This was a book published in 2017. It follows a motorcycle club president Doug Henderson. For the first half of the book, it is a dark crime story that makes for a very good read. The characters are all like you would expect from a book like this. When you the reader are really into the story a shift of the tone of the book changes, I don’t know why but goes from dark and grim to light. I would have liked it if it would have stayed dark and grim throughout the book. That is really my biggest flaw with the story.

The writing style in this book is the first thing which strikes a reader. It's rapid, nearly stream-of-consciousness, very informal, extremely grammatically lenient (often outright grammatically incorrect)... And for the type of story being told, it works to demand attention and create a sense of urgent interest. I thought at times I wouldn't like it, but I found myself tolerating and occasionally enjoying the writing style - especially when all the dialect used started making my internal narrating voice take on an appropriate Aussie accent.

I felt like I was reading a recounting of insider details from a biker gang, at least for the first half. There were no punches pulled, no detached moments: only conversational yet detailed accounts of the eponymous bad guys not losing. Though I felt a little confused by the wording at times, I imagine that's fair turnabout from how non-American readers feel reading the books with dialect familiar to me.

Here's the thing, though: the conversational, grammatically incorrect writing style gets worse as the book progresses. It goes from feeling like an insider conversing with the reader to feeling like a rushed wiki article explaining the plot of a Sons of Anarchy spinoff. The plot itself is good - again, for the first half. That portion is dark and gritty and exactly what I want from a story about outlaw bikers. The characters all have some development despite slotting into common tropes and stereotypes. But the writing... Well, it eventually lost its charm and started to time skip by months and even years at a time, sometimes right in the middle of a sentence or paragraph.

That's where I'm torn. I liked the writing style at times, tolerated it at others, but found myself actively annoyed a few times. I liked the general plot initially and the story told by the first half, but more as a concept used to pitch a mini-series or movie than as a book itself. Had I paid the usual few dollars for a kindle book, I can't say I'd feel that the money was wasted. (I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.) But I can't in good conscience say I think this is a good book overall. Just... it also isn't a terrible book. For the first half.

You probably have guessed what's coming: I really didn't care for the second half of this book. It isn't all bad, don't get me wrong, but it's completely out of line with the tone of the rest of the book. While the first half was gritty, dark, and occasionally gory, it still seemed 'believable' in the setting. The second half - though it does have a few highlights - feels more like a complete parody of the genre with a few derailments into something far beyond the stretch of suspended disbelief. It's just too much, rushes too many things, and jumps so many sharks (one quite literal, I might add) that it loses all the grittiness and 'outlaw appeal' which made me like the first half.

With the story no longer captivating me, I actively skimmed a few paragraphs here and there in the second half; it never felt as if I missed anything important. Even so, something kept me interested just enough to keep reading. There was still a hint of what I'd originally liked, almost as if the book were half a final draft and half a rough draft. In particular, the final fifteen percent or so were much more like the beginning and I even found myself internally cheering for the bad guys (thus, the main characters), exactly as I'd expect from a book of this theme.

While I can't say I was impressed, I can say I'd consider reading a sequel if one were made. Hopefully that one would have a more heavy-handed editor and a more conventional grammatical style.

The verdict: If you want steamy smut or a detailed and conventionally-written recounting of an intricate plot, look elsewhere. If, however, you're looking for a casually-written forray into the gritty (fictional) realm of outlaw bikers, you might consider giving this book a chance. You, like me, may very well find that you enjoy the plot itself (or characters therein) enough to forgive the book its shortcomings and shark-infested moments.

Overall, I'd give a 2.5 star rating. But since I'm feeling generous and want to give the author credit for the believable shift in a certain character from one I hated to one I liked, I'll round up to three. If this were a television show - perhaps its first season premiere - I'd have been unimpressed with the midseason but deemed the show itself worthy of watching next year "just for the characters and to see if it gets back to the roots of the first half of season one." I know that's an odd comparison, but I'm serious when I say this feels often like reading a fandom wiki write-up of a series' plot.

Important to note: since the copy I received is a galley and those do not always reflect the final publication, I have refrained from mentioning or considering any typographical errors, misspellings, or misuse of words.

(Reiteration of disclaimer seen previously in review: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for the purposes of reviewing and providing honest opinions. My review contains my own, personal views and impressions of this book and is left voluntarily.)

Not a police procedural, but rather a crime procedural, this book is a little different. The story is easy to read, with a very even tone that also makes it a little amusing. The characters are excellent, but the morale of the book is, of course, a little ambivalent. No doubt about the entertainment, though; this is very enjoyable.