Allegiance Books in Order

The Allegiance series is built around rival crime families, casinos, and the problem of what happens when business and personal loyalty stop pointing in the same direction. It opens with Samantha Reynold being pushed into a role she never expected, running the family casino operation after her father can no longer do it. She has money, a well-known name, and plenty to lose, but very little room to learn on the job.

Sam has to grow up fast.

Across the series, Sam is forced to prove that she is more than a sheltered daughter playing at being boss. Her biggest obstacle at first is the Stoker family, especially Sebastian Stoker, who has his own pressures, his own reputation to protect, and no reason to go easy on her. One of the real pleasures of these books is watching that rivalry change shape. What starts as open opposition becomes a more uneasy alliance, and then something even messier, because feelings, family duty, and business interests never stay neatly separated.

The Birmingham setting matters. Baylis uses clubs and casinos not just as flashy backdrops, but as places where power is measured, deals are struck, and weakness gets noticed quickly. The series has glamour on the surface, but it is never far from menace. That balance gives Takeover and Fallout their pace. Behind the money and nightlife, everyone is carrying secrets, and someone is always ready to use them.

As the books move through Vendetta, Payback, and Judgement, the pressure spreads outward. Old grudges come back round, reputations are tested, businesses are attacked, and the people closest to Sam and Seb become part of the problem rather than a safe distance from it. Marina Devlin helps keep the emotional stakes sharp, because the series never forgets that family damage can be more dangerous than anything coming from outside. Baylis is good at showing how quickly a personal resentment can grow into a full-scale threat.

Nobody stays neutral for long.

There is plenty of romance in Allegiance, but it never replaces the crime plot. Instead it makes the stakes higher. Every decision about trust has a personal cost, and every betrayal lands twice, once in the family business and once in private life. That is why the books are best read in order. The story is really about how alliances are made, tested, and broken, and each instalment changes the balance. If you like gangland thrillers with strong women, complicated rivals, and a setting that feels both glamorous and threatening, this series does that very well. It is fast-moving, emotional, and packed with people who want control but are never as secure as they think.