On the Road With Del and Louise by Art Taylor

I read On the Road with Del and Louise for the House of Clues March online book club.
It is actually a "Novel in Short Stories". Rather than chapters, the book has six stories following the escapades of Del and Louise.

About: 

"Del’s a small time crook with a moral conscience—robbing convenience stores only for tuition and academic expenses. Brash and sassy Louise goes from being a holdup victim to Del’s lover and accomplice. All they want is a fresh start, an honest life, and a chance to build a family together, but fate conspires to put ever-steeper challenges in their path—and escalating temptations, too.

A real estate scam in recession-blighted Southern California. A wine heist in Napa Valley. A Vegas wedding chapel holdup. A kidnapping in an oil-rich North Dakota boomtown. Can Del and Louise stay on the right side of the law? On one another’s good side? And when they head back to Louise’s hometown in North Carolina, what new trouble will prove the biggest: Louise’s nagging mama or a hidden adversary seemingly intent on tearing the couple apart? Or could those be one and the same?

From screwball comedy to domestic drama, and from caper tale to traditional whodunit, these six stories offer suspense with a side of romance—and a little something for all tastes.

Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all".

I enjoyed this book and the characters. This book asks the question; can you root for a protagonist that is on the other side of the law? Yep Del did all kinds of small crimes. But we got to read his thought process and he really believed it was o.k., that he had good reasons for what he did. 

Del made me think of the brother and the uncle in the movie Napoleon Dynamite. While they didn't commit crimes, you just had to shake your head at how their minds worked. Louise reminded me of a the female character in a movie I just watched with Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino, High Sierra. Ida plays Marie who is already literally just hanging out with a couple of goof balls headed for trouble. When Humphrey Bogart shows up to run the big caper, Marie falls for him because she likes how he takes control and seems so smart...really going places. Oh brother. 

Louise actually tries to keep Del under wraps, de-escalate situations when needed. Except when she finds herself shoplifting, which leads to something a bit more serious. They are both so misguided and warped in their thinking, and don't want to hurt anyone that I had to like them. I had to laugh at some of the things they said and did. Now in real life, I probably wouldn't hang out with them.

This book won an Agatha Award in 2015 for Best First Novel and finalist for an Anthony and McAvity award.

Art Taylor: Art Taylor is the author of On the Road with Del & Louise: A Novel in Stories, winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. He has won three additional Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, two Macavity Awards, and three consecutive Derringer Awards for his short fiction, and his work has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories. He also edited Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015, winner of the Anthony Award for Best Anthology or Collection. He is an associate professor of English at George Mason University, and he contributes frequently to the Washington Post, the Washington Independent Review of Books, and Mystery Scene Magazine.