New York, NY: Soho Press | Random House (July 2, 2024)

First Edition. Signed.

New in dust jacket.

The troubles of two desperate families—one white, one Mexican American—converge in the ruthless underworld of an Arkansas chicken processing plant in this new thriller from the award-winning author of DON'T KNOW TOUGH.

Gabriela Menchaca and Edwin Saucedo are hardworking, undocumented employees at the Detmer Foods chicken plant in Springdale, Arkansas, just a stone’s throw away from the trailer park where they’ve lived together for seven years. While dealing with personal tragedies of their own, the young couple endures the brutal, dehumanizing conditions at the plant in exchange for barebones pay.

When the plant manager, Luke Jackson, fires Edwin to set an example for the rest of the workers—and to show the higher-ups that he’s ready for a major promotion—Edwin is determined to get revenge on Luke and his wife, Mimi, a new mother who stays at home with her six-month-old son. Edwin’s impulsive action sets in motion a devastating chain of events that illuminates the deeply entrenched power dynamics between those who revel at the top and those who toil at the bottom.

From the nationally bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author of Don’t Know Tough and Ozark Dogs comes another edge-of-your-seat noir thriller that exposes the dark, bloody heart of life on the margins in the American South and the bleak underside of a bygone American Dream.

Nationally bestselling, award-winning author Eli Cranor writes from Arkansas where he lives with his wife and kids. His critically acclaimed debut novel, Don’t Know Tough, won the Edgar Award and was named one of the Best Books of the Year by USA Today and one of the Best Crime Novels of the Year by The New York Times. Eli also pens a weekly column, “Where I’m Writing From” for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and his craft column, “Shop Talk,” appears monthly at CrimeReads. His latest novel, Ozark Dogs, was a national bestseller. Eli currently serves as the Writer in Residence at Arkansas Tech University