Two Wheels: A Cycling Murder Mystery [Paperback]

Greg Moody (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 1998

A murder mystery set in the world of European professional cycling.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Moody is Critic-at-Large at Denver's KCNC-TV, reviewing movies, books, theater, music and new media. He has won seven Heartland Emmy awards for commentary, one of which was for his coverage of a local mountain bike crash.

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: VeloPress (June 19, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884737110
• ISBN-13: 978-1884737114
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,512,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This One's For You, Cycling Fans!, August 10, 2000

By 

S. Kay Murphy "Heretic" (Mt. Baldy, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Two Wheels: A Cycling Murder Mystery (Paperback)

I am a teacher, a writer--and a huge cycling fan. Two Wheels was a great summer read for me and had me turning pages much more quickly than I did while reading the literary novels I also consumed. Moody entertains while giving us a look at the world of professional cycling that I've never gotten anywhere else--even in (sorry!) VeloNews. His characters are bumbling, flawed unsophisticated and inept--just like we are!!! Everyone in my household, from my artist daughter to my mystery-loving son, read this book and loved it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go order Moody's next one....

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Just a shallow potboiler, June 30, 2000

By 

Mike van Niekerk - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Wheels: A Cycling Murder Mystery (Paperback)

I was disappointed, after buying this book on the recommendation of other reviews here, to find it was a rather shallow potboiler.

The only redeeming feature was the insight into cycling and race conditions - as an amateur racer and keen fan of the sport I enjoyed the few passages devoted to training and the Classics.

Moody's writing lacks style and precision; his use of language is as bland as if this was a poor translation. The plot is enormously contrived - almost cartoon-like, cliched even: the down-at-heel couldabeen who wins a moment of glory after manouevering through a family's corporate power-plays. The plot lurches along without style, the characters are paper-thin and the dialogue shows no ear at all for spoken language.

If not for the cycling I wouldn't have persevered to the end. And had to put up with fevered metaphors such as this beauty on p236:

"It was his sanctuary from the demons, for as he rode, the guilt and hatred would grow and overwhelm, then fade back into an easily controlled creature lurking quietly in a dark corner of his mind next to an old pile of National Geographics".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Many cliches, but still good..., July 30, 2007

By 

C. Adams (Milford, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Two Wheels: A Cycling Murder Mystery (Paperback)

According to the reviews here, you either like this book or hate it. Put me near the middle, but leaning heavily on the like it side.

If you can get through the first third of the book, roughly, then you're in for a treat. I have to agree with the reviews faulting the book for its cliches and worn out character types. Frankly, that almost kept me from finishing the book - there was nobody I was that interested in at first and there was a lot of wordy prose to wade through.

But, like any good race or hard training ride, if you press through this wall, you'll be rewarded. The pace picked up, the suspense grew, the cliches diminished and even a few unexpected twists and turns emerged.
Moody's description of a person blowing up bears special mention. For some reason, his prose really hits its stride during those episodes. By the last third of the book, I literally couldn't put it down - a real page turner (my homage to the cliches).

It really did turn out to be a great ride, and not nearly as predictable as I was expecting. If you like mysteries generally - but ESPECIALLY if you like mysteries and are into cycling, get this book and stick to it. You won't be disappointed.