The Night Contract

An innocent man never forgets.

Heavyweight boxing champ Lance Gedrin is back out after spending twelve years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit. But he’s not out of the woods yet. With his conviction reversed on appeal and his case sent back to the trial court for further proceedings, the State has 1 week to decide whether to retry Gedrin for murder. Gedrin creates a bucket list and vows to travel the world. Stop Number One is the Idaho Potato Museum. Stop Two is supposed to be the Space Needle, but he never makes it.

The morning after his baked potato bliss, 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, Gedrin gave his opponents concussions for breakfast. On the street, champ means shit. Gedrin teams up with Kayla Tempe, a no-nonsense lawyer from Stevenson’s firm, and soon realizes that Stevenson is no angel and she has many lethal friends. Gedrin learns the language of guns and knives and sadistic hombres as the clock ticks on a possible re-trial without his superstar lawyer by his side.

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