Description

Killing was never the problem. It was always the why.

Chicago, the 1970s and ’80s. The Democratic Machine runs the city. The Outfit runs with it. And a kid from the neighborhood who rides faster than anyone becomes the courier no one sees.

A crime first drove Alex onto the bike. Years later, a hit-and-run took the career away.

Now Alex is racing Land’s End to John O’ Groats on a carbon frame built to pass through customs as just a bike. It isn’t just a bike. The race is cover for a job, and the target hasn’t been named.

A stranger who won’t stop watching. Two riders who keep finding Alex’s back wheel. And memories that refuse to stay buried, of a father who said little and taught everything, and a teacher named Jones who saw what no one else did.

When the target is finally revealed, Alex has one shot and one decision. What Alex chooses changes everything that came before.

Inspired by true events and the author’s Chicago childhood, The Cyclist: Carbon Fingerprints is a character-driven literary novel about perception, loyalty, family, crime and what we owe the people who shape us — and what we become when that debt comes due.

Strong language throughout. Contains references to childhood sexual abuse (non-graphic), violence, organized crime, drug use, and human trafficking. No explicit sexual content.