Another kick you in your teeth and hang you out to dry roller coaster of action, mystery and intrigue, I look forward to every new book Cosby rights. Again, hope to see this one optioned for tv or movie.

Beautifully written, tightly paced, and gritty AF - you know, like all of Cosby's books. It's all artful prose about arboreal majesty and the sunlight hitting fields and whatnot on one page and then horrific, bloody, glorious violence on the next. No one does it quite like him, and I LOVE IT.

Titus Crowne is the first Black sheriff in rural Charon County, Virginia. After a young Black man shoots the town's most beloved white teacher and is then killed by Titus's white deputies, the town is in an uproar. Things get even worse when the teacher is revealed to be a serial sexual predator and murderer -- and he didn't work alone. Titus works to track down the other monster while walking a very fine line as a Black sheriff in the south.

The serial killer business was excellent, but the real story here is about Titus’s precarious balancing act: he wants to use his position as sheriff to protect his community from the predations of the good old boys, but that same position forces him to uphold the laws that protect the Confederate pride dummies' right to march. It all feels impossible. Suffice it to say, Titus was a fantastic, complicated character, and I would happily read ten books about him (please!?!)

I binge-read this in a day and am definitely planning a reread at some point. This is a must read for existing Cosby fans and a good entry point for anyone who hasn't read Razorblade Tears or Blacktop Wasteland (who? why?).

Also: the ending was so good. I maybe yelled a little. I love Titus, and I loved this book.

No one writes with such power, while managing to convey the brutality of life, as S.A. Cosby does. His latest book, All the Sinners Bleed, is beautifully written, gritty, with a hero who carries the weight of his job and his community on his shoulders. Sheriff Titus Crown is a giant of a man in so many ways.

After ten years with the FBI, Titus Crown returned home to Charon, Virginia, where he was elected the first Black sheriff in a community founded on corruption and racism. In many ways, Charon hasn’t changed, but Titus doesn’t want Black people to be afraid to turn to the sheriff’s department for help. He knows the ugly side of the town, but it becomes even more evident the day there’s a call that there’s an active shooter at Jefferson Davis High School.

While Titus tries to talk Latrell Macdonald into dropping his weapon, he says some strange things. Then, it’s too late to question him because two of Crown’s deputies shoot and kill him. The only other victim was Mr. Spearman, one of the teachers. But, Latrell’s comments make Titus pull the phone and computer records for both men. Although most of Charon worshipped Spearman, the images Titus finds won’t easily be forgotten. None of Titus’ deputies had the stomach to watch the child pornography and murders of young Black people. But, there are three men in those video clips. Latrell and Spearman are dead. Who is the third man in the wolf mask?

Sheriff Titus Crown knows he has a duty to all the citizens of Charon. While he’s looking for a killer, looking for bodies, and, later, dealing with more murders, he also has to juggle his regular duties. Fall Fest is coming up, and a group of white men have a permit to march in support of the Confederate statue in town. Some of the Black churches are mounting opposition. Titus faces regular opposition from the head of the Board of Supervisors, the richest man in town. He can’t forget the town’s deaths from drugs, and his suspicion about the men who run the Watering Hole who may be major suppliers. Right now, though, Crown wants to find the third man in those videos.

Once again, the author of Razorblade Tears, tells a compelling story of social justice and racism. It’s all the more powerful because Titus Crown cares so deeply and won’t give an inch when it comes to his own conscience. He’s a towering figure fighting for justice, but he’s still human. S.A. Cosby’s All The Sinners Bleed is an unforgettable story of one man fighting for his own soul, and the soul of his hometown.

Did you love Blacktop Wasteland back in 2020? How about Razorblade Tears?

Just. You. Wait.

Cosby’s latest book, due out in June, is Fan-Freaking-Tastic, and is now my new favorite of his, though that’s like picking my favorite child ‘cause I’ve loved them all. I couldn’t NOT pick it up the instant it hit my doorstep, and I couldn’t put it down until the last page was turn, less than 24 hours later.

Another incredibly topical story involving a school shooting in a small Virginia town and a Black sheriff who has to ride the fence between justice and race. The supporting cast is strong, with family members haunted by grief and generational trauma passed on for generations, a love story of missed opportunities, and white people whose families built the system of racism, incarceration, and poverty and still think they are ‘owed’ the riches upon which it sits.

But the one thing in All The Sinners Bleed that rises it to a 5 star slam-dunk for me is the lead character, Titus Black. A former star quarterback of the high school state championship team, a boy who lost his mother young, a graduate of UVA, a ten year veteran of an elite FBI team, Titus has been elected a small-town sheriff. So many questions swirled in my brain over this career decision, and Cosby slowly unfolds the answers as he develops this character page by page, and cell by cell. Titus is a complicated man, with Cosby’s well-known habits of complexities in his leads; it’s why I LOVE this author.

It comes out June 6, a life time away, so pre-order it now - you’ll thank me when you stay up until 2 AM to finish it, trust me:)

S.A. Cosby is back with another addictive, compelling, and mature thriller. He makes another return to small-town Virginia, this time centering the story around a Black sheriff in a community rocked by the death of a student, a teacher, and the markings of a serial killer. Although some elements are understandably graphic, it's never unnecessary or tiltillating.

The legacy of Confederate statues and the lack of attention/care to missing young Black men and women are also two distinct aspects of the story. He packs a lot into the thrilling storyline, but nothing seems underdeveloped or rushed.

Many thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.