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3.5 

Crimes in Southern Indiana

By Frank Bill
Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

This story collection explores the violent underbelly of America’s heartland: “A dark, hard-boiled debut . . . no doubt about it, Frank Bill can write.” —KirkusReviews

Welcome to heartland America circa right about now, when the union jobs and family farms have given way to meth labs, backwoods gunrunners, and bare-knuckle brawling. Frank Bill’s southern Indiana is haunted with the deep, abiding sense of place, and his people are men and women pressed to the brink—and beyond.

There is Scoot McCutchen, whose beloved wife falls terminally ill, leaving him with nothing to live for—which doesn’t quite explain his brutal actions, or his decision to turn himself in. In the title story, a man who breeds dogs for fighting crosses paths with a Salvadoran gangbanger tasked with taking over the rural drug trade, but who mostly wants to grow old in peace. Gritty yet literary, Crimes in Southern Indiana shines an unforgiving light on a region of contemporary America that is too often forgotten.

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30 Reviews

3.5
“Being an avid fan of Donald Ray Pollock, I’ve been searching for something to scratch the itch that he has created and this is the first book which hasn’t fallen short of the mark. I loved the short, snappiness of it. The grittiness of DRP, and the fabulous women within. Definitely worth a read if you like something a little raw.”
“I once asked my boyfriend if he thought there were more good people or bad people in the world. He scoffed and quickly responded “bad, obviously.” I’ve never thought he was right until I read this book. BLEAK. BRUTAL. UNRELENTING. I don’t know where to even start, but I legit could not put this short story collection down. It twisted my brain and got under my skin so bad that I couldn’t pick up another book for days. I needed time to process the horrors of this collection. Holy shit. 5 stars.”

About Frank Bill

Frank Bill is the author of the novel Donnybrook and the story collection Crimes in Southern Indiana, one of GQ's favorite books of 2011 and a Daily Beast best debut of 2011. He lives and writes in Southern Indiana.

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