My Darkest Prayer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: S.A. Crosby

I requested a audio advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Whether it's working at his cousin's funeral home or tossing around the local riff raff at his favorite bar, Nathan Waymaker is a man who knows how to handle the bodies. A former Marine and Sheriff's deputy, Nathan has built a reputation in his small Southern town as a man who can help when all other avenues have been exhausted. When a local minister with grandiose ambitions is found dead, Nathan is approached by his parishioners who feel the local police are dragging their feet with the investigation. What starts out as an easy payday soon descends into a maze of mayhem filled with wannabe gangsters, vicious crime lords, porn stars, crooked police officers and a particularly treacherous preacher and his mysterious wife. Nathan must use all his varied skills and some of his wit to navigate the murky waters of small town corruption even as dark secrets of his own threaten to come to the surface.

My Thoughts: I have read/listened to almost every Crosby book, he has become one of my favorite (I have a lot of favorites) author. I am always so excited when he has a new book out. Nathan is a former marine and Sheriff’s deputy, but has built a reputation that he is the man to come too when you cannot find answers. A local minister is found dead, suspected to be a suicide, however, his parishioners think differently and is paying Nathan to make some inquires. When he starts out to find answers, he is pushed through a maze of unsavory people, mobsters, want-to-be gangsters, and potential police corruption. Nathan has to dig deep to wade through some murky waters ahead.

This story is full of corruption, secrets, lies, gagster, and mobster tales. Nathan is fiercely independent, strong, and has battled his own demons. The characters were created with depth, mystery, deceptive, and had secrets they did not want exposed. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, tense, and just brilliant. The characters and backstories are slowly built in a slow burn, then the plot is delivered in multifaceted layers, then the ending had me on the edge of seat.

The narrator was Adam Lazarre-White and he fantastic. I think he has narrated other books for Crosby. He has the perfect voice pitch that carries over into voice variation across character distinction. The flow of his voice was smoothing and the flow was perfect at 2x speed with no issues keep up. This is an older release that I did not get to before but it still a powerful story that packs a huge punch. I highly recommend picking this up today, especially the audio version.

I first picked up SA Crosby's book Razorblade Tears. After falling in love with his storytelling style I jumped at the chance to listen to My Darkest Prayer. The audio is outstanding and a compelling.
The story is exactly what you expect from S.A. Crosby. Dark, gritty with a motly cast of characters. The morally grey characters that you love and the twists and darkness to get to the resolution. This was a book that made me want to keep picking up the book and finding excuses to listen.
Ulitimately I think Razordblade Tears is still my top Crosby book but I highly recommend this as well.

4.5 Stars

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of this novel in exchange for a review. I was not in the mood when I tried to listen to this at first and didn't get a chance to pick it back up before it was archived.

Cosby’s impressive debut reads similar to Razorblade Tears and All The Sinners Bleed, with a gritty storyline, complex characters, and sensational prose with the perfect amount of sarcasm. However, the graphic scenes (violence, sex, gore) feel more reminiscent of Razorblade Tears than ATSB. True to his Southern Lit roots, Cosby explores themes that have become his signature style: racism, religion, and unresolved family trauma. I highly recommend the audiobook; Lazarre-White and Cosby are a match made in heaven!

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. It was my last read of 2022 and it was such a great way to close out the reading year. I have waited to post this review so that I could gather and compile all of my thoughts (because, believe me... I had so many thoughts about this one!).

I will start off with this---S.A. Cosby skyrocketed to the top of my 'new to me' favorite author list. I cannot wait to check out his other works. The last time I remember being THIS impressed by a fiction author's debut novel was Ashley Winstead's In My Dreams I Hold a Knife---and if you've been following along here on the blog you will know that I absolutely loved that book. I am embarrassed and almost ashamed that it took me this long to pick up an S.A. Cosby book but I can assure you that I will be making my way through his backlog ASAP!

When I say that this book was SO well written, I absolutely mean that. The story is told from the first-person point of view of main character, Nathan, and as I read, it felt like I was watching a Dateline or ID Channel special. I read a lot of mysteries/thrillers but very few have made me as engrossed as this book did. I was practically hanging on every word and was so desperate for answers that I was having to physically restrain myself from jumping ahead a few sentences!

Overall, this was a phenomenal read! I would recommend this book for readers 18+. This book is full of adult themes, dialogue, and language that may not be suitable for all readers. Reader's discretion is always advised!
If you are a lover of southern gothic fiction, or are just looking for a new favorite author, I think you should give this one a try!

