Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Razorblade Tears

There is so much that I can say about this book. I knew, when I first read the premise, I was going to devour it, yet I kept putting it off because I was afraid it wouldn't live up to the hype. It Was So Good!! Two men with criminal pasts come together in grief when their sons, who were married to each other, are killed. Unsatisfied and frustrated by the investigative efforts of law enforcement, they decide to take matters into their own hands to find those responsible. This story is intense. Its traumatic. Its painful. And yet, it's so, so good!! Upon finishing it I immediately did a search to see if it is being made into a movie, and yes it is!!! Not only is this a thrilling, suspenseful murder-mystery, it's also a social commentary on who we are as people, as parents, and how we handle our own issues of identity, whether it be race, sexual orientation, or baggage from our past. This story had me in it's grip from start to epic finish and presented a story with a gray moral compass, because when it comes to your child, where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? Content warnings include homophobia, graphic violence, hate crime, death, and grief. The audiobook narrator was phenomenal!!

Content Warnings

moran's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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narbine's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

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jmboff's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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albernikolauras's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny 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

4.0

This book was a ride of a book following two fathers bent on avenging their murdered sons - the sons happening to be married to each other. It was an interesting mix of gratuitous violence and men reconciling their treatment of their sons as gay, and can never take it back. I think that it went on a bit too long and they were both a bit too eager to resort straight to violence - especially in the beginning. But this isn't a book full of wholesome characters and they don't act or do as they should. It wasn't realistic in terms of its action, but S. A. Cosby covered the issues he wanted to cover very well - entrained homophobia, the criminal justice system, and racism (systemic and not) - and weaved them very well into the plot.

In summary - read if you want a rip roaring good time that discusses some very prominent issues. Avoid if you like wholesome characters or realistic plots. Or just recommend it to your dad because it seems exactly like a 'Dad' kind of book (in a not negative way). Four stars but five dads.

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amanduhhhpls's review against another edition

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challenging 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? It's complicated

4.5

Wow. I have not read a thriller this challenging in my whole life.

This is action-packed in the most brutal way, and there is a lot of violence depicted on page, both physical and against peoples identities. Check your trigger warnings, but if you can look past that there is an amazing story here.

While I can’t say I found any of these characters redeemable, I did find them realistic and this story of revenge forces the reader to focus on the parts of humanity that are uncomfortable and hard to swallow. These fathers have horrible opinions and have done horrible things, but they are attempting to move towards understanding for their sons in the wake of their grief, and that unfortunately is a common story.

This book did everything it set out to do, and I only knocked it a half star because it was incredibly hard to read with the violence, homophobia, and racism on page. Again, be sure to check trigger warnings for this one.

Content Warnings

climbingbookshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense fast-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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jessiebertram's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective

3.0

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