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Under an Outlaw Moon
Meet Depression-era newlyweds Bennie and Stella. He’s reckless, she’s naive. Longing for freedom from tough times, they rob a bank, setting off a series of events that quickly spin out of their control.
Under an Outlaw Moon is based on the true story of Depression-era bank robbers Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson. She’s a teenage outsider longing to fit in. He’s a few years older and he’s trouble. They meet at a local skating rink and the sparks fly.
They marry and Stella dreams of a nice house with a swing out back, while Bennie figures out how to get enough money to make it happen. Setting his sights on the good life, he decides to rob a bank. Talking Stella into it, he lays out his plan and teaches her to shoot. The newlyweds celebrate her 16th birthday by robbing a local bank.
They pull it off, but the score is small, and Bennie realizes the money won’t last long, so he plans a bigger robbery. What lays ahead is more than either of them bargained for. After J. Edgar Hoover finds out they crossed state lines, he declares them public enemies number one and two ― wanted dead or alive. So much for the good life. The manhunt is on, and there’s little room for them to run.
Under an Outlaw Moon is based on the true story of Depression-era bank robbers Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson. She’s a teenage outsider longing to fit in. He’s a few years older and he’s trouble. They meet at a local skating rink and the sparks fly.
They marry and Stella dreams of a nice house with a swing out back, while Bennie figures out how to get enough money to make it happen. Setting his sights on the good life, he decides to rob a bank. Talking Stella into it, he lays out his plan and teaches her to shoot. The newlyweds celebrate her 16th birthday by robbing a local bank.
They pull it off, but the score is small, and Bennie realizes the money won’t last long, so he plans a bigger robbery. What lays ahead is more than either of them bargained for. After J. Edgar Hoover finds out they crossed state lines, he declares them public enemies number one and two ― wanted dead or alive. So much for the good life. The manhunt is on, and there’s little room for them to run.
240 pages, Paperback
Published November 2, 2021
174 people are currently reading
615 people want to read
About the author
Dietrich Kalteis
25 books118 followersDietrich Kalteis is the critically acclaimed author of thirteen novels and winner of the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for Best Crime Novel for Under an Outlaw Moon. His first novel, Ride the Lightning, won the bronze medal for Best Regional Fiction in the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2015. House of Blazes was his fourth novel and won the silver medal for Best Historical Fiction in the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2017. His screenplay Between Jobs is a past finalist in the Los Angeles Screenplay Contest. He enjoys life with his family on Canada’s West Coast.
Visit his website: http://www.dietrichkalteis.com/
He regularly contributes at Off the Cuff: http://www.dietrichkalteis.blogspot.ca/
And at 7 Criminal Minds:
http://www.7criminalminds.blogspot.ca/
You can also find him on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dietrich.kalt...
and Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dietrichkalteis/
Visit his website: http://www.dietrichkalteis.com/
He regularly contributes at Off the Cuff: http://www.dietrichkalteis.blogspot.ca/
And at 7 Criminal Minds:
http://www.7criminalminds.blogspot.ca/
You can also find him on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dietrich.kalt...
and Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dietrichkalteis/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 511 reviews
August 18, 2021
Bennie Dickson made serious mistakes. He shamed his family by stealing a car. He was sent to a reformatory. Not learning a lesson from this mistake, he got mixed up in a Missouri bank job and spent six years in the Missouri State Pen. Recently released into his father's custody, he was planning to turn his life around. He would apply for a cab license at the Automobile Licensing Bureau. Bennie maintained a calm demeanor by politely, then repeatedly asking the clerk to please upgrade, stamp his papers and collect the appropriate fees. Refusing to comply with Bennie's request and making "taunting digs", clerk Edward Heidt caused an altercation resulting in blows. Heidt's father had "some sway" in town. Bogus charges for an "unprovoked assault on a clerk at the motor vehicle office" would be filed. It was unlikely that the word of an ex-con claiming self-defense would hold up in a court of law. "...Bennie left, cursing down the hall...guessing cab driving wasn't going to fit into his future plans after all."