**S.A. Cosby has another book called All the Sinners Bleed that will be released on June 6th! To see the synopsis for that book and to learn more about it click here! I will be anxiously awaiting my library loan on this upcoming release!

S. A. Cosby is quickly rising to the top of my favorite authors. Each novel is more compelling than the last, using the best narrators to give character to his... characters. This was a dark story in regards to undertaking, religion, and trauma. I was deeply entranced by this novel and can't wait to read the next!

Amazing narrator. Fast paced thriller. Former military and law enforcement officer Nathan is approached to investigate an untimely death of a local minister. Parish Wes believe the case is being dismissed and not fully investigated.

It was ok but not my favorite S.A. Cosby book
Thanks NetGalley, the author and publisher for the audiobook

S.A. Cosby has been a favorite of mine since his first major mainstream release, Blacktop Wasteland. I was super excited for the opportunity to read My Darkest Prayer, which was actually Cosby's debut novel that has recently been re-released. If I hadn't known any better, I would have never guessed this was a debut. My Darkest Prayer reads as stunningly as Cosby's other two novels. He is an absolute talent and finds his strengths in writing about gritty, seedy, but likable and relatable characters. My Darkest Prayer's protagonist, Nate, is an undertaker at the local black funeral home in Queen County, Virginia. An ex-cop, he's asked to look into the suspicious death of a prominent pastor by members of his congregation. The storyline is exceptional and entertaining on its own, but it's Cosby's ability to create such detail and layers into his characters and paint the picture of a rural, backwoods setting that really shines in this book.

S A Cosby is absolutely brilliant and I love that I had the opportunity to read his republished debut novel. Love the rawness and honesty of his characters, the southern church scandal plot was perfection, and I didn’t see the twists coming. I was NOT prepared for the amount of sex in this book, so make sure you’ve got the earbuds in for this one if there are little ears around. S A Cosby is easily an auto buy author for me and I look forward to seeing him at the Theakston Crime Writing Festival this year.

Adam Lazarre-White has such an easy-listening voice and made the book just that much better!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Ngl this is more of a 3.5 but i will round it up to a four. I'm not sure how much i actually liked the book but i did laugh a lot lmao

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the audio arc of this book! Although I didn’t enjoy it as much as Razorblade Tears, the story really kept me hooked and the narrator was very good.

"My Darkest Prayer" SA Cosby

First published January 1, 2019
Republished December 6, 2022

“I handle the bodies.”

Beautifully written, but detailed violence I decided to start with Cosby's first book, before I read "Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears...both are on my TBR list and have now jumped to the top.

Nathan Waymaker is a southern man who has pretty much seen it all and done it all. A former marine, a former sheriff's deputy and now works at his cousin's funeral home. Big, strong, and not afraid of anything. When a local minister is found dead, Nathan is asked by some parishioners to make sure his death does not get forgotten. The death did appear odd, so Nathan does a little side investigative work. He learns quickly that he is up against crime lords, low life criminals, crooked cops, major city corruption, and a not so honorable preacher. Nathan needs to reach down deep and count on his background of unique skills, his great wit and his buddy Skunk, to figure out what is going on. Set in a small Virginia town, and told through an intriguing lead character, readers learn of Nathan’s history as the biracial son of a peaceful, non-violent white man and a more pragmatic black woman. It just makes Nathan all that more of an interesting character- often conflicted in that he feels like he’s constantly failing his late father. And yet he knows he’s just not the kind of guy who thinks that turning the other cheek is the correct response to a cruel and unfair world.

While this book is full of violence, and many details of said violence, there are many glimpses of humor. I was fully invested in the plot and thought the narrator of the audiobook did a fantastic job.

This book is gritty, dark, violent and hard to put down. I loved Cosby's writing style, his vivid descriptions and characters.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley (@netgalley) who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry it took so long for feedback. This one truly improves from the amazing audiobook.. Thank you to the publisher for the ALC.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the ALC for this re-publishing of SA Cosby’s debut novel, My Darkest Prayer.

After reading Razorblade Tears last year, I was held captive by Cosby’s writing. It’s brutal, gripping, graphic and sometimes hard to read. But, powerful.

My Darkest Prayer falls along those same lines. Nathan Waymaker is a former marine currently working at his cousin’s funeral home. When a local minister is found dead, his parishioners ask Nathan to investigate on the side.

