Jay Dobyns and Nils Johnson-Shelton
I generally enjoy books that feature someone going undercover or infiltrating the ranks of a previously closed group, and No Angel is no different. A thrilling story of an undercover ATF agent's attempt to get in with the infamous motorcyle group, the book is riveting and provides a compelling glimpse into an entirely foreign world. Dobyns, with basic literary guidance from Johnson-Shelton, recounts the greater frame of his undercover operation rising in esteem with, and eventually through the ranks of, the Hells Angels, sprinkling the narrative with moments of self-reflection and philosophical rumination amidst anecdotes about drugs, booze, and bullshitting with the boys. The story's events unfold somewhat uneasily at times and would be impossible to follow without a helpful and orderly index of major players provided in the text- the goons Dobyns encounters are simply too much alike and the organization of the Hells Angels in and around Arizona isn't explained well enough to account for quite a bit of confusion. Nonetheless, the ability of these cops to put on a convincing act, even starting their own legitimate motorcycle club and working with a freelance informant who had more freedom to use illegal drugs or make runs out of the country, is breathtaking and employs a take-no-prisoners mentality that is refreshing. And Dobyns must be given credit for his attempts at fairness towards his employer: though his opinions about undercover work are very, very obvious he does attempt to describe concerns that trouble higher-ups in the federal beaurocracy who don't see eye-to-eye with him all the time. His bullheaded approach to undercover work is itself revealing, if not ultimately persuasive and a bit arrogant at times.
The story of No Angel is, however, a gripping tale and has an appropriate sense of drama and humor; its nature as a thriller is particularly abused in one obviously and clumsily misleading late incident but overall the authors convey a compelling sense of rising drama, forming the narrative and creating necessary tension that prevents the book from becoming merely a recollection of events. The prose is spare and rarely attempts to be anything but purely descriptive, but anything more would likely have distracted from the rough and tough world of Dobyns as the introspective passages do. These moments of reflection are interesting as they give a sense of context to Dobyns's experience in the group and the life of an undercover agent in general; they could, however, have been handled with a bit more literary delicacy. Too often Dobyns comes across as whiny and his insights lose their psychological power and currency with the reader.
Despite some forgivable literary missteps, however, No Angel is a compelling look into the double life of an undercover agent, at once a family man and a bike gangster, and how he must juggle his two personalities. This duality, while clumsily handled at times, casts the book as an interesting jumping-off point for readers to examine their own views on police ethics and even their stereotypes about certain kinds of people. While the book itself, for better or worse, tends to stick strictly to the facts, Dobyns and Johnson-Shelton acknowledge ambiguity in their work and No Angel is stronger for it. While this is not the most artfully written memoir on the market, it offers what is to my mind a unique perspective and implies quite a bit of intellectual fodder for readers so inclined, as well as providing a mildly exciting thriller with danger and the fear of exposure lurking at every turn. Jay Dobyns is an incredibly brave individual and, though he obviously knows it, his exploits do tend to cast him as a good man caught in a war of ambiguities, for ultimately he discovers that he is no angel himself and that the men he rides with aren't 100% percent devils, either.
Grade: B+
The story of No Angel is, however, a gripping tale and has an appropriate sense of drama and humor; its nature as a thriller is particularly abused in one obviously and clumsily misleading late incident but overall the authors convey a compelling sense of rising drama, forming the narrative and creating necessary tension that prevents the book from becoming merely a recollection of events. The prose is spare and rarely attempts to be anything but purely descriptive, but anything more would likely have distracted from the rough and tough world of Dobyns as the introspective passages do. These moments of reflection are interesting as they give a sense of context to Dobyns's experience in the group and the life of an undercover agent in general; they could, however, have been handled with a bit more literary delicacy. Too often Dobyns comes across as whiny and his insights lose their psychological power and currency with the reader.
Despite some forgivable literary missteps, however, No Angel is a compelling look into the double life of an undercover agent, at once a family man and a bike gangster, and how he must juggle his two personalities. This duality, while clumsily handled at times, casts the book as an interesting jumping-off point for readers to examine their own views on police ethics and even their stereotypes about certain kinds of people. While the book itself, for better or worse, tends to stick strictly to the facts, Dobyns and Johnson-Shelton acknowledge ambiguity in their work and No Angel is stronger for it. While this is not the most artfully written memoir on the market, it offers what is to my mind a unique perspective and implies quite a bit of intellectual fodder for readers so inclined, as well as providing a mildly exciting thriller with danger and the fear of exposure lurking at every turn. Jay Dobyns is an incredibly brave individual and, though he obviously knows it, his exploits do tend to cast him as a good man caught in a war of ambiguities, for ultimately he discovers that he is no angel himself and that the men he rides with aren't 100% percent devils, either.
Grade: B+
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