A true story about two young people during the Depression who met at a skating rink fell in love married and wanted to have the American dream. Bennie's idea was to rob a bank to get them started but it did not go as planned for the money was a small amount. Stella Mae went along with Bennie and they just got further into trouble when they crossed state lines Hoover having heard about the robberies made them most wanted one and two. Really a sad story just one of so many during the Depression, just think for the sixteenth birthday let's go rob a bank. A book and a story I never heard about.

Largely enjoyable and easy to read. In a few places it felt overly descriptive and on occasions, I thought there needed to be more exposition as plot wasn't always entirely clear. Some likeable characters, but in places I wanted more reasons to invest in them.

However I liked the premise, the historical setting was good and I enjoyed it's quirkiness. Overall a good read and would recommend.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"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."

Interesting read. As I got used to the writing and the character's vernacular, the story picked up speed and then it was done. I wonder if that was how Sure Shot Stella felt after the insane, crazy year she spent with Bad Bennie.

3.75☆

A rollicking, truculent and reckless voyage through Depression Era America as we follow a couple of very endearing but uttterly dangerous dimwits gone bonkers.

A fiendishly plotted romp blessed with a cast of delightful characters and some very delicious verbal pyrotechnics.

Another Bonnie & Clyde episode that kept me on edge and a magnificent and gritty fictional tapestry of American society in between the two world wars.

Go ahead and dive into this incredible novel and enjoy it without any moderation👍

Many thanks to Netgalley and EWC for this terrific ARC

Under an Outlaw Moon follows along with the protagonist couple--Stella Mae and Bennie Dickson--set in the late 1930s. It takes the reader through their meeting and follows along, rapid-pace, as Bennie goes on the run for a silly mistake made in the heat of the moment with Stella Mae later joining with him. They soon fall into bank-robbing, and are set upon by the law, like hounds after foxes. And, honestly, that IS kind of what it feels like as a reader; it is impossible not to root for the couple. They were real living people, and they weren't violent offenders, nor did they even steal from that many banks. The book is a very quick read both in time spent as well as pages offered, and that's always lovely. I think anyone who likes historical fiction or true crime stories would enjoy a few hours spent with this novel.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Depression-era Mid-West 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 as the FBI closes in: they have a naïve charm undone by folly.

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 need to ease occasionally, if only in quieter scenes, to give the reader a rest.

All in all, this novel keeps the reader engaged.

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.

Rating: 5 stars

Summary: A couple young and troubled youth team up rob banks across the country. This novel is based on a true couple in a similar time to Bonnie and Clyde.

Summary: A no holds bar crime novel. Not Katlties first novel. Banks heists are made for page turning reading. This does not disappoint. Highly recommended.

I was pleasantly surprised with this quick short story. It is a well written tale of two young bank robbers in the late 30’s. They actually came through my home state of Missouri on their travels. Bennie was an absolute wordsmith who could sell a bikini to an Eskimo. The writing is excellent, the story flows well and I became invested in the two lives. The descriptions give you the feeling you were right there with them in the Buick, skating the rink, and could see the yellow color covered in dust.
Stella didn’t have a chance; she was smitten with Bennie and so young and gullible. I was disappointed in the FBI and their portrayal of the criminals when they never killed anyone but reported they had. I also loved the way the author tidied up the story. Great ending.
Received an ARC from ECW Press and NetGalley for my unbiased review – This one comes in with 5*****.

This book takes place in depression area America during a drought and is based on the real life story of Bennie Dickson and his wife Stella Mae. There is certainly a Bonnie and Clyde type theme running through the story, them and several other FBI number one bad guys are mentioned, none of whom had a happy ending. Bennie is fresh out of jail after spending six years for a bank robbery gone wrong, he's hanging out at a roller skating rink when he sports Stella Mae, the mutual attraction was immediate. Stella Mae was only 14 at the time, but looked older. After Bennie sweeps her off her feet, quite literally, they make big plans for a wedding, house, kids, everything. Course one needs money to have that lifestyle, so Bennie decides that robbing a bank would be a great way to get some. He enlists Stella Mae as a lookout. Though it takes a while, he decides to wait for the time lock on the safe to open, they eventually make off with a few thousand dollars. Since the first one went so well, he decides they should do it again at a larger bank, again waiting around until the time lock opens. No shots were fired, no police showed up. But Hoover is adamant that Bennie is now Number 1 most wanted and his wife number 2. FBI agents swarm the area looking for them. After spending some time in New Orleans, Bennie decides to head back to Kansas to dig up some money he had hidden, they are running low. You just have to know that isn't going to go their way. This was an enjoyable book and I would recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy of this novel.

I really enjoyed Under an Outlaw Moon. I couldn't tell you why, but anything Bonnie & Clyde-esque always has me hooked. It's a difficult line to walk, stylistically, as it often comes across as pastiche but Diertrich Kalteis does such a wonderful job. The prose is sparse, evocative and haunting. There's a contemporary edge to the dialogue which I really enjoyed, and admired.

Bennie's determination to pass the bar is initially funny, but soon becomes incredibly moving. That sense of ambition and thwarted desire certainly chimed - and I thought the questions about who, and what, deserve legitimacy were unexpected but very welcome.

I'm not sure that if a reader isn't a fan of the genre, and subject matter, then this book is going to persuade them otherwise - but for those that already are, this is an absolute must read!

Depression era Bonnie and Clyde story? Yes please!

You get the impression that these guys are so much more innocent though,and that they really do just want a happy life.
Flew through it.
Always a good sign.

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.

I like this author Kalteis. This is the third book of his Ive read—they have a crime/ historical fiction bent to them and he does it well. Mixing fact and fiction of Bennie and Stella Dickinson—two real life husband and wife robbers of the thirties—sort of a poor mans Bonnie and Clyde. Kalteis brings to life the time period and the poverty of the mid west and dust bowl in a cinematic way and you almost want to root for the bad guys and girls. Recommended. Read it. .

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.