The idea of tech, rubbish and alternate realities colliding was really interesting and unsettling at the same time. It’s fast-paced, full of tension and completely immersive. A clever, sharply written debut with a lot to say about control, obsession and escape.
Morgan P, Reviewer
A great depiction of the horrors of what AI could become. How controlling it can be in the wrong hands.
Lori B, Reviewer
This thriller was definitely a bit sci-fi with trash eating bacteria! There was action, a botched hit on the FMC, Kayla, who is right out of college working for General Recycling, which was an amazing feat, but not one she really desired. Then she starts digging into the women who used to have her job, and that is when this book went off the rails (in a good way). I could not put it down! This was a page turner for sure, and I am hoping (wondering) if there will be a next book?!? I need it now!
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