Enjoy these four recommendations from our friends at Bookish, Fort Smith, Arkansas’ only independently owned bookstore.
Ozark Dogs
by Eli Cranor
One of Arkansas’ own, Cranor’s sophomore crime novel is inspired by a grisly murder that occurred near Lake Dardanelle in the recent past. The story follows two Arkansas families as they grieve, but family loyalties can make grief look a lot of different ways. Cranor unravels the dark legacies that permeate the town while simultaneously giving Arkansas heroes we can root for. Sit back and watch, because we really believe that Mr. Cranor is going to be a household name in the book world.
Stone Blind
by Natalie Haynes
If you need another feminist retelling of ancient Greek myths, look no further than the newest by classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes. In her retelling of the Medusa myth, Haynes gives agency, not only to Medusa, but to the goddess who turned her into the monster. Bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories where a woman is injured by a powerful man, Haynes revitalizes the age-old story with passion and wit. This book is also on the longlist for Women’s Fiction this year!
The Wager
by David Grann
The author of Killers of the Flower Moon is back with a deep dive into the extraordinary tale of a British warship. His Majesty’s Ship the Wager left England in 1740 on a secret mission during a war with Spain. It wrecked off the coast of Patagonia, and in January of 1742, a ramshackle vessel washed up near Brazil. Six months later, another decrepit raft was found near Chile – each telling very different stories. Grann pieces it all together like only he can do.
The Trackers
by Charles Frazier
Frazier’s newest novel is a cat-and-mouse game set during the Great Depression. When Val Welch is commissioned by the WPA to Dawes, Wyoming to paint a mural for the post office, he stays with a wealthy rancher and his wife, Eve. Eve has a colorful past and ends up leaving town with valuables in tow. Welch is tasked with finding her. Frazier’s jaunt through some of the seediest places in post-Depression America makes for a rollicking good time.