The year was 1937. They met at a roller rink in Depression Era Kansas. Bennie Dickson was twenty six, Stella Mae Redenbaugh was just shy of sixteen. Though Stella was young, she seemed different from other girls. They fell in love and planned to marry when Stella turned sixteen. Suddenly, Bennie disappeared without a trace leaving a heartbroken Stella. Finally a letter arrived! "[Stella's] hurt and anger lifted like fog." Bennie had sent her money for a train ticket to meet him...but...would Stella leave her home in Kansas? The whole town called her loose-legs Stella Mae. Why did she accept a ride from a man at the roller rink? A new life was waiting for her starting with her first ever train ride.
By the time lovebirds Bennie and Stella reunited, Bennie had robbed the Peerless Laundry twice, scoring enough money to keep him afloat for several months. He rented a house with the stolen cash and "helped himself" to a car to meet her at the train station. Bennie had a money making scheme. "...we can make easy money. Get our life on the fast track...You hear of Bonnie and Clyde?' "I just can't see me walking in no bank, fifteen years old and yelling get your hands up and scaring folks out of their wits...One minute you're making an honest woman of me, next one you got me robbing a bank."
"Under an Outlaw Moon" by Dietrich Katteis is based upon the true story of the FBI's most wanted Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson. Dressed like drifters, they entered a bank with few employees and no security. Finding out the vault was time locked, they waited, conversing with "their hostages" and treating them with the utmost respect. Mrs. Hurd discussed her recipe for peach cobbler. Bennie asked her what brand of flour she used. Noticing that she had withdrawn twenty dollars, he told her to keep her withdrawal to buy the ingredients to bake her pies. No shots were fired. An apology for inconveniencing the bank customers was made. The chase was on to capture public enemies one and two, considered to be armed and dangerous.
Bennie Dickson could recite poetry, especially Keats and Lord Byron. He dreamed about attending law school. Stella Mae loved acting and singing. Perhaps a different trajectory would have enabled this couple to reach for the stars. A highly recommended read.
Thank you ECW Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The year was 1937. They met at a roller rink in Depression Era Kansas. Bennie Dickson was twenty six, Stella Mae Redenbaugh was just shy of sixteen. Though Stella was young, she seemed different from other girls. They fell in love and planned to marry when Stella turned sixteen. Suddenly, Bennie disappeared without a trace leaving a heartbroken Stella. Finally a letter arrived! "[Stella's] hurt and anger lifted like fog." Bennie had sent her money for a train ticket to meet him...but...would Stella leave her home in Kansas? The whole town called her loose-legs Stella Mae. Why did she accept a ride from a man at the roller rink? A new life was waiting for her starting with her first ever train ride.
By the time lovebirds Bennie and Stella reunited, Bennie had robbed the Peerless Laundry twice, scoring enough money to keep him afloat for several months. He rented a house with the stolen cash and "helped himself" to a car to meet her at the train station. Bennie had a money making scheme. "...we can make easy money. Get our life on the fast track...You hear of Bonnie and Clyde?' "I just can't see me walking in no bank, fifteen years old and yelling get your hands up and scaring folks out of their wits...One minute you're making an honest woman of me, next one you got me robbing a bank."
"Under an Outlaw Moon" by Dietrich Katteis is based upon the true story of the FBI's most wanted Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson. Dressed like drifters, they entered a bank with few employees and no security. Finding out the vault was time locked, they waited, conversing with "their hostages" and treating them with the utmost respect. Mrs. Hurd discussed her recipe for peach cobbler. Bennie asked her what brand of flour she used. Noticing that she had withdrawn twenty dollars, he told her to keep her withdrawal to buy the ingredients to bake her pies. No shots were fired. An apology for inconveniencing the bank customers was made. The chase was on to capture public enemies one and two, considered to be armed and dangerous.
Bennie Dickson could recite poetry, especially Keats and Lord Byron. He dreamed about attending law school. Stella Mae loved acting and singing. Perhaps a different trajectory would have enabled this couple to reach for the stars. A highly recommended read.
Thank you ECW Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 12, 2023
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. My thanks to ECW Press Audio for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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. My thanks to ECW Press Audio for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 5, 2021
Under an Outlaw Moon takes us back in time to the depression-era days of Bonnie and Clyde. Based on a true story about another young Outlaw couple who grew up too fast, this novel tells the story of Bennie and Stella Mae, two young kids who met at the roller rink. He’s out of the reformatory, enjoying a well-deserved pardon with hopes of being a middleweight contender and driving a cab. She looks like she could be eighteen, but even sixteen’s pushing it. Secretly engaged, just two young kids, but Bennie is one of those guys who can’t stay out of trouble if he tried. Eventually, like the man once said, they turn to banks cause that’s where the money is and a legend is born – a most wanted legend, that is, with Hoover’s boys on their tails.
