Bonnie

A Novel

By: Christina Schwarz

Narrated by: Candace Thaxton

“Absorbing...poignant, often heartbreaking...Schwarz is a vivid storyteller.” –The New York Times Book Review

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drowning Ruth vividly evokes the perennially fascinating true crime love affair of Bonnie and Clyde in this suspenseful, gorgeously detailed fictional portrait of Bonnie Parker, one of America’s most enigmatic women.

Born in a small town in the desolate reaches of western Texas and shaped by her girlhood in an industrial wasteland on the outskirts of Dallas, Bonnie Parker was a natural performer and a star student. She dreamed of being a movie star or a singer or a poet. But her dramatic nature, contorted by her limited opportunities and her overwhelming love for Clyde Barrow, pushed her into a course from which there was no escape but death.

Infusing the psychological acuity of literary fiction with the relentless pacing of a thriller, Bonnie follows Bonnie from her bright, promising youth to her final month of shoot-outs, kidnappings, and desperate car chases through America’s hinterland in the grip of the Great Depression, as the noose of the law tightened around her. Enriched by Christina Schwarz’s extensive research in the footsteps of Bonnie and Clyde and written with her powerful sense of place and time, Bonnie is a plaintive and page-turning account of a woman destroyed by a lethal combination of longing and love.

Critic reviews

"Candace Thaxton's lively narration brings listeners to 1930s Texas for the start of the legend of Bonnie and Clyde. As the story opens, Bonnie Parker meets, and quickly falls in love with, Clyde Barrow. As events unfold from Bonnie's perspective, listeners will see how her intelligence and supportive family background do not stop her from choosing a life of crime with the wrong man. With a light pitch and a slightly defensive tone, Thaxton depicts Bonnie as a dreamer seeking excitement. Clyde's domineering personality and difficult upbringing also come through in Thaxton's performance. This audiobook moves at a brisk pace, with Thaxton's gentle accents and sharp character portrayals taking listeners along the Barrow gang's tumultuous path throughout the South."

Authentic and beautiful writing

This book seeks understanding of Bonnie without letting her off the hook or romanticizing her. And the writing is gorgeous. The reader for this book was also perfect. A book I won’t forget. (And before reading this, I never had much interest in Bonnie and Clyde).

Entertaining read

Interesting take on Bonnie and Clyde…I found it enjoyable, but slightly romanticized. The narrator did a nice job with the different voices.