Customer Reviews

Betrayal, Murder, and Greed: The True Story of a Bounty Hunter and a Bail Bond Agent

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I thought Mr.Beakley (Darkside) book brought a real human feel to the plight of the bail bonds trade. As a private citizen I never really had an insight to the bail bond world. I appreciate the bounty hunter for returning those who should be back to court and jail ...furthering the safety of us the public. So thanks for doing your job Darkside. To top it off taking the time to write an entertaining book of how this system works!! Good to see that one can retain humor pursuing those who are looking not to get caught!!

The life of a bounty hunter isn't as simple as television would lead you to believe. "Betrayal, Murder, and Greed: The True Story of a Bounty Hunter and a Bail Bond Agent" tells the tale of Pam Phree, a woman who has entered the bail bond industry and has vowed to turn the typically shady industry into a more respectable when her peers often exploit it out of greed. It is also the story of Mike Beakley, a former cop who has taken to become a licensed bounty hunter. These two tell the story of trying to keep their moral ground when their competitors really burn the line between the law and crime. "Betrayal, Murder, and Greed" is an intriguing look into the bail bond and bounty hunting industries, highly recommended.

This is an "on the edge of your seat, can't put it down" book. An faced paced, amazing, thrilling and at times, horrific ride into the behind the scenes life of a bounty hunter and bail bond agent that most citizens have no clue of, like me! It's educating, terrifying, horrific and at times enlightening. The range of emotions felt while reading were unbelievable!

I am axiously awaiting the movie, it's THAT GOOD!

I just loved this book. I had no idea what bail bond agents and bounty hunters actually did and how dangerous it can be. I like how the authors each told their own story of how they ended up in their crazy but rewarding profession. The books moves at a fast pace and is an easy and fun read. You will definitely learn a few things that you didn't know before!

Rick Silcox December 21, 2009 at 5:43pm

To be fair, I know Mike and Pam, and they asked me to comment on their book. The first thing I thought of is how can I possibly do this and be objective. I'm most certainly not a book reviewer, but here it is as honestly as I can give it. Everytime I picked the book up, I had to make myself put it down. It's possible that it's because I know them and I was learning so much I hadn't known before, but I will guarantee that I was both interested and entertained throughout the entire book. There were some surprises and a great ending.

If you are a person that enjoys "True Crime" or just true life, wants to learn about the history and tribulations of bond agents and bounty hunters, wants to find out things you probably don't know about the justice system, wants to know more about the crime and corruption surrounding our everday lives (not always from the bad guys), likes the exitement of the hunt and the thrill of the win, wants to see where two people CAN make a difference, wants to read about two people who CARE about doing the right thing and fighting the odds, or wants to read about people that will stand by each other and watch each other's back, then this book is for you.

Enjoy!

From the opening page to the closing comments, this book took me on a wide, scary, funny and educationial ride. The best part ??.. it is apparently true. I actually found news reports online from the Tacoma area that were the same stories as those in the book.

The book is well written and an easy read. The chapters were perfect for a quick read or a long airline trip. Some of the more exciting chapters HAD to be re-read. So well written and so powerful that I felt myself reading faster, faster, faster until my heart was racing and brow was sweating. I had to immediately re-read them to be sure I had not missed anything.

Many of the stories both horrified me that there could be real people, so evil, living among us and gave me hope that desipte the evil, good seems to win out. Even if this win comes at a terrible cost, it comes.

A great read.

I read lots of books, several at a time. My kindle is always switching from one to the next to the next. This is because as each books its a low or slower point in the story I just start another. I do go back and finish them all, this is just how I like to read. Not with this one! I read it and never even thought about switching too another book. Every page was good and held my interest. Every page made me want to see what happened on the next. I spent a few days pretty tired from staying up late with this one. Thanks for a great read....

I don't read a lot of true crime books. This is mainly because I'm not really all that interested in the lives of criminals and that's usually what those books are about. What interests me are the people who deal with criminals on a daily basis. The people who brush against that world and manage to retain their values and their sense of self fascinate me. I found out about Betrayal, Murder And Greed because I'm friends with the son of one of the authors and he mentioned it. I read it because it's about a bail bond agent, a bounty hunter, and their careers in Tacoma. I'm writing this review of it because you should read it too.

