This book is very good but very heavy. If you love thrillers you definitely should read it.

My thoughts:
1. The audiobook narrator was perfect for the characters. He did a great job.
2. I feel like there is something left unsatisfied with this book, but I think it’s supposed to feel like that though. It’s got a sense of melancholy to the ending.
3. This isn’t a book where you’ll guess who did it. You find out along with the MC which I kind of liked.
4. The commentary on race and religion is excellent.

**Please check the content warnings for this book if you have any triggers**


Synopsis:

The intersection of race, religion, and violence hits hard in this book where the first Black sheriff of a small town in Virginia is tasked with investigating a shooting that becomes a much bigger and horrific tragedy.

The investigation leads to the discovery of skeletons of Black children. One of the killers is still alive and on a murder spree to try to keep their identity a secret.

If you have children and/or religious or racial trauma please proceed with caution or skip this book.


CW/TW:

Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury / injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass school shootings, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, alcohol abuse, and illegal adoption

I absolutely loved Razorblade Tears, so I was really excited to get this new book by SA Cosby. (Thank you NetGalley & Macmillam Audio). The narrator was the same, and I really love how Adam's voice sounds. However, I was getting a little bit of "Ike & Buddy Lee" and not Titus. I wonder if maybe he could change up the voices a tad bit more?
As for the story, I really was engaged in the beginning. I wanted to know what was happening and who the 3rd person involved was. However the story seemed to slow down a bit and I kept finding my mind wandering. I have to say that I really enjoyed the discussion on the world and appreciate the author's point of view, but the thriller aspect was a bit of a let down. I just didn't really find the ending all that exciting. I was kinda just over.
I do own a copy of Blacktop Wastedland and I am excited to jump into that and see if maybe it was just this book that i didn't vibe with.

I have yet to read an S.A. Cosby book that I didn't like. This one is deeply disturbing in detail, graphic throughout the book, so for those who don't wish to read about graphic murders, I'd suggest passing this one by. But the way S.A. Cosby writes is magic. The similies filtered throughout the story make you think, and I enjoy every step along the way. I can't wait to read the next book, and I love Adam reading these stories to me.

I loved Razorblade Tears and loved the beginning of this book - but it got to be a bit to graphic and dark without any glimpses of light. I know this is being well-received by so many - but I wasn't able to finish it, unfortunately.
Thank you for the opportunity.

I knew I would love this book as I have loved all the books read by this amazing author. As his books always are, it was intense, atmospheric, scary, suspenseful, and real. His writing and storytelling are so impeccable and breathtaking. The story grabbed me from the first page and I gasped in shock multiple times while reading it. It is a very suspenseful thriller, but like all of his books it’s so much more than that. It’s a must read.

Synopsis:

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface.

Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon. 

With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus projects confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history.

Charon is Titus’s home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning.

ALL SINNERS BLEED is a powerfully real and tense police procedural set in a divided southern town. Cosby expertly explores the darkness in society while still giving the reader a glimmer of hope through Sheriff Titus Crown.

What makes this book so good is the author’s ability to lay it all out there without exploiting a situation or making it come across as unbelievable. There is grit and authenticity to words within this prose and the interactions between the characters. And having religion play a part in the narrative added an extra facet to the story making it richer. In addition, social issues addressed are done so with an unabashedly candid approach this reader enjoyed.

Cosby is a uniquely talented thriller writer. He brings diversity to a genre by creating riveting, suspenseful, and entertaining thrillers. The characters on both sides of good and evil were layered and well-developed. From beginning to end, I was at the edge of my seat, desperately for the serial killer to be brought to justice, whatever that may look like.

This was my first S.A. Cosby title, and I am a fan for life. The audio narration by Adam Lazarre-White is perfection. Great for fans of crime fiction and the first season of HBO's True Detective. This story is set in current day, told from the perspective of the first black sheriff of a semi-rural county in Virginia. Family drama, relationship drama, work drama, and crime never sleeps. Trigger warnings abound. I am hooked and plan to read all of the author's backlist. Please note I was gifted an advance audio copy of this work via NetGalley.

All The Sinners Bleed might go down as my favorite audiobook of the year. It's just that good. Every single sentence of S.A. Cosby's latest masterpiece is beautifully crafted, and the narration is absolutely perfect. As a reader, I know that Cosby's novels are going to be gritty and raw, but they will also make me think and feel, and that's exactly what great writing does, which Cosby is one of current masters of.

S.A. Cosby fans get ready! @leoking8473 is back with another Southern Noir thriller.

If you’ve read other books by this author you know what to expect: a gritty backwoods Virginia town with very morally corrupt citizens and amazingly observant witty prose.
I’m going to stay away from spoiling anything, but I did find this one to be more gruesome than S.A. Cosby’s other works.

The audio is phenomenal, but the print will give you more time to savor the author’s turn of phrases, so maybe just pick up both! 😂

This is my second novel by this author, and once again, he did not disappoint. Would definitely recommend this one, and also checking out other stuff by him!

This is a great thriller written by S A Cosby and narrated by Adam Lazarren-White. The story is based in Charon County Virginia (where the South still holds on to its history). Titus Crowne is the first Black sheriff in the county's history. After a terrible shooting at the school, Titus finds that the reason behind the shooting is going to unravel a horrible crime that has been going on without anybody knowing/caring.

I enjoy the main character and his constant battle with outside forces and his own demons from his past. The story is showing those of us what it would be like for a Black man wearing the badge in the American South to fight the Confederate Pride members and show his community he is for justice.