It’s a novel that succeeds and is quite an un-putdownable read. It’s like following along with a younger – and slightly more innocent – Bonnie and Clyde. Even as they are robbing banks, Bennie still thinks he can study and pass the Bar. She thinks she’ll get a house with a white picket fence. Surprisingly, the story which is set back in 1938 feels fresh and new.
It’s a novel that succeeds and is quite an un-putdownable read. It’s like following along with a younger – and slightly more innocent – Bonnie and Clyde. Even as they are robbing banks, Bennie still thinks he can study and pass the Bar. She thinks she’ll get a house with a white picket fence. Surprisingly, the story which is set back in 1938 feels fresh and new.
April 18, 2023
This Bonnie and Clyde-esk novel is based on the true story of Depression-era bank robbers Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson.
Stella is a typical teenager from a broken home who just wants to fit in. When she meets Bennie, who's a bad boy much older than her, she falls in love quickly. Soon they are married and dreaming of the good life.
However the good life isn't easy to come by in depression era America for a young couple without money. So Bennie comes up with a plan to make their dreams come true and talks Stella into celebrating her 16th birthday by robbing a bank.
The heist is successful but they ended up with less than they anticipated and it won't last long. So they do it again, on the run, assuming new identities and stealing vehicles as they cross the countryside. Soon they are America's most wanted, running just to stay alive.
Stella is a typical teenager from a broken home who just wants to fit in. When she meets Bennie, who's a bad boy much older than her, she falls in love quickly. Soon they are married and dreaming of the good life.
However the good life isn't easy to come by in depression era America for a young couple without money. So Bennie comes up with a plan to make their dreams come true and talks Stella into celebrating her 16th birthday by robbing a bank.
The heist is successful but they ended up with less than they anticipated and it won't last long. So they do it again, on the run, assuming new identities and stealing vehicles as they cross the countryside. Soon they are America's most wanted, running just to stay alive.
March 24, 2024
4 Stars for Under an Outlaw Moon (audiobook) Dietrich Kalteis read by Patrick Garrow.
This is the story of a bold young man and a naive girl. It’s the Depression-era but he has big plans for his life. He found the perfect girl and now he needs some money to get them started out. His boxing career isn’t panning out so he decides to rob a couple of banks. The feds realize that they crossed state lines and now the hunt is on.
This is the story of a bold young man and a naive girl. It’s the Depression-era but he has big plans for his life. He found the perfect girl and now he needs some money to get them started out. His boxing career isn’t panning out so he decides to rob a couple of banks. The feds realize that they crossed state lines and now the hunt is on.
April 29, 2023
Under the Outlaw Moon by Dietrich Kalteis
Narrated (brilliantly!) by Patrick Garrow
Under the Outlaw Moon is based on real life couple Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson, semi-famous bank robbers of the Depression-era, and their ill-conceived quest for a better life, one that pits them against the relentless J. Edgar Hoover and the F.B.I.
I stumbled across this audiobook while browsing on Libby and it was just SO good! I was on the edge of my seat as Bennie and Stella Mae robbed banks and hid from the G-men while traveling across the country in stolen cars. I’m not gonna lie, it's hard to not root for them just a little.
Patrick Garrow narrated the heck out of this story and if you’re interested in this book trust me go with the audiobook! Fast paced and exciting from start to finish.
Narrated (brilliantly!) by Patrick Garrow
Under the Outlaw Moon is based on real life couple Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson, semi-famous bank robbers of the Depression-era, and their ill-conceived quest for a better life, one that pits them against the relentless J. Edgar Hoover and the F.B.I.
I stumbled across this audiobook while browsing on Libby and it was just SO good! I was on the edge of my seat as Bennie and Stella Mae robbed banks and hid from the G-men while traveling across the country in stolen cars. I’m not gonna lie, it's hard to not root for them just a little.
Patrick Garrow narrated the heck out of this story and if you’re interested in this book trust me go with the audiobook! Fast paced and exciting from start to finish.
