I. ALWAYS. GO. FERAL. FOR. S.A. COSBY. BOOKS!

That's all that needs to be said, but I owe this review many more accolades. I am so thankful to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, S.A. Cosby, and NetGalley for granting me advanced audiobook access to All Sinners Bleed before it hits shelves on June 6, 2023. IN MY OPINION, this one is probably his best yet, right behind Razorblade Tears, and I couldn't get enough.

Titus Crowne is Charon County, Virginia's first black sheriff, and aims to serve his jurisdiction well and justly. After a school shooting rocks the whole town, leaving a beloved teacher for dead and the shooter caught in the crossfire, he's back at square one with his trust in the community. After further speculation, Titus and his team find out that this teacher had been sexually abusing children for years, and the former student was one of his victims, avenging himself.

What's more, this case opens up into a deeper web once they realize the teacher had a partner who is still actively committing gruesome murders of little black kids, and staging them in biblically horrific ways, to get the town's attention. So they've got a serial killer on their hands -- just what this town needs (sarcasm).

This Appalachian Gothic horror mystery keeps you hooked, pining to know the killer's true identity and motive. There are strong themes of confederacy-toting racism and violence/dismemberment, so buckle up, but trust me, yall, this ending is so worth it.

Full disclosure: I requested this audio arc from Netgalley because I thought the cover was pretty. Yup. That's it. Didn't read the description. Didn't know the genre. I just liked the pretty cover.

Then I started listening.

It's an uncomfortable topic involving a school shooting, the black shooter being gunned down, awful, indescribable reasons why the shooting happened.......

I was kicking myself for being stupid enough to commit to listen and write a review based only on the cover.

Then.......

It. Drew. Me. In.

Before I knew it, an hour had passed, then another. I am absolutely enamored with main character Titus Crown, a former FBI agent now the first black sheriff in a southern town. He is smart, calm, comforting, capable - a breath of fresh air as a main character in an incredibly ugly, complicated situation. I loved him. I loved the southerness of shine drinking, family, rumors with only a few words needed to start them but mostly, I loved Titus and his ability to be good even in the darkest of situations.

I guess sometimes pretty covers are predictors of quality books.

Another winner from S.A. Cosby. I loved seeing Sheriff Titus Crown fight crime and also racism. He was a very dynamic and well-fleshed out character. The Southern setting was perfect as well.

Another explosive novel from powerhouse S.A. Cosby!

FBI agent turned county sheriff, Titus Crowne, is the first Black man to hold his particular station, a momentous feat in the American south.

What starts out as a tragic shooting at a school, leaving a beloved teacher dead, quickly escalates when the young black man guilty is shot at the scene. All Titus wants to do is good, but he has to wade through the treacherous waters of not only being a Black man in this still proud confederate town, but being one with a badge in a time when police are under scrutiny for their poor treatment of people of color.

When this beloved teacher is discovered to be part of a group of people who have been targeting, abusing and killing Black children, Titus is in a race against the clock to find the others responsible.

This was incredible! Cosby writes such perfectly imperfect characters. His protagonists tend to usually be morally gray antihero kind of characters, so Titus Crowne is a bit different, and I think he just may be my favorite of his so far.

Of course I couldn’t review this one without remarking on the fact that Adam Lazarre-White has narrated this along with all the rest and he has simply become the unique voice in Cosby’s work. There is not another narrator who could to these books justice!

S.A. Cosby has quickly become one of my favorite authors. He has a way of weaving a story that slowly pulls you all the way in. This book was good! Very timely and it touched on so many of today’s issues without sounding preachy. It is what it is. I connected with the characters and the audio book is excellent. Also, I loved the ending:)

****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

This is how you write a mystery thriller, it's the whole package. I feel that this is Cosby's best book yet, which is really saying something.