S A Cosby is an incredible writer. I can't wait to read more from him.

Man, SA Cosby does not know how NOT to slay. Another cinematic, thrilling, gorgeously written masterpiece.

I was a fan of "Razorblade Tears," and SA Cosby delivers again with "All the Sinners Bleed." This time he gives us Titus Crown, the first black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia, and a man haunted by an event from his past as an FBI agent. When a school shooter kills a popular high school teacher, Titus looks for a possible motive hidden on the phones of the victim and perpetrator. But what he uncovers leads to a much more gruesome discovery: the bodies of eight ritualistically mutilated children buried in a popular hunting ground. More killings follow as Titus races against time to find the murderer--all while dealing with racial upheavals in the community, corruption in the sheriff's office, and his own traumatic past.

Like "Razorblade Tears," this one starts with a bang and doesn't let up, but I found the violence even more disturbing here. Titus's romantic subplot also felt unnecessary and underdeveloped. Still, if you're prepared for some truly horrific scenes (and can overlook Cosby's continued use of over-the-top similes and metaphors), "All the Sinners Bleed" will fill the "summer thriller" spot in your beach bag quite nicely. It's a shame this appears to be another stand alone, as I would have been interested in seeing Titus Crown again in future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an audiobook ARC of this title in return for my honest review. Also worth noting that Adam Lazarre-White does another great job with the narration.

Whew!! This was a ride. I liked Razorblade Tears, but I liked this one even more!! Titus is an awesome main character, in a complex set of circumstances, and the mystery he’s trying to solve is great. The ending was quite as well executed as it could have been, but otherwise this is a really great book! Excellent summer reading!

S.A. Cosby once again wrote a masterpiece of a story. It’s a serial killer story that starts with a school shooting, so be sure to check the trigger warnings if you need them, but even more than that this is a story about a Black sheriff trying to make a difference in his rural Virginia county. I love the nuance Cosby brings to his characters and the way he builds out communities in his books. Titus is the first Black sheriff of the county and is trying to navigate all the challenges that come with that responsibility. When a beloved teacher is murdered by a former student, secrets come out that forces the community to reckon with the fact that someone they thought they knew was capable of horrific things.

Interestingly, Cosby sets this novel in 2017 and while the story is still incredibly timely I wonder if the story would have been any different set post 2020. I also wish that there had been some more explanation for how the teen involved in the shooting ended up in his situation. That being said, I appreciated while scenes in the book were violent and gruesome, Cosby never goes into details about the crimes against children.

As always, Adam Lazarre-White’s narration is a perfect complement to Cosby’s writing and I hope he continues to narrate Cosby’s books!

This was an exceptional novel. An extremely smart thriller crime novel that not only keeps you on the edge of your seat and completely engaged it also deals with current political and racial issues.

Cosby write such gritty stories that you just can never get enough of. He is an auto read author for me. Loved the audio and narrator and love that he always uses the same narrator! Feels like we’re back together again lol.

S.A. Cosby is one of the best authors I’ve discovered this year. While All the Sinners Bleed did not hit me as hard as Razorblade Tears, I loved this novel. Serial killers? Deep seated secrets? Critique of religion and law enforcement? Sign me up. This story was DARK and I loved it.

I am usually not a huge fan of cop POVs, but I thought Titus was a great character and his commentary on being both a LEO and Black man in the south was interesting to hear.

As always, Adam Lazarre-White is a phenomenal narrator. I could listen to him read a menu and be entertained. Most masculine narrators do not do a great job with female voices, but he made them each distinct and they did not sound too forced. I hope he continues to narrate Cosby’s books, because he complements his style well.

S.A. Cosby knocks it out of the park again. Sherriff Titus Crown unravels the mystery of murdered children in his community in this gripping new novel. The characters are well developed, and the plot moves along at a comfortable pace. Cosby has done his research into the psychology of psychopaths, and demonstrates this well through the main character's insights about those around him. All of this unfolds against the backdrop of racism in the small-town South, which is another layer of complexity for Sherriff Crown to navigate. The audiobook narrator does an excellent job with this piece, and I highly recommend this audiobook.

4+ "Terrible people can do good things, but they liked doing the terrible things first."

"Evil is seldom concealed, it's just fuckin bold."

"We all chose to be skeptical, when the truth is inconvenient."

TELL THE TRUTH AND SHAME THE DEVIL.

Charon County, a small town in rural Virgina, a racist town but also a town with a black sheriff. Titus Crowne was elected sheriff, his hope to bring about fairer treatment for the blacks in this town. Then, a school shooting, a young black man shoots just one white teacher before he himself is shot dead. The teacher happens to be the towns favorite teacher, everyone just loves this man, and the fact that he was shot by a black man, raises racial tensions. Titus must get to the bottom of this, why this teacher, why only this teacher, and he must do it quickly.

very violent, very dark but what happens in this book has happened in other towns, other cities, so the realism is there. I just loved the character of Titus , a man who wants to do good, who wants to be fair and a man who is not easily fooled. Such a good book and a book that shows the many layers people have and not all of them good, nor should they see the light of day. We all see what we want to see, hear what we want o hear. Justice often depends, unfairly, on skin color, position in life, financial status and this book shows that the actual pursuit of justice may be dangerous but those who want to do right, dont shy away when things are difficult.

The narration by Adam Lazarre-White was fantastic.