August 24, 2021
You’ve heard of Bonnie and Clyde? Of course, you have. They are the American Romeo and Juliet of sorts. But you probably haven’t heard of the Dicksons, another pair of the Depression era bank robbing lovers on a lam. Fame (or infamy) is all about numbers and the latter pair simply haven’t racked up the kind of score that Parkers did.
There’s also a kinda sorta icky matter of the two of them getting together when Stella was only 15, but times were different then and, at least as represented in this novel, the two of them were very much in love, age difference barely mattering. Their bank robbing career was brief and tragic, J. Edgar became obsessed with apprehending them and no matter how bulletproof and clever they tried to be, the odds stacked against them were just too insurmountable. A brief marriage, a brief time in the sun for the two doomed lovers born under the outlaw moon, two wild young things in pursuit of happy times and easy money.
If only they had followed a more conventional road in the game of life. Both were promisingly smart, but alas…would there have been a book about them then?
Now there is one. A pretty good book, too. Well written, compelling, dynamic…throws you right in a driver’s seat of a getaway car in hot pursuit. Very credible, dustily realistic depictions of the 1937 America. Fans of historical fiction should enjoy this one. Much like their criminal careers, goes by quickly. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
There’s also a kinda sorta icky matter of the two of them getting together when Stella was only 15, but times were different then and, at least as represented in this novel, the two of them were very much in love, age difference barely mattering. Their bank robbing career was brief and tragic, J. Edgar became obsessed with apprehending them and no matter how bulletproof and clever they tried to be, the odds stacked against them were just too insurmountable. A brief marriage, a brief time in the sun for the two doomed lovers born under the outlaw moon, two wild young things in pursuit of happy times and easy money.
If only they had followed a more conventional road in the game of life. Both were promisingly smart, but alas…would there have been a book about them then?
Now there is one. A pretty good book, too. Well written, compelling, dynamic…throws you right in a driver’s seat of a getaway car in hot pursuit. Very credible, dustily realistic depictions of the 1937 America. Fans of historical fiction should enjoy this one. Much like their criminal careers, goes by quickly. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
December 15, 2021
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.
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.
October 17, 2021
Depression-era Midwest couple’s crime spree across America
When Stella meets Bennie, she lies about her age, he about his name and prior convictions. By the time each knows the truth, they are in deep and on the run.
Based on the true case of the Dicksons, there are many similarities with the more notorious Bonnie & Clyde, a fact which author Kalteis takes pains to show as circumstantial rather than copycat.
It’s hard not to root for the couple whose naïve charm is undone by folly, as the FBI closes in.
The truncated prose in the present tense gives the voice of Bennie in the heat of the moment. However, this method of heightening anxiety/excitement needs to ease occasionally, if only in quieter scenes, to give the reader a rest.
All in all, this novel keeps the reader engaged.
When Stella meets Bennie, she lies about her age, he about his name and prior convictions. By the time each knows the truth, they are in deep and on the run.
Based on the true case of the Dicksons, there are many similarities with the more notorious Bonnie & Clyde, a fact which author Kalteis takes pains to show as circumstantial rather than copycat.
It’s hard not to root for the couple whose naïve charm is undone by folly, as the FBI closes in.
The truncated prose in the present tense gives the voice of Bennie in the heat of the moment. However, this method of heightening anxiety/excitement needs to ease occasionally, if only in quieter scenes, to give the reader a rest.
All in all, this novel keeps the reader engaged.
July 21, 2023
Underwhelming. Slow and the writing is predictable at best. Often repeating lines like it just came back from a commercial break. I finished it bc I’m stubborn, but not interested in more from this author.
December 7, 2021
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
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
June 1, 2023
4 stars for a super fun, depression era, bank robber criminal, love story. Unsure how much of it was fact and what was fun, fill in the blank, fiction.
1 star because Stella was 15 and Bennie was 9 years older when they got married. Trying to not impress my modern US culture on people 90 years ago, but according to the book marriage wasn’t even allowed until 16 so it was jacked up back then too…the author also felt fine including at least one graphic scene. Come on, she’s a child. That’s messed up. I’d rather graphic scenes be left out all the time…but especially when there is a child involved.
