Dead in 5 Heartbeats [Mass Market Paperback]

Sonny Barger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 2004

The no-holds-barred first novel from Sonny Barger, author of the "New York Times" bestseller "Hell's Angel." The mass market edition will be an ideal format for Sonny's legions of fans.

⏡tch⟋inkade thought that things were winding down. The former President of the Infidelz, the most powerful motorcycle club in Northern California, Patch has drifted east, hoping to start a new life in Arizona. He wants to forget his old life, a life where being the President of the Infidelz cost him his family. Now, he is responsible for no one but himself.

But everything changes one night in Nevada, as bad blood between members of the Infidelz and a rival club, the 2Wheelers, errupts into a firefight, littering a casino with the corpses of both club members and ordinary citizens. The newspapers call it ⁩ke Wars,⟡nd Patch knows he's needed, either to help make a peace--or win a war.

Responding to the call to duty, Patch straps on his knives and wipes the dust off his Harley, ready to cruise down the highway for what could be his final ride.

Editorial Reviews

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (July 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006053253X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060532536
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,171,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A furiously good read, February 4, 2004

By 

S. Smith "ltcolkiranerys" (Arvada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead in 5 Heartbeats: A Novel (Hardcover)

"Dead In 5 Heartbeats" is a fascinating look into the world of outlaw bikers. Written by Ralph "Sonny" Barger, former leader of the Oakland chapter of the Hell's Angels, and the writing team of Keith and Kent Zimmerman, this novel tells the story of "Patch" Kinkade, former president of the Infidelz biker club. Having grown tired of the burdens of leadership, Patch moves to Arizona in an effort to start a new life for himself, but he is called back into action when a war erupts between the Infidelz and their rivals, the 2Wheelers. Although he is no longer their leader Patch feels that he must help them, either by attempting to broker peace between the Infidelz and the 2Wheelers, or by leading his comrades into battle.

I have always found novels written by authors who have such an intimate knowledge of their subject matter to be fun to read, and Sonny's first effort as a fiction author is no exception. In "Dead In 5 Heartbeats" the acton fairly explodes from the page, painting a vivid portrait of life in a biker club that only an insider like Sonny himself would know about. This book is rich in detail from the very first sentence, and by the end I felt as if I were caught up in the action. This is definitely worth a read, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a lot of action when they read a book.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very real to life! Gives a good inside look of a biker gang., December 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dead in 5 Heartbeats: A Novel (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book. It gave a real good insite into the life of a biker. What typical bikers have to go through on a day to day basis and how they live their lives. I thought it was very entertaining and not too gruesome as I read in previous reviews. It spoke about stabbing and fighting but that is something you deal with when you live a life like that. I couldn't put this book down. Great job Sonny!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dead in 5 Heartbeats, August 26, 2007

By 

Jerome Allen Reed III "SHOVELHEAD68" (Orlando, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead in 5 Heartbeats (Mass Market Paperback)

Excellent book that made me want to read more. I also purchased the second book by this author, it was outstanding as well. Mr. Barger does a great job and the main character is the kind of person we all want to be. I hope he continues to write more of these books. I would highly recommend this title as well as the second book.