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Eli Cranor

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.

Over the course of his career, Eli's fiction has garnered multiple awards (2018-The Missouri Review; 2017-Greensboro Review). Along with fiction, Eli writes a nationally-syndicated sports column, and his craft column, "Shop Talk," appears monthly over at Crime Reads. Eli is currently at work on his next novel. Visit elicranor.com for more information.

Awards: Edgar (2023) see all

Genres: Mystery

New and upcoming books

August 2025

Mississippi Blue 42
(FBI Special Agent Rae Johnson, book 1)

Series

BMBTB
1. Books Make Brainz Taste Bad (2020)

FBI Special Agent Rae Johnson
1. Mississippi Blue 42 (2025)

Novels

   Don't Know Tough (2022)
   Ozark Dogs (2023)
   Broiler (2024)

Awards

2023 Edgar Award for Best First Novel : Don't Know Tough

Award nominations

	2024 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (shortlist) : Ozark Dogs
	2024 Barry Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Ozark Dogs
	2023 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery Novel (nominee) : Don't Know Tough
	2023 Barry Award for Best First Novel (nominee) : Don't Know Tough
	2023 Anthony Award for Best First Novel (nominee) : Don't Know Tough

Eli Cranor recommends

Saint of the Narrows Street (2025)
William Boyle
"Saint of the Narrows Street is a hundred-proof shot of tragic love. Nobody writes like William Boyle. Every character has a huge thumping heart. You can smell the skeevy bars and taste the home-cooked lasagna. Boyle deals in details, but this is a big, epic novel, and it's his best yet."

They All Fall the Same (2025)
Wes Browne
"Browne can flat-out write . . . A southern-fried slice of Kentucky noir penned by a man who not only knows the territory, but also has the chops - and the guts - to serve it to you straight."

Holy City (2024)
Henry Wise
"Holy City is a debut to be relished. Henry Wise writes like he's been around forever, masterfully weaving together a tapestry of flattened forests and sprawling tobacco plantations, along with intimate portraits of the people who populate rural Southern Virginia. Rarely does a first-time novelist come along with such a bold, singular voice. I've got a feeling Henry's here to stay."

The Last Verse (2024)
Caroline Frost
"Frost follows her award-winning debut with a sophomore slam dunk. The Last Verse is a blood-chilling crime novel set amidst 1970's Nashville, Tennessee. Don't let the rhinestones fool you, though. This novel is sexy, suspenseful, and boot-spur sharp. I feel lucky to have read it."

Smoke Kings (2024)
Jahmal Mayfield
"Jahmal Mayfield roars to the top of the writer-to-watch list with this sizzling debut. Smoke Kings is straight fire. Every page simmers with an undercurrent of rage, each line a hard dose of smoldering truth. I can't wait to see what Mayfield does next."

The County Line (2024)
Steve Weddle
"The County Line is downright biblical. In his latest novel, Steve Weddle follows his truly unforgettable protagonist, Cottonmouth Tomlin, on a lyrical journey through Great-Depression-era Arkansas. As an Arkansawyer who's often struggled to reconcile my place in this world - this book hit home."

California Bear (2024)
Duane Swierczynski
"There's real truth at the core of California Bear, Duane Swierczynski's latest novel. And no, it's not some ripped-from-the-headlines true crime element. It's not even the crafty writing or the dead-on dialogue. It's heart. Plain and simple. This book was written straight from the heart, and I won't ever forget it."

Sweet Thing (2023)
David Swinson
"Brisk, punchy chapters, dead-on dialogue, and an insider knowledge of law enforcement elevate Sweet Thing into a higher realm of fiction, a space where genres blur and the line between good and evil spins like a siren in the night. Swinson is a modern master of lean, no-frills, throwback noir."

Mother-Daughter Murder Night (2023)
Nina Simon
"Nina Simon's wildly entertaining debut mystery Mother-Daughter Murder Night is an ode to strong women everywhere. The coastal California setting, complete with a bootleg drive-in and the aptly named 'Kayak Shack,' serves as the perfect proving grounds for the fiercely independent Rubicon women. I sure hope to see Lana, Beth, and Jack in many more books to come."

The Hunt (2023)
Kelly J Ford
"Imagine if Megan Abbott penned a chilling yarn about an annual Easter egg hunt in backwoods Arkansas, and you're getting close to what Kelly J. Ford's pulled off in her next novel. The Hunt perfectly captures the strangeness that lurks behind the guise of so many small-town Southern traditions. Nobody does buried secrets better than Kelly. But this dark rural noir conjures up more than just old ghosts - it shines a fresh new light on the truth."

The Good Ones (2023)
Polly Stewart
"Polly Stewart's stunning novel The Good Ones is reminiscent of Gone Girl with elements of Yellowjackets thrown in. This book dives straight into the heart of Appalachia, unearthing teenage tensions and full-grown fears which connect in ways I never saw coming. Fans of Megan Abbott will rejoice in this intricately textured addition to the rural noir canon."

The Donut Legion (2023)
Joe R Lansdale
"The Donut Legion struck a crazy chord in my heart. Joe Lansdale employs his signature dark humor to shine a supremely strange and unflinchingly honest light on our present-day madness. Known for his colorful characters, Lansdale outdoes himself with this motley crew. Fingers crossed more Garner Brother books are on the way!"

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