Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen recently welcomed two authors for a virtual conversation, Eli Cranor and Scott Phillips. There are signed copies available at the Webstore of the newest books from both authors. https://store.poisonedpen.com/. Cranor’s new book is Broiler, and Phillips’ is The Devil Raises His Own.
Millikin asks Eli Cranor about the personal connection to Broiler. Here’s the description of the book.
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 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 higherups 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.
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 second novel, Ozark Dogs, was a national bestseller. Eli currently serves as the Writer in Residence at Arkansas Tech University. For more information, visit elicranor.com.
Here’s the summary of Scott Phillips’ The Devil Raises His Own.
From the master of Western noir comes a provocatively entertaining crime saga set in the early days of the film industry.
This dark historical adventure captures the beginnings of the Hollywood studio system and the “blue movie” industry that grows up alongside it.
Los Angeles, 1916: Photographer Bill Ogden has opened a portrait studio in the seedy noir world of early Hollywood, where he is joined by his granddaughter, Flavia—a woman in need of a fresh start after bludgeoning her drunken, abusive husband to death in Wichita. Though his business is mainly legit, Bill finds himself brushing up against the “blue movie” porn industry growing in the shadows of the motion picture mainstream.
When a series of grisly murders take place across the city, Bill and his capable granddaughter are pulled into events as tricky and tangled as anything this side of The Big Sleep. We meet dreamers, opportunists, washed-up former stars and starry-eyed newcomers, a cast of unforgettable characters living on the margins looking to make a quick buck, launch a career, or just keep their family together. The Devil Raises His Own is at once a stripped-down noir thriller and a panoramic look at Los Angeles at the beginning of motion pictures—a Boogie Nights set in the era of D.W. Griffith and Charlie Chaplin from one of the best crime novelists working today.
Scott Phillips is a screenwriter, photographer and the author of seven novels and numerous short stories. His bestselling debut novel, The Ice Harvest, was a New York Times Notable Book and was adapted as a major motion picture starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. He is the winner of the California Book Award, as well as being a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Hammett Prize and the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Scott was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, and lived for many years in France. He now lives with his wife and daughters in St. Louis, Missouri.
Enjoy Millikin’s conversation with Eli Cranor and Scott Phillips.