This book includes sex (including a porn star), drugs, police officers as crooked as they come, and even some hardcore thugs. Turns out this minister wasn’t quite as holy as he wanted to seem…

Adam Lazarre-White narrates this audiobook and I think this book was written for his voice. I can’t imagine anyone else reading this book to me. His rich, deep vocals made Nathan come to life. I’ll listen to him read anything…he also narrates Blacktop Wasteland, which is next on my S.A. Cosby backlist. I remember my brother-in-law reading it a while back and he said it was amazing.

The language is rough, but so realistic and…just good. I don’t know how else to describe Cosby’s writing style. I gave Razorblade Tears a full 5 ⭐️s and I’m giving his debut 4 ⭐️s too. Oh yeah, and I can’t wait for his newest to come out in June!

I enjoyed this one. The characters were well fleshed out and the pacing kept me turning the page. While this isn't my favorite book by S A Cosby it is well worth the read. This authors writing style makes me feel like I'm leaning into a conversation to ensure that I don't miss a word, it's that good. Well worth the read!

S.A. Cosby is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I love everything he writes, he can do no wrong. I absolutely loved the narration, it was easy to tell who was who. The plot was intriguing, I absolutely adored Nathan as a main character and narrator. He seemed like a huge teddy bear… maybe a murderous one. Cannot wait for more books!

Last year one of my favorite audiobooks was Razorblade Tears, so when I saw this author's debut novel was being reissued and offered as an audiobook by Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for review, I jumped at the chance to listen to it. I was not disappointed. Although not *quite* as fantastic as Razorblade Tears, My Darkest Prayer was a strong, well-developed novel in its own right with richly drawn, sympathetic characters and an excellent mystery holding the book together.

The book has an audio introduction from the author in which he sounds almost apologetic for the book, but he has nothing to apologize for. The book starts strong and picks up in intensity, telling the story of a youngish man, Nathan, who is now working for family in their funeral home, living in a bedroom in the back of the funeral parlor, struggling to get his life together. A local reverend dies and some of the church board members ask Nathan, a former Marine and former local deputy sheriff, to look into how the reverend died, as they fear the sheriff's office is going to brush the death under the rug. The more Nathan pokes around, the more he uncovers.

Cosby writes terrific, humorous dialogue, excellent suspenseful scenes, a well-plotted mystery, and some of the best portrayals of male friendship that I've ever read. He demonstrates the value of having a network of Black community support surrounding you. An old classmate who has become a porn star turns out to be the daughter of the reverend, and Cosby handles her character with humor and sensitivity, as well. The narration is excellent, and despite the novel containing more violence than I might care for, I highly recommend this book.

What a trip this was! Nathan Waymaker is an ex-marine and an ex-deputy who knows how to handle problems. He has a reputation for being a man who can find answers and get things done, mainly because he is not afraid to kick some butt.
This is a fast-paced novel that is excellently read by Adam Lazarre-White. I've since discovered that this is a reprint of S.A. Cosby's first novel. Well if this is how well he started I am excited to see what else he has done.
Thanks to @netgally for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Nathan Waymaker is a man who knows how to handle the bodies. Working for his cousin at a funeral home, Nathan comes in contact with a lot of bodies. He has some practice; Nathan is not only a former sheriff’s deputy, he is also a former marine. The unique skills that Nathan has picked up along the way has also given him a reputation as someone who can take care of things, when others don’t seem to be able to. His services are requested when a much-loved minister is found dead of an apparent suicide, but those that knew him best don’t believe that. What seems like a simple request soon leads Nathan down a path filled with crooked cops, drug dealers, gangsters, and a rich megachurch preacher.

Wow! This story was so twisted and so good! I can’t get over the descriptions and figurative language used by Cosby. At times I got as much enjoyment from the pictures painted for me as I did from the actual story, which itself was unbelievable. I really liked the characters, especially Nathan. He was intriguing and interesting; he almost reminded me of a modern-day Robin Hood. I was kept at the edge of my seat right from the beginning with the intense action and constant revelations.

The audiobook was out of this world! Lazarre-White’s pace, inflection, voices and overall presentation seemed spot on for the story, especially in his presentation of Nathan. This was the first audiobook I have listened to where I didn’t feel like my experience was lessened by not having a copy of the book in front of me. I much prefer having the text when listening to an audiobook, but Lazarre-White’s narration was so strong, more than making up for the lack of text. I am so glad I listened to this audiobook.