Eli Cranor played quarterback at every level: peewee to professional, and then coached high school football for five years. These days, he's traded in the pigskin for a laptop, writing from Arkansas where he lives with his wife and kids. Eli's debut novel Don't Know Tough was awarded the Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel Contest. The New York Times called the novel 'one of the best debuts of 2022,' while USA Today labeled it one of the 'Best Books of the Year.' Along with fiction, Eli writes a nationally-syndicated sports column, and his column about the craft of writing, 'Shop Talk'. appears monthly at CrimeReads.
Eli Cranor's superb new novel Ozark Dogs tunnels into your brain with feverish power. A story of family burdens and dark legacies, it's thrillingly told, deeply wrenching, not to be missed. -- Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of The Turnout Raw, gritty, and darkly beautiful noir at its finest. Cranor digs deep into the hard places, the hard choices that crush and grind. And he does so with great tenderness for his flawed and broken characters as they seek revenge, cling to honor, and sacrifice everything for family. This is a writer to watch. -- Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six Whatever darkness lives in the space between a finger and a trigger also lives in the pages of Ozark Dogs. A tale of blood, guilt, family, and murder, this one will move from the junkyard straight into your heart. Cranor is one of the South's best contemporary chroniclers, and his keen eye is on full display here. -- Gabino Iglesias, author of The Devil Takes You Home Eli Cranor writes about his people and his place with a bloodred certainty and a careful eye toward the things that both bind us together and tear us apart. Ozark Dogs does not compromise one single beat. -- Michael Farris Smith, author of Nick and The Fighter The author has a superior gift for capturing the cadences and feel of Southern small towns. Greg Iles fans will be eager for Cranor's next. * Publishers Weekly *