Unless you've been bailed or bailed someone out of jail, you probably don't know much about the bail bonds business or how things work in that industry. And unless you've skipped bail, your only experience with a bounty hunter is likely watching Dog, The Bounty Hunter. Of course watching Dog and thinking you know what it's like to be a bounty hunter is like watching Cops and thinking you know what's involved in being a cop. Betrayal, Murder And Greed isn't interested in making things more exciting than they are or glamorizing anything. It's too busy telling you stories of what this sort of life is like.

The book is split into three sections. First you hear Pam Phree's story of how she got started in the bail bonds business and how it went from being just a job to something she loves. Then you hear Mike "Darkside" Beakley's story of how he was a Tacoma cop who got shot, left the force, and went to the `dark side' and became a bounty hunter. Once you've gotten to know these two, the book really takes off with the story of Pam and Mike. The whole book reads like you're hanging around at a bar with these two swapping tales over a few beers. They aren't tall tales. They're just stories of things that have happened in the thirty years they've been in the business. One of the things you learn early on in the book is that the criminals aren't always just the people getting bailed out of jail. The bail bonds industry has more than its fair share of criminals as well.

Both Mike and Pam have a highly developed sense of morality and justice that is continually tested on all sides. For Pam, it's working with unscrupulous people who are often committing as many crimes as the people they're bailing out and don't always respect that a woman can do what's traditionally been a man's job. For Mike, it's the fact that he's a former cop doing a job that most cops have zero respect for despite its similarities. While a good portion of the book tells entertaining and interesting stories of people skipping out on bail and being chased down by Mike and his partners, there's also a good amount of information about what the bail bonds industry is and isn't and more importantly what changes should be made in the industry.

As a lifelong resident of Tacoma, many of the higher profile cases and situations are events I recognize and remember reading about. Betrayal, Murder And Greed isn't really a Tacoma crime history book, but it does a good job of showing what dealing with the criminal element of Tacoma is like. These are the stories of things that happen every day without most of us even being aware of it.

Bounty hunters risk put their lives on the line like many other public servants and like anyone else, there are good ones and bad ones. This book doesn't shy away from that fact. Unlike police officers, bounty hunters don't have any back up. They're largely on their own. This is what makes the job dangerous and also what makes some criminal types gravitate to it. This results in Mike occasionally working with the sort of people he would have put behind bars in his previous job. There are times he wants to and does give up on the job, but his desire to do right and help make the industry what it should be is too great for him to stop. Meanwhile, Pam tries to keep clear of the corruption that seems to permeate so many aspects of the bail bonds industry. Ultimately, they form their own bail bonds company in an effort to show how to do the job right by example. Betrayal, Murder, And Greed is a good read for anyone interested in the bail bonds business or anyone who wanted to know what actually goes on at those places we drive by and hope we'll never have to call.

-Jack Cameron

I can't say I loved this book". I can say, I could not put it down.

It was organized and written in a style I was not used to. Though, each part was engrossing, informative, exciting, and led me to want to read more. Having read bounty hunter fiction, with all it's bravado, and insanity,this book added insight and showed me a perspective I had not had. I appreciate how the reality and politics of this profession was included throughout the book. And,am grateful to know, that Pam and Mike's contribution to our local and national community, have made us all safer. Their candor, humor and honesty added a depth to this story, that without it would have been, just a "fun story".

This book is written in such a way,that "any man" can read it and enjoy it, for all it's gifts.

As an avid reader, I found this book so interesting especially since I usually read historical fiction and non-fiction. It was well written. I felt like I was right there during all the bounty hunting chase scenes. It was also impressive to learn so much about the Bail Bond Business. This book could easily be made into a TV or mini-series. I would TIVO it! Thanks to the authors Pam and Mike for taking the time to write it since they have incredibly busy lives.