Ozark Dogs

Edgar Award–winning author Cranor (Don’t Know Tough) delivers a tragic noir about two feuding Arkansas families. Junkyard owner Jeremiah Fitzjurls has lost many family members, including a son who was put away for murder. The only good thing in his life is his teenage granddaughter Jo, who’s looking forward to the town’s homecoming dance. Grandfather and granddaughter soon learn that the Ledfords, a white-supremacist crime family, have a score to settle with Jeremiah. The Ledfords also know that Jeremiah’s one major weakness is his granddaughter. When Jo goes missing, Jeremiah grabs his rifle to get her back, walking into yet another war after surviving Vietnam. Cranor does double duty here as both writer and narrator. He writes a Southern noir steeped in tough-talking dialogue and unflinching descriptions of violence, while also giving authentic voices to the novel’s many characters, from gruff, stoic Jeremiah to the erudite, soft-spoken meth dealer Evail.