Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

69 reviews

alireads's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Gun violence, Body horror, Cursing, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Child death, Torture, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

runlaurarun's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Torture, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Racial slurs

faerietale_princess's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

This is a fantastic novel. Cosby knocks it out of the park.

Titus is a layered, complex character. He is consumed by guilt and tries to compensate for it. In doing so, he kind of loses track of what he really wants in life.

Cosby’s writing in this one is top-notch. The literary devices, themes, and structure are as layered as Titus.

You’ll see many parallels in Titus’ life, as well as vivid imagery and robust themes.

There were a couple of times where I felt adding a line or two would’ve really enhanced the story via callbacks. Sometimes some things kind of felt unimportant, but they were brought up again way later. This makes it feel a bit out of left field.

However, this only happened once or twice max in the whole novel. It did not take away from my enjoyment at all.

This is an incredibly thought-provoking book with plenty of things to discover and discuss. If I were an English professor teaching a class about literary devices, I would use this book.

If you like books that make you think, you may enjoy this.

If you like Criminal Minds, you may enjoy this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Child death

Minor: Racism

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

I love SA Cosby - I would probably read a phone book if I knew he’d written it. That said, I have some quibbles with this book. 

I’m tired of the crazed serial killer story. If there were as many serial killers as serial killer novels, there would be a huge dip in our population. The weakest part of the story was about the fanaticism and insanity, the abuse to the victims, and the descriptions of the torture chamber. 

A minor complaint: when the sheriff finds the old woman who knew of the young boy, she doesn’t say his name and he’s referred to as “the boy” thereafter. Why no name? It wouldn’t have given anything away. 

Also, it felt like the killer was a rabbit pulled out a hat. I don’t think anyone would have figured out his identity by the end.

The strongest parts deal with the racism embedded in the South (and indeed the whole US) and the way Black people are confronted with it every day. The topical issues of white supremacy and rabid Confederacy adherents show that the worst bits of the story are all too real, not fiction at all. 

It’s a shame that Cosby is likely preaching to the choir - I can’t imagine any racist deciding to read to the end of this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Animal death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Torture, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Vomit, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Chronic illness, Murder, Gore, Blood, and Mental illness

blacksphinx's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

I don't normally read this kind of book - a modern crime thriller. I heard good things about it through the grapevine, and I was overwhelmed with hours and hours of tasks at work that would keep my hands busy but nothing to think about it. I checked it out from the library on a whim and I've been amazed at how good it was.

S.A. Cosby knows how to put words in front of each other, really painting a vivid image of this rural southern community and its conflicts. This is only enhanced by Adam Lazarre-White's incredible narration which brought each character to life. I found this book to really take its ideas and themes seriously and with the level of nuance they deserved, even if I felt some points could have been pushed farther or were fumbled. It hit more often than it missed.

I wouldn't say it's perfect? There's a question I wanted answered that didn't, there's a romantic plot line that I felt didn't really add anything, and sometimes I found the narration to be repetitive (yes there's a serial killer running around and you want to catch him, I've been reading the book I know this!). But when the book finished playing, I didn't think it detracted enough from my overall enjoyment and appreciation to give the book anything less than 5 stars. I am absolutely going to go and read the rest of S.A. Cosby's books now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Gore, Racism, Racial slurs, Blood, Death, Torture, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Mass/school shootings, Classism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pedophilia

Minor: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Addiction, Pregnancy, and Excrement

There is a brief description of an unseen character dying from HIV/AIDS in the 80's.

readingtomydogs's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Not a perfect book but very close. Exciting, well written, with deep insight into the main character’s mindset. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Child abuse, Gore, Blood, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Rape, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Cursing, and Hate crime

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

lferris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Racism, Gun violence, Grief, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs

orizenda's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

Honestly I loved this book. The one little scene at the end with mom appearing felt a little…. cheesy to me. but I can forgive that. Can’t believe I’ve been sleeping on Cosbys work. there’s so much going on here, i feel like this would be a great book club discussion book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gore, Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Child abuse, Murder, and Pedophilia

bookbuyingwithkatie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Confinement, Murder, Gore, Child death, Child abuse, and Death of parent

misspennreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Excellent writing. Thoughtful and nuanced portrayal of police role in violence. Pretty tight plot that doesn't get bogged down in the procedurals of police work, but does follow Titus (the Sheriff) in his own deliberations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicide