Lone Star Book Blog Tour: Bonnie and Clyde: Radioactive by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall (Review)

Five stars! Wait, make that a double. Yes, Bonnie and Clyde: Radioactive deserves ten stars. Actually, the trilogy (Resurrection Road, Dam Nation, and Radioactive) deserves an entire constellation. You definitely do not want to miss a single word from start to finish.

What if Bonnie and Clyde slipped through the law’s fingers and were not the ones getting shot up in that car on that fateful day in 1934? This basic premise is intriguing and rife with possibilities. The real Bonnie and Clyde were hardened thieves and murderers, and their life and death have been immortalized countless times over. But Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall have turned this duo’s real-life legacy on its head and in spectacular fashion.

Radioactive has Bonnie and Clyde on another undercover assignment rooting out traitors in the famous Manhattan Project during WWII, with too many suspects to count, including Germans, Russians, and Americans who have no problem playing on more than one team. As Bonnie and Clyde narrow down the list of suspects, the danger keeps edging closer. Bonnie comes up with the plans to get them out of scrapes and get the job done, and Clyde provides the bluster and the knock-out punches when someone gets too handsy with his best gal or too eager to put them both in the ground for good.

The authors expertly present two plots that never become cumbersome or confusing as they switch back and forth. Bonnie as an older woman in the 1980s is telling her fantastic tale to journalist Royce Jenkins, who becomes enamored with the idea of producing an exclusive and explosive Pulitzer-worthy story. But someone does not want the truth to see the light of day, and in Radioactive, Bonnie and Royce are on the run as she wraps up her tale and they both dodge bullets. These two plots (1930s/40s and 1980s) across all three books present a well-rounded story line that is both exhilarating and incredibly thought provoking. But did a loose end leave a tiny opening for more Bonnie and Clyde? I certainly hope so!

The characters will keep you glued to the page. All of them. Of course, Bonnie and Clyde, aka Brenda and Clarence Prentiss, will steal your heart and your wallet if given the chance. They may now be working for the government as spies, but complete redemption is asking a bit too much. They lie, steal, cheat, shoot, and bluff their way through all three books, but their jaunty attitudes and witticisms will keep you laughing, and their randy antics will keep you giggling and sighing at their enduring affection for each other. The love is real between these two, but Hays and McFall provide just enough sizzle and sexy banter to keep it fun and not too scorching.

The mysterious Sal pulls the strings, orchestrating Bonnie’s and Clyde’s new chance at life at a price they can neither refuse nor escape. But along the way, these two begin to evolve as their worldview expands beyond their own little universe. With an exposure to a higher level of greed and corruption in Resurrection Road and Dam Nation and to unscrupulous, traitorous people in Radioactive, Bonnie and Clyde find themselves becoming a little more benevolent toward their fellow man and woman, especially the working class and the downtrodden. As the two land on their feet after each daring escapade and thrilling caper, the world becomes a much bigger place in their eyes, and they embrace this second chance to make a positive difference, even if they still rob a bank or two and keep a dainty pistol and brass knuckles close at hand.

Radioactive mostly wraps up the trilogy with a bang and a few sad moments, as expected. The action in this third book is electrifying and dangerous and reminds us that the world hasn’t changed all that much over the years, with inequality, racism, greed, and corruption still hanging around and wreaking havoc.

The possibility of a second chance is what makes this entire trilogy so great. Bonnie and Clyde will forever be glamorized, but Hays and McFall give us an alluring glimpse into the alternate lives of these two notorious criminals who may soften and become a little kinder but will never be fully redeemed, but that’s okay. Their impish, carefree attitudes inspire us to laugh and love a little bit harder because that’s how Bonnie and Clyde would do it, full tilt and with a bottle of hooch and trusty heaters at their fingertips.

Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a signed copy of the full Bonnie and Clyde series by Hays and McFall.