'Eli Cranor is that rare writer who can make you gasp, cry and cheer often in the same paragraph' S. A. COSBY
'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
After his son is convicted of murder, Vietnam War veteran Jeremiah Fitzjurls takes over the care of his granddaughter, Joanna, raising her with as much warmth as can be found in an Ozark junkyard outfitted to be an armory.
He teaches her how to shoot and fight, but there is not enough training in the world to protect her when the dreaded Ledfords, notorious meth dealers and fanatical white supremacists, come to collect on Joanna as payment for a long-overdue blood debt.
Headed by rancorous patriarch Bunn and smooth-talking, erudite Evail, the Ledfords have never forgotten what the Fitzjurls family did to them, and they will not be satisfied until they have taken an eye for an eye. As they seek revenge, and as Jeremiah desperately searches for his granddaughter, their narratives collide in this immersive story about family and how far some will go to honor, defend-or in some cases, destroy it.
Praise for Eli Cranor:
'Southern noir at its finest, a cauldron of terrible choices and even more terrible outcomes . . . one of the best debuts of 2022' New York Times
'A gripping novel about rage and trauma, redemption and damnation,. . . Cranor's characters bristle with desperation and frustrated masculinity, a volatile cauldron of emotion that brings tension to every page' Steph Cha
'A major work from a bright, young talent' USA Today