Don't Know Tough cover art

Don't Know Tough

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Don't Know Tough

By: Eli Cranor
Narrated by: Eli Cranor
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Friday Night Lights with a Southern Gothic twist—a powerful debut noir.

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 pay check 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.

Winner of the Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel contest.

A USA Today Best Book of the Year (So Far)

An Amazon Editor's Pick

CrimeReads Most Anticipated Books of 2022

©2022 Eli Cranor (P)2022 Recorded Books
Crime Fiction Southern States Sports United States Fiction Arkansas
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Ranger cover art
Anathema cover art
The Mountain King cover art
Gangland cover art
The Tilt cover art
Summary Justice cover art
The Black Echo: Special Edition cover art
Year One cover art
Pretty Pretty Boys cover art
The Ravaged cover art
The Deep, Deep Snow cover art
My Heart Is a Chainsaw cover art
Thief River Falls cover art

Critic reviews

"A searing and stunningly poignant study in what makes us and what breaks us." (S. A. Cosby, New York Times bestselling author of Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland)

"A gripping novel about rage and trauma, redemption and damnation, football and family." (Steph Cha)

"Southern noir at its finest, a cauldron of terrible choices and even more terrible outcomes." (The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about Don't Know Tough

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This is a very dark book, but I loved it.

The narration for the character Billy is done so well and it is fundamental to the book. The coach character, Jesse, Lorna and Marley are excellent imho.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Dark , dark and more dark

I loved this book but it’s unremittingly tragic - no character escapes . Even Shakespeare introduced some light relief in his tragedies . That said life isn’t always a happy ending . A good story and well told by the author - having him narrate is a huge bonus

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!