4.5 stars!! This story follows Roman whose life in Atlanta is interrupted by a call from his sister, Neveah telling him that their father has been in a car accident, and he needs to come home to Virginia.

Back in his hometown, Roman quickly realizes his family is struggling. Neveah is overwhelmed, running the family’s crematorium alone while their father remains in the hospital. Meanwhile, their brother Dante is in deep trouble, and as the eldest, Roman steps in, determined to help.

This fast-paced thriller explores just how far someone will go to protect themselves and their family. A gripping read, highly recommended!

King of Ashes is the darkest and most violent of Cosby’s books. I cannot imagine living in the type of environment that Roman and his siblings find themselves in. But Cosby describes it so vividly that you literally feel the anger, the fear, the anguish, and the grief that the Carruthers have gone through for most of their lives. I did not understand at first why Roman did the things he did to help his brother, but family is everything as you will soon come to realize.

Cosby has a talent for placing his readers directly into world's they will thankfully never see. I enjoyed this one but not as much as his previous novels. The main character didn't have as many redeeming qualities as I would hope for but the stark realism of the world his characters inhabit kept me on edge wondering how this one would end.

𝑯𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈. 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈.

S.A. Cosby is synonymous with Southern Noir, and he does not shy away from themes such as racism, poverty, and what it means to be a person of color in the American South.

Roman Carruthers has made a life for himself in Atlanta as a financial planner who plays fast and loose with ethics--as long as his clients are making money, then so is he. He's worlds away from his broken-down hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia, but when he gets word that his younger brother Dante is in debt to savage criminals and his sister Neveah is struggling to run the family business, the Carruthers Crematorium. A devastating car accident has left their father Keith comatose, and with his wife Bonita long-missing, it's time for the prodigal son to return home.

After finding out that their father lies in that precipice somewhere between the living and the dead because of something Dante set into motion will forever change the trajectory of these siblings' lives. Roman's slippery morals are no match for the sociopathic criminals he's up against, and he finds himself indebted to some of the most morally bankrupt characters I've read about in recent memory while desperately trying to close the gaping rift in his family.

This author creates realistic, believable worlds that I will never inhabit, and for that, I am grateful. I don't want to know violence and despair first-hand, but his talent at drawing the reader in to these worlds will make you feel the fear, the uncertainty, the terrors, and the hopes of these characters.

The English teacher in me adored all of the symbolism and allusions. The reader in me marveled at this man's talent with juxtapositions; writing with such stark beauty about horrendous things. The empath in me wept through several scenes, as the recent absence of my mother is still so raw. Everything I am was destroyed and reborn by this story. The universe may seem indifferent to our suffering, but I believe it weeps with us.

My sincere thanks to Flatiron Books for the early copy of this book. It is expected to publish June 10, 2025.