Ozark Dogs

Praise

Praise for Ozark Dogs

An ABA IndieNext Pick for April 2023

“Ozark Dogs is a gripping family drama that mixes murder with mistaken identity and hidden secrets. Each revelation shocked me more than the last. I simply could not put it down.”
—Brendan Slocumb, New York Times bestselling author of The Violin Conspiracy

“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

“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

“A sophomore effort of remarkable scope and stride, Ozark Dogs is a saga of blood spilt and blood owed, which at its bones reveals how far we will go to protect the ones we love. Eli Cranor is a fire that is growing.”
—David Joy, author of The Line That Held Us

“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

“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

“Scorching country noir… There is not one character on either side of the family divide who doesn’t bring the reader up short by displaying an unexpected layer of complexity—and even, sometimes, compassion. In only his second novel, Cranor has transformed a familiar noir theme into a multidimensional tragedy of great power and beauty.”   
—Booklist, Starred Review

“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

“A feud between Arkansas families escalates with the fury of Greek tragedy… Family loyalty, young love, honoring the dead—they’re all here, and they all go terribly wrong.”
—Kirkus Reviews


Praise for Don’t Know Tough

“There is a raw ferocity to Cranor’s prose, perfectly in keeping with the novel’s examination of curdling masculinity.”
—Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review

“A major work from a bright, young talent.”
—Tod Goldberg, USA Today, **** out of **** stars

“Cranor is an author to watch.”
—Oline Cogdill, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“Eli Cranor is that rare writer who can make you gasp, cry and cheer often in the same paragraph.”
—S.A. Cosby, New York Times bestselling author of Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland