Sunday, July 27, 2025
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Review: King of Ashes: A Novel by S. A. Cosby
A frequent theme of S. A. Cosby’s work, beyond racism,
is the idea of a family haunted by a horrible tragic legacy. A legacy that goes
back decades and is once again brought to light, eventually, in the here and
now, by a massive triggering event. Such is the case in the latest book, King
of Ashes: A Novel.
Roman Carruthers runs a wealth management firm in
Atlanta. His clients, rappers, and others, sometimes need creative accounting.
Sometimes they need a problem fixed and Roman turns those situations over to Khali.
Not only is a friend from way back, the man has skills, and has put them to use
in a variety of ways for various clients of the company, Carruthers and
Associates. Roman has some of the best people in the business and that is a good
thing because, as the novel begins, he has to go home to Virginia as his dad is
in the hospital and in a coma.
It doesn’t play to be in a car hit by a freight train.
He was and he may not survive. The Carruthers family is a legend in Jefferson
Run, Virginia. Part of that is the fact that his parents, built from the ground
up, a crematorium business that has been used for decades by families from
miles around. While that is very positive, the other part of the legend is that
after their mom vanished without a trace a number of years ago, quite a few
folks became convinced that their father killed their mom and burned up the
body and all the evidence.
For Roman, Neveah, and Dante, that disappearance and
resulting speculation has haunted them nearly their entire lives. They were
kids when it happened and their childhoods ended the day she vanished.
Roman, the oldest, eventually went on to college and
has a well-paying life down in Atlanta. Neveah stepped into their mom’s shoes
and took over taking care of dad and keeping the business going. The youngest,
Dante, is circling deeper and deeper in a pit of alcohol, drugs, and other
vices. The family, what is left of it, is a shell of what it was and rotting
from within.
Now their father, the possible murderer of their mom, and
the man known to all as the “King of Ashes” lies in a coma. From what Naveah
says, somebody might have tried to kill him. If so, it would be the latest in a
string of events that have happened in recent weeks. Naveah didn’t bother to
tell him as Roman was in Atlanta and hasn’t been home to help in years. Now he
is and he plans on digging into what happened.
What follows is a complicated and often violent crime
fiction read as Roman tries to save his family from the situation and their own
self-destructive impulses. He has those same impulses in his own way as well as
he tries to right wrongs and come to terms with a horrible and tragic family
legacy.
There is a lot going on via multiple levels as one
would expect from this talented author. I’m certainly not going to disrespect the
author or the work by revealing any more of the story or the themes in the
work. Certainly not a read for the squeamish as violence abounds, this is a
work that will linger in the mind long after the read is finished.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ljBI0P
As expected, the publisher, Flatiron Books, totally
ignored my multi month request on NetGalley, so I had to wait for the Dallas
Public Library System to get it in. The digital version arrived first, via
Libby/Overdrive, ending the need for the print version that is just now arriving in the system.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Thursday, October 03, 2024
Friday, September 06, 2024
FFB Review: All The Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby
Normally I would not run a review again just a year later.
But, I told you when this review ran the first time, that this book would be
nominated for a slew of awards and collect quite a few. That prediction has turned
out to be very true. The book was a winner again last weekend as it won the
Anthony Award for Best Hardcover at Bouchercon: Nashville. You need to read
this book. Period.
Some books are relatively easy to review. Other books are
far more difficult as they deal with deep themes, context, and nuance. Those
are tougher as those elements can also be spoilers and one never wants to
reveal too much. Such is the case with the powerful book, All The Sinners
Bleed by S. A. Cosby.
Sheriff Titus Crown is back home in Charon County, Virginia.
He is the first black elected sheriff and ran on a platform of doing right by
all the people, regardless of race or economic status. He knows the power of
the past and what one man can do to another. Having grown up there, he knows
the secrets and the history. History is ugly.
So too is the present as a year after being elected, shots
are fired at the local high school. Sheriff Crown and his deputies arrive and
stop the shooter. In the aftermath, not only is the shooter dead, so is a
beloved teacher.
An investigation is launched and terrible secrets are
unearthed going back years. As pressure builds among the local citizenry, often
along racial lines, Sheriff Crown tries desperately to keep the peace while
very much aware the land of Charon County is steeped in tears and blood.
All The Sinners Bleed
is the latest book by S. A. Cosby and it is an incredible read of depth.
Reminiscent of the writing of James Lee Burke, Mr. Cosby writes of the pain of
the past and present with an eloquence that few other writers can achieve.
Throughout the book, he paints a picture of grief, faith, and legacy while also
spinning a complicated mystery.
All The Sinners Bleed
will collect nominations by the handful and win a slew of awards. It also is a
read that should touch a cord, if not several, within the reader. It is
incredibly good and well worth your time.
Make sure you read Lesa Holstine’s review as well here.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4e8yppR
My reading copy came by way of the Oak Lawn Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023, 2024
Tuesday, September 05, 2023
Review: All The Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby
Some books are relatively easy to
review. Other books are far more difficult as they deal with deep themes,
context, and nuance. Those are tougher as those elements can also be spoilers
and one never wants to reveal too much. Such is the case with the powerful
book, All The Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby.
Sheriff Titus Crown is back home in
Charon County, Virginia. He is the first black elected sheriff and ran on a
platform of doing right by all the people, regardless of race or economic
status. He knows the power of the past and what one man can do to another. Having
grown up there, he knows the secrets and the history. History is ugly.
So too is the present as a year after
being elected, shots are fired at the local high school. Sheriff Crown and his
deputies arrive and stop the shooter. In the aftermath, not only is the shooter
dead, so is a beloved teacher.
An investigation is launched and
terrible secrets are unearthed going back years. As pressure builds among the
local citizenry, often along racial lines, Sheriff Crown tries desperately to
keep the peace while very much aware the land of Charon county is steeped in
tears and blood.
All The Sinners Bleed is the latest
book by S. A. Cosby and it is an incredible read of depth. Reminiscent of the
writing of James Lee Burke, Mr. Cosby writes of the pain of the past and
present with an eloquence that few other writers can achieve. Throughout the
book, he paints a picture of grief, faith, and legacy while also spinning a
complicated mystery.
All The Sinners Bleed will collect
nominations by the handful and win a slew of awards. It also is a read that
should touch a cord, if not several, within the reader. It is incredibly good
and well worth your time.
Make sure you read Lesa Holstine’s review as well.
My reading copy came by way of the Oak
Lawn Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023
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