Dead in 5 Heartbeats

From Publishers Weekly
Legendary Hell's Angel Barger (Hell's Angel; Ridin' High, Livin' Free) teams once again with co-authors Keith and Kent Zimmerman on this debut novel of motorcycles and murder. Patch Kinkade, ex-president of the Oakland, Calif., chapter of the Infidelz motorcycle club, the toughest MC in the West, has relocated to Arizona in the wake of a busted marriage. But he finds that ties to home and past are not easily severed. The Infidelz have a serious dust-up in a bar with three other clubs-the 2Wheelers, Soul Sacrifice and the Gun Runners ("Fists flew everywhere. Broken ribs. Broken arms. Broken bottles. Broken teeth. Broken pride)"-and after it's over, a new member of the Infidelz lies dead in the parking lot, his murder seemingly unrelated to the fight inside. Ahab, the president of the Oakland chapter, hunts down Patch and asks him to investigate. Soon enough, the reluctant Patch is back in Oakland, facing renegade FBI agents and unexpected treachery and deceit. The authors have an un-ironic, breezy style: "Patch wore no businessman's haircut. The wind was his stylist." Despite colorful nicknames (girls named Blondie and LiLac, dudes called Nine Inch, 12-12 and Eight Ball), thin characterization leads to reader confusion, and degenerate behavior makes it difficult to cheer for the novel's putative good guys. The mystery falls flat, but there's plenty of sex, violence and tricked-out bikes in this "gasoline and adrenaline" ride. Barger's fans should love it.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
When Marco, one of the most respected members of Infidelz, California's top motorcycle gang, is murdered in cold blood, the gang is obligated to respond. They send an emissary to their former president, Patch Kinkade, who's opted for the quiet life in the desert. Patch reluctantly heads back to Oakland, either to negotiate a peace or mobilize his troops. This is the literary equivalent of a Roger Corman biker flick. The good guys are bad guys, the bad guys worse, and the cops worse yet. Plus the chicks--sorry, nothing PC here--are hot, compliant, and irrelevant. The conclusion does include a family-values moment in which Patch "adopts" a fallen comrade's orphaned son, but this is still a biker book: lots of testosterone, lots of thousand-yard stares, and lots of kicks to the groin. Former Hell's Angel Barger's autobiography was a best-seller, and he has a built-in audience of bike-riding yuppies who will love kickin' some vicarious butt while sippin' a bottled water. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


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About the Author:Ralph "Sonny" Barger currently lives near Phoenix, Arizona, having moved from his longtime hometown of Oakland. He is now a member of the Cave Creek chapter of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. A master mechanic, he has been technical consultant on several biker films including Hell's Angels on Wheels and Hell's Angels '69, has served time in federal and state penitentiaries, and is developing a movie based on his autobiography. He rides his customized Harley-Davidson every day and bench-presses 285 pounds. Keith and Kent Zimmerman are a unique writing team of twin brothers. They are coauthors of Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, written with John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, a number one bestseller in Britain that was nominated for a Ralph J. Gleason Book Award. "The Zimmermen" also cowrote Daddy-O: Iguana Heads and TexasTales, which delved into the life of Texas sculptor and photo-realist painter Robert "Daddy-O" Wade.


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