Reviews tagging 'Blood'

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

72 reviews

annabulkowski's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Religious bigotry, Racism, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Rape

Moderate: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Blood, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Mental illness, and Murder

elkcariboubiologist's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 It occurred to him no place was more confused by its past or more terrified of the future than the South.

I heard about this book on a 'best of' podcast episode of All The Books and now I'm wondering how I had never heard of this author before.

A dark, violent story told through the eyes of a black Sheriff -- the moral compass of the novel and a fascinating one at that. There is a lot going on in this book but overall, it reads like reality. The action is non-stop and once I got past the first couple of chapters, I ended up neglecting everything to read this in almost one sitting this past weekend. Definitely a challenging book but I would highly recommend it. I've already picked out my next read by this author.

What annoyed him about Top Cat was the overabundance of self-righteousness he now possessed. It was a trait common to the recently saved. Especially if one suffered from some form of dependency in their previous unsaved life. It was like they traded a secular addiction for a sanctified one.

Trigger warnings: graphic violence/blood/gore on page (including to children), racism, racist slurs, grief due to loss of parent, guilt & trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Blood, Murder, Animal death, Child death, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Grief

sgillette's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Blood, Sexual assault, Torture, and Racism

kellysbooknook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Torture, Hate crime, Murder, Death of parent, Gore, Racism, Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, Blood, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

josie2k's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Murder, Racial slurs, Torture, Hate crime, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Death, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

tkhenry99's review against another edition

4.0

i really just did not care about the MC’s personal life at all but the crime he was investigating was really interesting and the social commentary is super important 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Violence, Animal death, Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Torture, Grief, Child death, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Child abuse

Minor: Alcoholism

silkyyy's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Mass/school shootings, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Drug use, Animal cruelty, and Drug abuse

Minor: Vomit

danahh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Pedophilia, and Torture

Moderate: Kidnapping and Racism

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Thrilling, mysterious and I couldn’t see any of it coming. I really enjoyed the ride. This author is someone who can weave in social commentary so beautifully with real life, gore, and small town life. He never misses. Highly recommend. The ending and whodunnit lost .25 for me because it felt not connected. But still, read this book!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Torture, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Classism, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Racism, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

bookishcori's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

I’ll start with what I loved: the way Cosby writes about his home and a sense of place, about complicated people and families, about masculinity, about the underbelly of rural Virginia and the overt racism. The writing itself is truly top notch. Also the scene with Titus and his brother on the porch near the end was 😭. 

Hearing an interview where Cosby shared how he chooses to write crime/thrillers that seamlessly weave in “issues” that folks may otherwise not engage with makes sense and he excels at this. It never feels forced - you know how some authors throw in random hot button topics and it is irrelevant? Not here, because he’s writing from a Southern Black man’s experience and this is reality. 

But here’s the thing, I used to consume a lot of gory serial killer and police procedural media and I no longer like these storylines. This was…too much. Sociopaths, pedophilia, violence against children, flayed and tortured bodies. 🤢 The saving grace here was that all the other aspects of the story were compelling. 

If you like law and order: svu, silence of the lambs, or that James Patterson book turned movie about kidnapped girls held in a basement dungeon, check this out. You’ll get more substance with the shock value. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, and Child death