The Black Jersey: A Novel - Hardcover

A fast-paced mystery where Murder on the Orient Express meets the Tour de France--someone's killing off cyclists one by one.

There are cyclists willing to die to win a single stage of the Tour, taking suicidal descents at more than 90 kilometers per hour, but now I know there are cyclists willing to kill to win.

Marc Moreau, a professional cyclist with a military past, is part of a top Tour de France team led by his best friend, an American star favored to win this year's Tour. But the competition takes a dark turn when racers begin to drop out in a series of violent accidents: a mugging that ends in an ankle being crushed, a nasty bout of food poisoning, and a crash caused by two spectators standing where they shouldn't. The teams and their entourages retreat into paranoid lockdown even as they must continue racing each day. The mountain inclines grow steeper and the accidents turn deadlier: a suspicious suicide, an exploded trailer, a loose wheel at the edge of a cliff. Marc agrees to help the French police with their investigations from the inside and becomes convinced that the culprit is a cyclist who wants to win at any cost. But as the victim count rises, the number of potential murderers--and potential champions--dwindles.

Marc begins to have the sickening realization that his own team has been most favored by the murderer's actions, and in the final stages of the race Mark himself emerges as the only cyclist left who could possibly beat his best friend and win the Tour. Whom can Marc trust? Whom should he protect? What decision will he make if he's asked to choose between justice, loyalty, and glory?

Praise for The Black Jersey

"A deliciously juicy story of suspense in the vein of Agatha Christie."--Milenio

"Hercul Poirot, as a cyclist . . . a novel waiting to be devoured."--El País

"A fast-paced story that submerges the reader not only in the intrigue of discovering who the killer is but also in the adrenaline rush of competition, deadly in itself."--Todo Literatura

"For fans of Le Tour, Jorge Zepeda Patterson has crafted the perfect mystery novel, and for all mystery fans he opens up the fascinating and ferocious world of bike racing. The Black Jersey is a feat of storytelling, as fast-paced as any stage of the Tour de France, and with an ending ten times more unpredictable and exciting."--Mark Pryor, author of the Hugo Marston mystery novels

"The Black Jersey has the pace and excitement of a world-class race."--Alexander McCall Smith