The Night Contract

An innocent man never forgets. 

Heavyweight boxing champ Lance Gedrin is back on the outside after spending twelve years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit. With his conviction vacated on appeal, Gedrin–aka “The Professor” to his old cellies–creates a bucket list and vows to travel the world. Stop Number One is the Idaho Potato Museum. Muy Bueno. Stop Two is the Space Needle. But he never makes it.  

The morning after his baked potato extravaganza, Gedrin wakes to the news that his lawyer has gone missing, making national headlines. Gertrude Stevenson had gone to the mat for him, never doubting his innocence, and Gedrin wants answers. The only way to get them is to go back to the place where he lost his freedom a dozen years ago: The Windy City. No Bueno. 

In the ring, everybody would bend to his will. Gedrin decimated his opponents and gave them CTE for breakfast. On the street, it’s a whole other ballgame. Gedrin teams up with Kayla Tempe, a no-nonsense lawyer from Stevenson’s firm, soon realizing Stevenson is no angel and she has many lethal friends. To make matters worse, with Gedrin’s conviction vacated and his case remanded back to the trial court for further proceedings, the State has 1 week to decide whether to retry Gedrin for murder. 

The Night Contract marks the witty, powerful debut of mystery author Greg Gountanis.