Reviews tagging 'Death'

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

82 reviews

mikepalumbo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, Child death, Chronic illness, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Kidnapping, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent

literaryintersections's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

PSA: don’t sleep on S.A. Cosby and All the Sinners Bleed. Cuz this book (frankly all his books) are solid gold.

I picked up Blacktop Wasteland earlier this year - I had it on my shelf for a minute and was in a book slump. Lord. Lord. Lord. I finished it in 2 days, reeling with visions of car chases, people catching on fire, and small southern towns complexly created with racism, community, poverty, booze, and car grease.

The second I saw ATSB I preordered it. Then waited too many days for B&N to deliver it (lol). And was once again blown away. Cosby’s use of language is unmatched: descriptive and clear, vividly crafting a story that is lush and inventive. The characters jump off the page and feel like real life - Titus especially felt 3D. Racism and misogyny, homophobia and poverty, the bastardization of religion, all intertwined with love and family, Black man vulnerability and community. The violence is horrible but you can’t look away, turning page after page to try to get a glimpse of the antagonist - to understand what would make a person do such horrible things.

No one comes out unscathed in this book. And it left me thinking about these complexities far longer after I closed the cover. Do yourself a favor. Read ATSB. Then read Blacktop Wasteland. And join me on this journey as an absolute fan of Cosby’s work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Death

emziesreads's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

SA Cosby does it again. Another excellent exploration of race, power, and Southern small town society through the lens of crime. Couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Blood, Child abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, and Torture

Moderate: Religious bigotry

tlaynejones's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

I enjoy SA Cosby’s books, they are fast paced and compelling reads which include some interesting social commentary. Having said that they have more of a profoundly masculine feel than most books I would consider reading. This is not necessarily good or bad, but is noteworthy for its consistency and thoroughness. This is a world of straight cis men relating to other straight cis men. There are a few peripheral women, but they aren’t fleshed out, and mostly just provide a reflection for the male character to bounce off of. There were no identified or implied queer characters in this book. Considering Cosby’s last book was an examination of homophobic toxic masculinity in Black southern men, I found this interesting. 
I plan on continuing to read Cosby, as a queer woman I do understand the desire to immerse yourself in and explore the subculture to which you belong. Especially when that culture is largely erased and oppressed by the dominant images. But a part of me does wonder if Cosby’s love of, and questioning of, his culture will include more feminism in the future?
CW for ALL the violence in this book. Including towards children. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Racism, Murder, Grief, Kidnapping, and Classism

Moderate: Trafficking, Child abuse, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Drug use, Religious bigotry, and Sexual violence

averydriver's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Torture, and Violence

jamie_rich's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Excrement, Drug abuse, Cursing, Child abuse, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Mass/school shootings, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Alcoholism, Animal death, Violence, Racism, Drug use, and Blood

feralbookwife's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

S.A. Cosby can take tropes of thrillers and make them deeper, darker, and more compelling. A tangled web of morality, Christianity, identity, secrets, and the many forms of violence in a society. This was the first thriller to make me cry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Addiction, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Ableism, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Sexism, Slavery, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Torture, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Chronic illness, and Classism

chessakat's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual assault, Gore, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism and Addiction

lcg527's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Titus is the first elected black Sheriff in a rural town in Virginia. On the one-year anniversary of his term as Sheriff, a high-school shooting in town occurs killing the town’s most revered teacher. A gruesome backstory unfolds in the investigation of this teacher, the shooter, and a serial killing lone wolf on the run. This rural community is divided due to race, addiction, and religion. These themes are part of this story. SA Cosby is a talented writer and this book is as gritty and propulsive as his other works. This is not for sensitive readers - there are a lot of grisly details of deaths and perverse violence. The narrator of the audiobook is terrific! Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Death, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Violence, Child death, Trafficking, Torture, Religious bigotry, Racism, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime

no_more_shelf_control's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

 ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by S.A. Cosby and read by Adam Lazarre-White is the gritty and fantastic story I was expecting from this auto-read author.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

I have found that S.A. Cosby is in a genre of his own. Is "Grit. Lit." a thing? If it is, Cosby is King. This goes beyond a gritty tale of sordid activity in a smaller town dealing with ghosts of racists past and present, but goes deep into areas of power, safety, and trust.

Titus is the first Black sheriff in Charon County and when a school shooting ends with his officers killing the shooter, it seems like the narrative should be easy. When it is discovered that the victim of the shooter was involved in heinous activities and bodies are found, a much deeper thread is pulled.

I felt like this story, while horrific and did have graphic details, could have been more graphic and I am glad it was not. I felt like this struck a perfect balance of enough but not over the top. I get a bit nervous with audiobooks knowing it will get gritty as I don't necessarily have the ability to skim over if I need to! I was prepared for this one and felt like the narration was superb. There was the audible disdain and horror presented, as well as the steely determination of Titus to solve this case and not cave to pressures of various sides. I did listen at 2x speed which was just right.

I really love the way Cosby takes a whole trove of interconnected issues, combines them all and with precision, crafts a highly entertaining narrative that makes me cringe, think, gasp, and applaud. The take-downs are obvious, calling out the charlatans in our society.

I clearly enjoyed this most recent offering of Cosby's. While my favorite is still probably Blacktop Wasteland, this one is a close contender for top.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for @flatiron_books for this ALC and having me share my thoughts. This will be a perfect, hot, summer read and it comes out June 6! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death, and Racial slurs