I had read the authors previous book - Becoming Bonnie - had really enjoyed it, and so was thrilled to get a copy of this to read. I was not disappointed. I read this in one sitting, couldn’t put it down. Even knowing the ending the author worked story so sympathetically and cleverly I couldn’t help but hope against hope for a happier outcome. The characterisation was nothing short of brilliantly, I felt like I lived every scene and action alongside them. I really cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I was given an advance copy to review by NetGalley all opinions are my own.

Intensely eventful, this sequel of Bonnie Parker's life details her crime spree with Clyde Barrow. Although the action never seems to stop, it also feels a little repetitive at times, like the entire book is just Bonnie and Clyde, and sometimes a few others, going around in circles, both literally and not. That's not a criticism, just a description of how crazy their crime spree was.

Popular view tends to paint the picture of Bonnie and Clyde on some kind of fun loving joyride as they commit their crimes, probably partly fueled by the famous photos of them showing off their guns and posing, horsing around, smiling, etc. But this book portrays things much more darkly, with their crimes being more like acts of desperation while they cling onto some fantasy that some day they'll achieve their dreams of living quietly in some remote corner of rural America, as though they are not haunted by the consequences of their choices.

At the same time, the historical view seems to describe the "Barrow Gang" as an organized criminal group, but this novel suggests it was anything but organized and more "fly by the seat of our pants" and "pick up whatever help we can from who we can whenever we can". We get to meet the members of Bonnie and Clyde's so-called gang, but many of them are involved at different time periods, typically not associated with each one another. It definitely felt too erratic to be called "organized", and it wasn't until near the end when it briefly becomes a large group.

Again, none of this is criticism, and it actually appears to be entirely accurate, but it was a little surprising, which made it all the more intriguing.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Picking up where Becoming Bonnie ended, Clyde is being released from prison at the beginning of this book.
Did you read Becoming Bonnie? I highly recommend it. I give that book a bit of an edge over this one because it was happier.
In the first book, we are given a fictionalized background for Bonnie before she met Clyde. It’s only at the end of that book that she’s fallen for Clyde. So, in that story, the storyline is about Bonnie and about them falling in love.

This story is the one with the action. When Clyde gets out of jail, he tries to go back to normal life. He finds that impossible. Bonnie spent two years dreaming of her perfect life with Clyde when he gets out but he returns traumatized by what happened to him in jail. And now he also feels that the police constantly hovering over his shoulder are the reason he can’t go back to normal life.

The new plan is to move away and buy a farm.
That’s the new dream Bonnie starts to cling to.
But the steps that lead to that new life involve a lot, an absolute ton, of robberies and other crimes.
Clyde even plans a prison break for an old acquaintance of his.

Bonnie goes along on the ride because she feels like the only way to get the old Clyde back is to get through all of this bad stuff and get to their farm.

The author really finds a way to give humanity to Bonnie and Clyde. Especially Bonnie. Clyde starts taking innocent lives and that can’t really be justified. But Bonnie keeps clinging to the idea that they will wind up together on that farm, that they will be a happy family.

I don’t think I felt worse for anyone in this book than I did for poor Blanche.

I thought this was well written and I will look for books by this author in the future. I’d never read anything of hers before Becoming Bonnie and I think that was a fantastic one to start with.

My opinion is that you should read both books because the one someone else prefers may vary. If you like the happier story, that’s Becoming Bonnie. If you like the exciting story of Bonnie and Clyde off on their crime spree, that’s definitely Side by Side.
I recommend them both.

I got to read an early edition ebook of this story from NetGalley.

When Clyde Barrow is released from prison, he tries to go straight. He finds a job at a movie theater only to be hassled by the cops at every turn. When he can't take it anymore, he convinces his girlfriend Bonnie to follow him on the road. With the idea of busting out a friend from jail, he convinces Bonnie that he will rob just one bank, and then they will settle down on a farm. One job turns into another, and another, until people are murdered and there is no turning back.

This was a very interesting account of both Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow gang. It showed an evolution of thinking from Bonnie, which explains how she got caught up in everything. It also showed how the two got along with one another, and how they came to dominate the other gang members. Overall, well worth reading.

Didn't realize this was a sequel and I don't think the description mentioned it either, but don't want to get into a story in the middle, so...