1 star because Stella was 15 and Bennie was 9 years older when they got married. Trying to not impress my modern US culture on people 90 years ago, but according to the book marriage wasn’t even allowed until 16 so it was jacked up back then too…the author also felt fine including at least one graphic scene. Come on, she’s a child. That’s messed up. I’d rather graphic scenes be left out all the time…but especially when there is a child involved.
October 20, 2024
Well written and researched
June 20, 2023
I’m not having a ton of luck with my books this month because this one was boring too
April 6, 2023
3.75 Interesting story! I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read it rather than listened late at night
May 21, 2023
HOARDER CHALLENGE #25-SUN OR MOON-TITLE/COVER
--(moon in title)--
2.5 stars
*** This is based on the audiobook. That option wasn't listed on GR but I did it on audio.***
We've all heard of Bonnie & Clyde but I had no idea there were other similar criminals during that time period.
Bennie & Stella are a bank robbing couple during the Depression era. They were also on the FBI's most wanted list.
And there were some differences between the more infamous couple. For one, Bennie & Stella were married, they didn't have a gang, weren't violent, and they were more car thieves than bank robbers.
I felt bad for their parents. I know times were hard but it didn't appear they understood the true ramifications of their actions, as well as being immature.
And in the end, I felt bad for Stella. She was so young but had to suffer the consequences of Bennie's choices for the rest of her life.
This being historical fiction, on audio, it was more of dramatic representation of a subject I didn't know anything about and interesting to learn. The narrator Patrick Garrow did a great job.
--(moon in title)--
2.5 stars
*** This is based on the audiobook. That option wasn't listed on GR but I did it on audio.***
We've all heard of Bonnie & Clyde but I had no idea there were other similar criminals during that time period.
Bennie & Stella are a bank robbing couple during the Depression era. They were also on the FBI's most wanted list.
And there were some differences between the more infamous couple. For one, Bennie & Stella were married, they didn't have a gang, weren't violent, and they were more car thieves than bank robbers.
I felt bad for their parents. I know times were hard but it didn't appear they understood the true ramifications of their actions, as well as being immature.
And in the end, I felt bad for Stella. She was so young but had to suffer the consequences of Bennie's choices for the rest of her life.
This being historical fiction, on audio, it was more of dramatic representation of a subject I didn't know anything about and interesting to learn. The narrator Patrick Garrow did a great job.
March 14, 2023
The title is better than the story.
May 6, 2023
This is a really good read, especially when you keep in mind that it's a true story. It's interesting that everyone has heard of Bonnie and Clyde, but I've certainly never heard of Bennie and Stella, another young couple who robbed banks. Bennie's schmoozing ability was incredible, as was Stella's shooting, so they have the making of legend. I guess they got caught too soon to really become mythical in their time.
You can't help feeling a bit sorry for them, especially Stella, because they truly did have some rough luck, and the Great Depression was a very hard time to live. Yes, they made bad choices, but I found it really interesting how much understanding they got from the people they stole from (if that part is indeed accurate,) but they were usually polite and friendly, which certainly makes a difference.
The story is well-told, though the author's style is quite unusual, I think. There are a lot of sentences beginning with present progressive tense, no subjects to be seen: e.g. waiting in the car, listening to the radio, fingers tapping, wishing he would come back. At first I thought that would drive me crazy, but it worked. It made you feel the actual tension of being on the run, somehow.
I didn't really like the ending. I realize that in true stories, the ending is already determined, but I'd have stopped the story a chapter earlier, I think.
You can't help feeling a bit sorry for them, especially Stella, because they truly did have some rough luck, and the Great Depression was a very hard time to live. Yes, they made bad choices, but I found it really interesting how much understanding they got from the people they stole from (if that part is indeed accurate,) but they were usually polite and friendly, which certainly makes a difference.
The story is well-told, though the author's style is quite unusual, I think. There are a lot of sentences beginning with present progressive tense, no subjects to be seen: e.g. waiting in the car, listening to the radio, fingers tapping, wishing he would come back. At first I thought that would drive me crazy, but it worked. It made you feel the actual tension of being on the run, somehow.
I didn't really like the ending. I realize that in true stories, the ending is already determined, but I'd have stopped the story a chapter earlier, I think.
