I have always had an interest in Alcatraz and if you do too then definitely read this book. Such an enjoyable historical read. Perfect for lovers of true crime, history and Alcatraz. Definitely recommend!

Incredibly entertaining, informative and all around well written!! I'd never heard of Roy Gardner but now I am so glad I know of him. What an insane story.

I enjoy old true crime and this was no exception. The story of Roy Gardner and his many exploits was very informative, but does become a warning tale to those contemplating a life of crime. I just felt sad for him and his family about halfway through. The way his life ended all alone was also very sad.

Roy Gardner was nicknamed "the Smiling Bandit" for how he acted when he robbed you. But the key fact here is the remember that HE JUST ROBBED YOU.

When captured, Gardner was sent to the most infamous prison in the country, Alcatraz. Gardner did not change who he was after conviction. He remained polite and cordial with all. This garnered him the respect of those around him and in his life. Both his wife and the police officer who arrested him, campaigned to have him released from prison stating that he can be cured of his urge to break the law.

But a criminal is still a criminal no matter if they smile when they do it.

This book hints at so many different genres throughout reading, nonfiction/true crime, romance, thriller, etc. The author Brian Stannard did a fantastic job with the research for this book. He was able to paint a clear picture which allowed the reader to connect to the criminal in this case. His pacing throughout the story kept it moving along the timeline efficiently. I did not feel as though the story lagged in any specific section. It did have moments of book report writing however for the most part, I enjoyed reading it.

Roy Gardner's Amazing Train Robberies, Escapes, and Lifelong Love.
Brian Stannard’s Alcatraz Ghost Story tells the life of Roy Gardner, who was a charismatic gambler, and a thief who was eventual convicted and placed at Alcatraz after some daring escapes.
This is the True Story of the Most Hunted Man in Pacific Coast History. Roy Gardner was a charismatic gambling addict who led a colourful life, and whose loving wife Dollie stood by his side even though Roy and Dollie had a baby and Roy spent most of their married life either on the run or in prison.
Gardner led a very shady life who was involved in a near-fatal head wound in a mining accident, which led to a metal plate being put in his head. Still this never stopped Gardner as he was running guns for the Mexican Revolutionary Army, and then went on to robbing trains which all ended in a string of failed robberies and subsequent jailbreaks in California, Oregon, Arizona, and Washington.
The news headlines back in the early 20’s was dominated with daring train robberies by Gardner and the escapes made Gardner famous and he was Nicknamed "the Smiling Bandit. One fact Gardner was immensely proud of was he always said I never once killed anyone. Gardner’s charismatic ways ended up with him befriended the men who captured him or who jailed him. He not only won them over, but he captured the hearts and imaginations of American people in the 1920s and 1930s due to his daring robberies and escapes. After so many escapes Gardner was eventually imprisoned for the long term in Alcatraz.
His wife Dollie finally divorced him after fifteen years and Gardner was released two years after Dollie divorced him and remarried. I Highly recommended this book as it is Professionally written and beautifully told by Brian Stannard. The book is Part history, part cautionary tale, and part love story and I highly recommend to individual readers and book clubs. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

There were some comparisons that the author tried to use from the future to the past, and it could get a bit hard to try and get through that. I wish the author stuck to the past because most of the future comparisons had nothing to do with the story being told. But other than it was very well written and motivated me to keep reading to find out the full story on Roy Gardner. There was also some cool passages of information in there like Elmer McCurdy who was pretty much mummified and shown off. This is a 4 star for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this arc!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I had not heard of Roy Gardiner before reading this book but Alcatraz has always fascinated me. It was great to learn more about one of its most renowned prisoners. I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. I think this was a great debut novel, the author did a great job of describing how well loved Roy was by the wider community and his ‘fall from grace’. The whole time I was rooting for Roy to get back on the straight and narrow!

Consider this book to be a verbal rollercoaster. So, in some ways, it was a riveting story written with flair.

What about the rest? It's as though the author imagined fluff to meet a school essay word count. Time-travel tangents perplex me, but what about gems like mummified McCurdy?

Really enjoyed this book most of the time but some parts were truly dull and bring. Seemed like 2 different people were writing and one was so bad it ruined the whole book. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This book was very well written 80% of the time. However, 20% of the time, it felt like the author was writing a mandatory report and adding in fluff to get to the required length set by the teacher. There were some comparisons that the author tried to draw from the future to the past, and it could get a bit hard to try and weed through things. At those times, I wish the author stuck to the past because most of the future comparisons had no baring to the story being told.

But for the most part, it was very well written and motivated me to keep reading to find out the full story on Roy Gardner. There was also some cool tidbits in there like Elmer McCurdy who was pretty much mummified and shown off. Super weird how those things lined up with Roy. I wish Goodreads would do partial star ratings as this book would get a 3.5 star rating out of me—not just simply a 3.

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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The Incredible True Story of the Most Hunted Man in Pacific Coast History––and the Woman He Loved

Before the 1920s found their roar, a charismatic gambling addict named Roy Gardner dominated news headlines with daring train robberies and escapes from incarceration. Nicknamed "the Smiling Bandit," Gardner spilled no blood––except his own––as he cut a felonious path across the western United States, as the country hobbled through a recession in the aftermath of the First World War.

Once imprisoned for the long term in federal prisons, including Alcatraz, the most notorious prison's second-most-notorious inmate won over some unlikely champions. Both Gardner's wife, Dollie, and a police officer who once arrested him launched extensive campaigns for Gardner's release on the vaudeville circuit, claiming a brain operation would cure his lawless ways. Was Gardner a good man who made bad decisions as the victim of injury and circumstance? Or was his charming personality merely the poker face of a scoundrel?

Richly researched, drawing on contemporary newspaper accounts, Alcatraz Ghost Story explores the life of Roy Gardner in the context of his great love story and the larger backdrop of drug addiction, incarceration, and the racial and labour violence of the 1920s and 1930s.

A lover of the history of Alcatraz, I had heard of Gardner before … but the second most famous Alcatraz inmate? I can think of at least ten, ranging from Machine Gun Kelley, Robert Birdman Stroud, Voley Davis, Al Capone, Bulger (at the very tail end of Alcatraz), Bumpus and at least two men named Rufus and that’s 8 of 10 I can think of off the top of my head…and I only slightly remember Gardner, but that is me. (And who is #1 is arguable at times as it all depends on your point of view ... mine is as a Canadian looking from afar! Well, from my cousin's deck as he has a beautiful hou$$$$$e looking at Alcatraz and other landmarks!))

I was interested in his story and the history of the time, especially the racial and labour violence: have things really changed in 100 years? Nope….just add in fundamentalism, red vs blue politics, and insurrection and now it’s just more “more”. A great book to read if you live history or are interested in law enforcement. Highly recommended to individual readers and book clubs. (and the cousin who so graciously let us stay with him and his family vs.. a hotel in a city I now compare to NYC in the 70s and 80s!)