My favorite thing about this book, Titus Crowne. He's my top choice for hero of 2023. He's tough, but fair. He's got a decorated past, but an imperfect one with plenty of demons. I loved everything about him. I listened to the audiobook and Adam Lazarre-White totally nailed him. White nailed everyone, but especially Crowne.

The bad guys were really bad, and Cosby puts Crowne into a pretty tough spot. The plot was outstanding and the book just hummed along. Normally I don't love books with medium-long chapters, but it didn't bother me here.

One of the most enjoyable books I've read this year!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I am such a fan of S.A. Cosby. His books are so deep and meaningful. They are always well written and thought out. All The Sinners Bleed is a story told through the eyes of a black Sheriff, Titus Crown. This book starts off with a bang and it doesn’t end until justice is served. The narrator on the audio done such a good job at portraying the characters and telling this story.

Fans of S.A. Cosby are in for a treat! Adam Lazarre-White narrates again, and does it wonderfully. This story is gritty and hard to hear in parts, but wonderfully told. Thank you to NetGally for this ALC.

5 stars

I came into this read as a fan of Cosby, and I'm leaving it feeling even more strongly about that. This one has a guaranteed spot on my favorite books of 2023 list already!

Titus is a fantastic m.c. He returns to his tiny hometown and is elected sheriff. This isn't the realization of some long-term life goal. He returns because his father has a health crisis, and he has a bit of a personal and professional reckoning elsewhere. Titus knows it's not going to be an easy role, but nothing can prepare him for the horrors he experiences right when the novel begins. A compound school shooting, resulting in multiple murders, reveals a theme that Titus and others refer to throughout the book; we all wear masks. Unfortunately, some of these masks are terrifying, but more importantly, what they're covering is unimaginable.

Titus himself is an absolute highlight of the novel because he is equally dialed into the terrible web of crimes he's investigating in the present and into some very challenging memories and experiences from his past. It's riveting to watch him develop and change throughout the novel. The central mystery is captivating (and not for those who are particularly sensitive to graphic crimes against children. Titus has nightmares, and though readers don't encounter anywhere near the level of detail he does, the related content can be challenging). Titus's family relationships are also well drawn and layered, and I'd love to be friends with his dad.

Readers familiar with Cosby's previous fantastic work will not be surprised to find this quite gritty but also exceptionally well written and constructed. This is my favorite of Cosby's so far, and I recommend it highly to folks who are able to stomach the content.

*The narrator of the audiobook is particularly skilled, so I have an added recommendation - listening versus reading by sight - when and where accessible.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free book.
I look forward to S. A. Cosby's books every year. He explores what it's like to be a Black man in the south in present times, and doesn't shy away from showing the reader the honest, dark truth. I fell quickly for Titus Crowne, who just wanted to make a difference as the first Black sheriff in Charon County. Like all of his stories, Cosby weaved an intricate mystery here, too. What starts off as a school shooting, turns into something much deeper and darker. I enjoyed Titus's commentary on policing, religion, and race. Titus had a lot to reckon with, and I was made to think deeply alongside him as he investigated what was happening in his county. I'm also a huge fan of any story that features FBI profiling, so that was an added plus to this one. I cannot wait to read what he writes next and I know I'll be revisiting this story in the future.
Also, I also recommend his books on audio, if that's available to you. Adam Lazarre-White captures not only his main character perfectly, but every other side character, too. I am always impressed by his talent of capturing and really performing these stories.

In S.A. Cosby’s latest thriller, the main character, Titus Crown, is a former FBI agent who moved home to take care of his father. As Charon County’s first black sheriff, Titus deals daily with rising social unrest and blatant racism. A school shooting leads to the investigation of unspeakable crimes as Sheriff Crown races to prevent further atrocities.

I could not stop listening to this addictive, fast-paced crime story. Titus Crown might be my favorite rural crime fighter since Virgil Tibbs. Adam Lazarre-White did an excellent job of narration as he has with all S.A. Cosby’s previous books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.