May 22, 2023
Overall: ☆☆☆☆(3.6)
Writing style: ☆☆☆☆
Entertainment ☆☆☆☆
Characters ☆☆☆
Plot: ☆☆☆☆
Ending:☆☆☆
Writing style: ☆☆☆☆
Entertainment ☆☆☆☆
Characters ☆☆☆
Plot: ☆☆☆☆
Ending:☆☆☆
May 30, 2023
Just listened to this audiobook while on a road trip. Did not love. The story was flat and the writing was poor/distracting. (Talk about fractured sentences!)
I have so many questions. First and foremost, how/why did the Canadian government provide funding for the audiobook?! That note in the acknowledgments will now live rent-free in my mind.
I have so many questions. First and foremost, how/why did the Canadian government provide funding for the audiobook?! That note in the acknowledgments will now live rent-free in my mind.
March 28, 2023
3.75
I really enjoyed this. I had never heard of the Dixons but this was such a interesting read, especially since so much of it happened right here in South Dakota
I really enjoyed this. I had never heard of the Dixons but this was such a interesting read, especially since so much of it happened right here in South Dakota
May 2, 2023
Not my usual genre, but enjoyable
April 29, 2023
Audiobook. Kudos to the narrator!! Very well read. This book which is based off the true couple Bennie and Stella -a ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ if you will, set in the 1930’s depression era, was a kind of fun read. Bank robbery, a young misguided outlaw-ish couple, an old timey feel. Bank hold ups?? Boy times have changed right??
August 6, 2023
I loved this book! Before reading this, I had never heard of the bank-robbing duo Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson. This was an interesting read for sure - an exciting, whirlwind love story of sorts. I kind of found myself rooting for them, although I already knew the outcome. They never hurt anybody directly - just robbed banks. I know, I know - it’s still wrong. They truly loved each other though and Stella never got over Bennie, her one true love. Sigh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2023
Not horrible, just not very good.
July 28, 2023
DNF
The story is interesting but the way it’s written is so off-putting I couldn’t keep reading it. It’s bad grammar but it’s more than that. It’s hard to explain but the best way I can describe it is that it’s like things are done as if it’s the character thinking about doing things as opposed to exposition. Except there’s nothing indicating it’s the character’s thoughts. Because it isn’t the character’s thoughts, it’s just written that way.
I don’t know much about this author so I’m not sure if this was a style specific to this book or if it was just the way he writes but I couldn’t take it.
The story is interesting but the way it’s written is so off-putting I couldn’t keep reading it. It’s bad grammar but it’s more than that. It’s hard to explain but the best way I can describe it is that it’s like things are done as if it’s the character thinking about doing things as opposed to exposition. Except there’s nothing indicating it’s the character’s thoughts. Because it isn’t the character’s thoughts, it’s just written that way.
I don’t know much about this author so I’m not sure if this was a style specific to this book or if it was just the way he writes but I couldn’t take it.
October 28, 2021
Dietrich Kalteis has that undefinable, often unattainable gift all authors strive for: a “golden voice,” as Leonard Cohen rumbled in a different context. No idea if Kalteis can sing, but he writes in the key of Elmore Leonard.
His latest novel, Under an Outlaw Moon, hits all the highs and lows in that ragged, stripped down style of his. His dialogue, as always, is pared to the bone, and all the more poetic for it.
Although it’s billed as a novel, he mines a rich vein of true crime in this dust-bowl-era shoot’em up. Outlaw Moon, he notes, is based “on the true story of the FBI’s most wanted Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson.”
Who?
Exactly.
One can only imagine Kalteis’ joy when he came across these two. Bennie and Stella are, as one historian said, the “Bonnie and Clyde you haven’t heard of.”
For a time in Depression-era South Dakota and beyond—way beyond—they were front-page news with an undeserved top billing on the Feds most-wanted list.
They were a young and good looking and they robbed banks. Stella Mae, all of 15 and a wanna-be actress, was a tasty bit of jail bait. She fell hard for Bennie Dickson—a wanna-be boxer, wanna-be lawyer and an accomplished screw up.
He was 26, fresh out of prison for a Missouri bank heist, when he picked up Stella Mae at a roller rink. As cliché as that sounds, it’s historical fact. The author blends fact and fiction so artfully it’s impossible to know where one leaves off and the other begins. In doing so he brilliantly captures an era of celebrity gangsters and free-firing G-men.
