🎧 ARC Review: Don’t Know Tough by Eli Crandor

My review: 4.25⭐

First and foremost I have to give props to the author on his narration skills. Eli Cranor did an OUTSTANDING job giving each character their own accent. Very impressive.

Billy Lowe is the running back on his high school team, The Denton Pirates. He’s the best on the team and everyone in this small town is counting on him to bring them to the playoffs. But, one terrible night puts everything in jeopardy.

Trent Powers is the coach of the Pirates. When evidence points to Billy as a suspect in the murder of his mother’s abusive boyfriend, Trent takes Billy into the home he shares with his wife and two daughters.

I really liked that it was told between alternating narrators. It was an intense and, at times, tough read. I was kept engaged throughout the entire book. I will for sure look for this authors work again.

*Thanks to Netgalley, RB Media and Eli Cranor for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Book blurb: Release date ~ March 22, 2022

Friday Night Lights meets Southern Gothic, this thrilling debut is for readers of Megan Abbott and Wiley Cash.

In Denton, Arkansas, the fate of the high school football team rests on the shoulders of Billy Lowe, a volatile but talented running back. Billy comes from an extremely troubled home: a trailer park where he is terrorized by his unstable mother’s abusive boyfriend. Billy takes out his anger on the field, but when his savagery crosses a line, he faces suspension.

Without Billy Lowe, the Denton Pirates can kiss their playoff bid goodbye. But the head coach, Trent Powers, who just moved from California with his wife and two children for this job, has more than just his paycheck riding on Billy’s bad behavior. As a born-again Christian, Trent feels a divine calling to save Billy—save him from his circumstances, and save his soul.

Then Billy’s abuser is found murdered in the Lowe family trailer, and all evidence points toward Billy. Now nothing can stop an explosive chain of violence that could tear the whole town apart on the eve of the playoffs.

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