They meet in Kansas. Bennie is in his early twenties, Stella only fifteen. She can't resist the cute guy flirting with her and agrees to go out on a date. Little did her parents know, she would be married to Bennie before her sixteenth birthday and far from Kansas and her home.

Bennie had been released from prison after a failed bank robbery. He's sure he can get it right this time and teaches Stella how to shoot and off the two of them go. Bennie never hurts anyone in the banks and doesn't rob those who are caught there during the robbery. He buries their loot and looks for the next job and how to please Stella. Stella only wants a house and kids but that isn't likely when J. Edgar Hoover puts them on the Most Wanted list.

This book is a fictionalized account of the true story of Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson. The author's retelling of their story is slanted towards the story of their love and their relative nonviolence rather than seeing them as criminals who needed to be hunted down. I listened to this novel and the narrator was perfect for this kind of story, capturing Bennie's eagerness to do anything to make Stella Mae happy. This book is recommended for readers of true crime and literary fiction.

This novel is based on the real-life of Benny Dixon was a young man that dreamed of success. But his quick temper holds him back. Then he meets sweet fifteen-year-old Stella Mae. Just like Bonnie and Clyde---soon the pair end up robbing banks and turn up on the FBI radar. Their story doesn't end well (as most bank robbers don't have a happy ending) but it sure was fascinating and fun to read

The audio version is read by Patrick Garrow. Garrow has that gritty voice that is perfect for this fast-paced tale of crime, love, and desperation. This is the depression-era America and Garrow sets this tone for the reader. An interesting story about two unknowns told well, I think many will enjoy this.

Thank you to ECW Press Audio and NetGalley for an advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent, I enjoy true crime and Under an Outlaw Moon did not disappoint. Patrick Garrow narrating was perfect. His voice had just the right cadence and tone to keep me interested from beginning to end. I highly recomment.

Bernie Dixon, an ambitious but somewhat impulsive young man, had plans to become a professional boxer and dreamed of achieving great success in his chosen career. In the meantime his quick fists had gotten him into trouble and that meant he’d already spent some time behind bars when he met fifteen year old Stella Mae. It wasn’t long before the pair were a couple and soon after that they skipped town as the law came looking for Bernie for beating-up a town clerk over a minor disagreement. The year was 1938 and the place was Topeka, Kansas.

Based on a real-life story, the pair then set off an a Bonny and Clyde style caper as they robbed a couple of banks in South Dakota, took hostages when the need arose and generally gave the law a run around. They narrowly evaded capture on a number of occasions as they stole cars and chased around back roads to evade the chasing cops. In truth, the robberies were fairly small-scale affairs and nobody was hurt in the course of their ‘adventure’. And in fact it seems that Bernie, in particular, had been most polite and accommodating to those caught up in their deeds. But the FBI cast the pair’s actions as a dangerous rampage and the whole thing caused something of a media frenzy. Suddenly they were being listed as the FBI’s ‘Most Wanted’.

The audio version I listened to was brilliantly read by Canadian actor Patrick Garrow. It’s an atmospheric, bitter-sweet tale of love and loss in Depression-era America and I really enjoyed it.

On the run

Action packed and fast moving this depression era tale will keep you reading. Two young star crossed lovers with a dream and no way to get there turn to crime. Based on the true story of Bennie and Stella May Dickson the book is both historical and readable.

Stella meets a boy calling himself Johnny O'Malley at the skating rink. She is fifteen and falls in love with him. She never dreams that he is really the criminal Bennie Dickson, that she will marry him and on her sixteenth birthday they will rob a bank, but that is what happens.

Bennie teaches Stella to shoot, they rob a bank but it is too little money so they rob a second bank. Now the FBI is on their trail and they are running for their lives. The dream of the little house with a swing in the back yard that Stella has will have to wait.

After they are declared public enemy no 1 and no 2 there is no place for them to hide. The FBI is hot on their trail and closing in. They are safe nowhere and they can trust no one.

This is a story of two young people not wanting to hurt anyone, but wanting a life they cannot afford and trying to find an easy way to get it. Times are hard, jobs are hard to find and Bennie is not into working for pennies. Stella is a teenager in love with him and following everything he says and does. All she wants is a home and family, all she gets is trouble.

This was a really good read and I enjoyed reading it. It does remind one of the history of the great depression and how hard life was back then. It reminds us of how much we have and how lucky we are today to be living in better times even with the pandemic.

I enjoyed listening to this audio book , the narrator did a wonderful job. I would recommend this story.

Thanks to Dietrich Kalteis for writing a great story, to Patrick Garrow for the wonderful narration, to ECW Press Audio for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available for me to enjoy.

Without a doubt, one of the best titles I’ve listened to this year. It’s a little gem; a totally unexpected pleasure. The writing is so tight, the two central characters are complex and the accounts of a couple of the bank robberies depicted were like watching a film reel.

I’d never heard of this gangster couple; the story is taken from real people and events. Set in the post depression era where times are still hard and a seemingly distant world war is looming, a couple embark on bank robbery as a lifestyle choice. But the backdrop is so complex; at 15, Stella is yearning for a better life away from her hometown for reasons not initially revealed. Bunny is older, has served time for violent crime and is clever. He wants to be a lawyer but is inspired by Bonnie and Clyde and has analysed how to improve their bank robbery techniques. Both have substance and I warmed to them immediately. What sets this book above many is the dialogue. The narration helps because it’s delivered as if the listener is a fly on the wall, actually witnessing events. It’s entertaining, clever and I’ve romped through it in a couple of sittings. I’m delighted I took a punt on this title; not my usual genre and the author is unknown, but it’s delivered everything and then some.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

This was a pleasant surprise because I didn’t know it was based on true accounts of a sort of “Bonnie and Clyde” couple during the 1930’s.
The novel opens with how the couple met and gave me the sense of a genuine relationship with hopes and dreams.
I’m not sure how tough things were for everyone back then but I felt for this couple. I was glued to the details of their courtship and how they planned their new lives. I enjoyed the pace and flow and thought the writing excellent. I chose to listen to this and thought Patrick Garrow one of the best narrators I’ve ever listened to. He really made this unique. If you decide to give this a try I highly recommend listening to it. Thank you Dietrich Kalteis for writing this and I hope you’re working on your next one.
Thanks ECW Press Audio via NetGalley. #UnderanOutlawMoon #NetGalley