Reviews

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

shesochi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

eyelit's review against another edition

dark 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

4.25

mtstellens's review against another edition

3.0

Definity a very different book than I had expected. A Black sheriff in the south responds to an active school shooter. The former student shoots and kills a teacher. Before he is then shot by another officer in the sheriff's department, he tells them to look in the teacher’s phone. Titus, the sheriff, looks and finds incredible graphic child abuse images that include the former student, the teacher and another person. Because the officer that shot the student was white and the student was Black, Titus suspends the officer and now has to investigate the teacher as well as balance the activists that got him elected and the entrenched racist part of the town that doesn't trust a non-white sheriff. Titus is able to find where the teacher and former student buried the bodies of the children and continues to investigate on his own without state involvement. As the investigation continues, the several people are murdered in graphic ways as the final killer antagonized Titus. Finally they discover that the killer is the mixed race half brother of the local businessman whose family is notoriously racist. He was given up as a child and then abused by a local church. The killer ends up kidnapping a child after attacking Titus’ ex-flame. Titus and one of his disgraced deputies find the house where the killer is. The deputy is shot and killed, Titus is injured but manages to kill the murderer and save the child. After the dust settles, Titus leaves town to become a professor, pulling down the local confederate statue as he leaves town.
I have such mixed feelings about this book. It really went into a different direction/genre than I thought it was going to. The first few chapters were an incredibly nuanced look at being a progressive Black sheriff, what that means to a still very racist community and also being distrusted by his own community because he is now the face of that institution. This is especially distinct after the shooter is killed by one of the white officers. Eventually this comes to a head when someone decides to drive through a protest and kill the leader of the local Black Lives Matter branch. I think that these parts were the most powerful sections in the book, including the ending. But it felt distracted by the mystery/ thriller parts. I think that it made the whole book feel somewhat cheesy to me. Same with how they chose to make the transition from the child victims to the adults and the murders that we see more on page. I am glad that they did not describe what happened to the children, but it felt like the kids were used as a way to make the rest of the plot happen rather than having a point, like they were a vehicle to get us to the much more gruesome murders later in the book. The killings felt unreal or like an episode of criminal minds and therefore disparate from the sections that are much more grounded and nuanced. I don’t even know if we learn who all of the children are or their stories which felt odd to me.

kristaaquinn's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

rubybbb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

magi20's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

thehornyprofessor's review against another edition

5.0

Razorblade Tears is one of the best books I've ever read, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. The conclusion: a bloody good read that did not disappoint! I was thinking 4.5 stars until the last page, which bumped it up to 5. Atmospheric, layered, definitely not for the faint of heart, but does take a little bit to get going. S.A. Cosby is a genius (and would probably be super fun to drink with.) I feel genuinely bereft that I had to give the book back to the library.

jessicacombine's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.0

thebluehour's review

adventurous dark 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

4.5

starstuff011's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

5.0