Bennie and Stella were perfectly cast for a Kalteis novel. They’re luckless dreamers, intelligent enough to serve up sassy dialogue, but with a talent for delusion and self-sabotage that render those hopes unattainable.
That said, they do pull off two successful, and amusing bank jobs without shooting anyone. Bennie and Stella treat the bank staff and customers with such small-town courtesy that they’re seen as contemporary Robin Hoods.
Not, though, in the view of FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, the ultimate media whore. He’s on the hunt for new public enemies since the likes of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, John Dillinger, Pretty-boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson were put in the dirt by trigger-happy lawmen.
Did Bad Bennie and Sure Shot Stella deserve inclusion in such murderous company? Not a chance. But the hapless duo served Hoover’s hunger for fresh meat and big headlines.
As to their fate, let’s just say those were weird times. Under an Outlaw Moon is a V-8 powered heist story, a game of cat-and-mouse, and an atmospheric period piece. Ultimately, though, it’s a love story.
By Ken MacQueen
His latest novel, Under an Outlaw Moon, hits all the highs and lows in that ragged, stripped down style of his. His dialogue, as always, is pared to the bone, and all the more poetic for it.
Although it’s billed as a novel, he mines a rich vein of true crime in this dust-bowl-era shoot’em up. Outlaw Moon, he notes, is based “on the true story of the FBI’s most wanted Bennie and Stella Mae Dickson.”
Who?
Exactly.
One can only imagine Kalteis’ joy when he came across these two. Bennie and Stella are, as one historian said, the “Bonnie and Clyde you haven’t heard of.”
For a time in Depression-era South Dakota and beyond—way beyond—they were front-page news with an undeserved top billing on the Feds most-wanted list.
They were a young and good looking and they robbed banks. Stella Mae, all of 15 and a wanna-be actress, was a tasty bit of jail bait. She fell hard for Bennie Dickson—a wanna-be boxer, wanna-be lawyer and an accomplished screw up.
He was 26, fresh out of prison for a Missouri bank heist, when he picked up Stella Mae at a roller rink. As cliché as that sounds, it’s historical fact. The author blends fact and fiction so artfully it’s impossible to know where one leaves off and the other begins. In doing so he brilliantly captures an era of celebrity gangsters and free-firing G-men.
Bennie and Stella were perfectly cast for a Kalteis novel. They’re luckless dreamers, intelligent enough to serve up sassy dialogue, but with a talent for delusion and self-sabotage that render those hopes unattainable.
That said, they do pull off two successful, and amusing bank jobs without shooting anyone. Bennie and Stella treat the bank staff and customers with such small-town courtesy that they’re seen as contemporary Robin Hoods.
Not, though, in the view of FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, the ultimate media whore. He’s on the hunt for new public enemies since the likes of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, John Dillinger, Pretty-boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson were put in the dirt by trigger-happy lawmen.
Did Bad Bennie and Sure Shot Stella deserve inclusion in such murderous company? Not a chance. But the hapless duo served Hoover’s hunger for fresh meat and big headlines.
As to their fate, let’s just say those were weird times. Under an Outlaw Moon is a V-8 powered heist story, a game of cat-and-mouse, and an atmospheric period piece. Ultimately, though, it’s a love story.
By Ken MacQueen
October 15, 2021
The lightbulb came on for me about 75% of the way through Dietrich Kalteis’ new depression era true life fictitious crime portrait #UnderAnOutlawMoon. The embellished story of Bennie Dickson and underage wife Stella Mae Dickson and their short lived nonviolent bank robbing spr(ee) throwing them briefly in the spotlight as public enemies one and two is a colorful tale of what can happen when you’re born on the wrong side of the tracks. My lightbulb moment reflects the fact that an Outlaw Moon would not have given off enough light to be seen in today’s instantaneously communicative .world. Bennie and Stella Mae’s plight would probably not exist with 24 hours news cycles and social media. By adding 24 hours to “news” and social to “media” The Dickson’s magically transfer from law breakers into antiheroes. This transformation is accomplished by Kalteis’ succinct and deliberate style and his marvelous ability to add fiction to his portrayal of his plighted ,true life characters.#UnderAnOutlawMoon is a compelling read and sheds the light to make Mr Kalteis’ prose shine.
February 27, 2023
Super short audiobook that I maybe would’ve liked better except the narrator was difficult to listen to.
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