Short Synopsis
From the acclaimed author of Acts of Faith comes a blistering new novel about the brutality and beauty of life on the Arizona-Mexico border and about the unyielding power of the past to shape our lives.

Full Synopsis
Taking us from the turn of the twentieth century to our present day, from the impoverished streets of rural Mexico to the manicured lawns of suburban Connecticut, from the hot and dusty air of an isolated ranch to New York City in the wake of 9/11, Philip Caputo gives us an impeccably crafted story about three generations of an Arizona family forced to confront the violence and loss that have become its inheritance.

When Gil Castle loses his wife in the Twin Tower attacks, he retreats to his family's sprawling homestead in a remote corner of the Southwest. Consumed by grief, he has to find a way to live with his loss in this strange, forsaken part of the country, where drug lords have more power than police and violence is a constant presence. But it is also a world of vast open spaces, where Castle begins to rebuild his belief in the potential for happiness—until he starts to uncover the dark truths about his fearsome grandfather, a legacy that has been tightly shrouded in mystery in the years since the old man's death.

When Miguel Espinoza shows up at the ranch, terrified after two friends were murdered in a border-crossing drug deal gone bad, Castle agrees to take him in. Yet his act of generosity sets off a flood of violence and vengeance, a fierce reminder of the fact that while he may be able to reinvent himself, he may never escape his history.

Searingly dramatic, bold, and timely, Crossers is Caputo's most ambitious and brilliantly realized novel yet.

"[Boehmer] keeps the story on track and hits each beat with the right emphasis and tone." ---Publishers Weekly Audio Review

"Masterly storytelling, informed by sociopolitical concerns.... Highly recommended." ---Library Journal Starred Review

"Gorgeously stark.... Caputo's West supersedes elemental cowboys and lone justice with the malaise of post-9/11 America and the violence of the Mexican desert." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Caputo tells Ben's story with power and verisimilitude. His portrayal of the ranchers and their extended family also rings very true." ---The New York Times

"A remarkably ambitious book that packs a meaty, multi-generational story with enough scope, insight and realism to illuminate the modern U.S.-Mexican border and offer glimpses of what it once was." ---Washington Post

"A masterful tale about what comes of 'trying to escape history'---from which, the author gives us to understand, there is no safe place to hide." ---Kirkus Starred Review

"Crossers has the effect of a smoke alarm going off near your head while you're sleeping.... Crossers is harrowing, punishing, but also so enlivening and ultimately deeply satisfying." ---Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall

"Boehmer delivers the story as though he has personally selected every phrase, inviting the listener to focus on each word's importance as it contributes to the complex story." ---AudioFile

Library Journal Review

Publishers Weekly Review

New York Times Bestseller

Kirkus Review