Reviews tagging 'Murder'

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

176 reviews

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

The setting of this book is a gritty southern town in Virginia. You have a newly elected sherif who is black. He was voted in from the black community and the new residents that are moving in. The other side of the county is white and they are apart of a group called the sons of the confederacy. As if the racial tension was not enough. You also have the backdrop of a serial killer running amuck in the town. 

Please read trigger warnings before diving into this one.

S. A. Cosby does a wonderful job describing the town and the tension that Titus (sheriff) has to navigate through. However, there were a few plot holes for me on this one. He introduces tons of characters some who do not have anything to do with the major crime that is being investigated. I also wanted to know more about the connection of the actual criminals once they were uncovered. He left too many loose ends for me. 

Regardless I felt this book was just ok.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Blood, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Murder, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Child death, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Gore, Grief, and Death of parent

afriduss's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, Grief, Stalking, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gore, Blood, Cursing, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Child death

nja820's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

A great look into what it's like to be a POC in the south. I experienced a lot of the words Titus did in this book in my time there. However, as a mystery it's just average. I was also annoyed by the unnecessarily intense vocabulary - it was like the author was writing with a thesaurus pulled up the whole time. That said it's plenty enjoyable. Very graphic so be warned. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, and Murder

ate_nina_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gun violence, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape

tracie_mcd's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was my favorite of his books! It really was a propulsive thriller from start to finish! It had me on the edge of my seat. While it was graphic (as I’ve seen it described in other reviews), it didn’t seem more graphic than was necessary to build the suspense and terror in the story.  It was definitely gritty, and SA Cosby is a master at setting up the tension in the atmosphere as the two story lines collided so expertly at the end of the book. He is masterful and just keeps getting better and better with every book!! Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Murder, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Kidnapping

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, and Racial slurs

julsmarshall's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Cosby does it again. This book is thrilling, upsetting, evocative, and impossible to put down while still hard to read after dark. The protagonist is a flawed lawman who is trying to serve his community in a dark and violent time. Check the content warnings, this book may have the scariest serial killer ever. And Cosby’s writing is so tight, so perfect, that he puts you right in the moment. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So good! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence and Gun violence

booktellswitht's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

SA Cosby doesn't miss. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, and Child abuse

mmhender2's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This crime thriller kept me engaged in the plot from the end of the first chapter. I wanted to know who the criminal was. The writing was clunky at times (too many similes that weren't needed) and I felt it ended abruptly. The crime was darker than I imagined. It gave me first season of True Detective vibes. The small town setting was well done and I liked the development of the protagonist. If you like crime thrillers, you'll like this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Murder, Racial slurs, and Racism

ereyesmena's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Religious bigotry, Torture, Murder, Grief, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Racism, Hate crime, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

frozenheartv's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

5 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

🧠 My thoughts
This is the first book I read from S.A. Cosby and I blew my mind up. I have never read any crime, mystery book this deep and powerful. This was definitely not a thriller but a slow-burn and deep literary book. This book is a good example of a book that I want to read to understand racism and dark aspects of human nature. I had to choice but to empathize with most of the characters in this book.

However, since this is not a thriller, the story could be dragging sometimes. The romance part between the main character and the girlfriend should have been delved deeper into, for me it was a bit too shallow and I couldn't help but feel like it was redundant.

Nevertheless, I have to give this book 5 stars. Otherwise, it would haunt me for the rest of my life if I wouldn't do this.

👍 What I like
- Deeply-meaningful dialogues and storyline
- Excellent job to reflect the racist and dark aspects of human nature
- Cohesive and powerful narration
- Poetic and beautiful prose

👎 What I don't like
- A bit weak in romance part
- Some parts can drag a bit

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Death, and Racism

Minor: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Domestic abuse