Reviews with content warning for Violence - All the Sinners Bleed

HO-LY shit, this book had me on my toes! Very dark, and graphic crimes, but it was suspenseful and tense like a good crime novel. I loved Titus, the main character, the first Black sheriff of Charon county, and his backstory and character arc are fantastic. The writing makes it nearly a literary masterpiece, if it weren't for the murder-mystery aspect. Couldn't put this one down.

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speculativeshelves's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

Such a fantastic dark and gritty crime novel. This is not my typical genre so I don't have much to compare it to but I would definitely recommend for anyone that enjoys dark crime thrillers (with quite a bit of violence).

This book has a beautiful writing style and I really enjoyed the protagonist. I loved the exploration of race (particularly the experience of a Black sheriff trying to change the state of policing within his small town - is it even possible?), white supremacy and Christian nationalism - it feels very relevant to the current sociopolitical climate of the United States.

The pacing in the middle didn't quite work for me which is why it's not quite a 5 star but I definitely intend to read more by this author! Also the audiobook narrator is fantastic.

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shelbypm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

I really love the way S.A. Cosby creates characters with such depth and with an understanding that no one is all good or all bad. However, this book fell a little flat for me. Having read Razorblade Tears and absolutely loving it, I had very high expectations for this novel. The story was intriguing and overall I did enjoy the read, but the characters weren’t very interesting and I never felt 100% bought in to the story. I’ll absolutely keep reading Cosby’s work, but I wasn’t all that impressed with this one.

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eeefann125's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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micasreads's review against another edition

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4.0

Author: S.A. Cosby
Started: April 26, 2024
Finished: April 29, 2024
Format: Digital & Audio
Genre: Thriller

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in a small, usually quiet, Virginia town. On the anniversary of his taking the Sheriff position, a school teacher is shot by a former student. When Titus begins to investigate, he discovers the horrible truth of the student/teacher relationship and they horrible things they have done along with another man. Titus must find the man to stop the bloodshed.

I've heard so much about this author and thought this would be a good book to start with.
I learned two things: Cosby is good for a slow burn thriller, and I get through his books faster on audio. This was also the first time that I started a book on my Kindle and finished it via audio. That being said, this was a really well-done story that offered a lot of unexpected backstory and a great mystery. While I felt the "aha" moment was a little obvious; the story that went with it was unexpected. I enjoyed this novel and can't wait to read more from S.A. Cosby.

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