All The Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

 

 

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Flatiron Books for providing advanced copies of the eBook and audio book for review consideration. 

 

This review expresses my own personal opinion. I have not been asked to post it by the author, his publishing company, or anyone connected with the book or author.

 

I decided to listen to the audio version narrated by Adam Lazarre-White, and so glad I did. More on this later. First, my take on the story. 

 

Let me start by saying this book was a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller (2023), which got my vote. While it didn’t win, the mere fact it was nominated tells you this is a book to read. 

 

For those of you who are fans of the series involving FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, former FBI, now independent criminal profiler, Alex Cross by James Patterson, and troubled former cop, now FBI consultant, Amos Decker by David Baldacci, comes a new sheriff in town, literally, as the main character, Titus Crown is also of FBI stock. Note the trend here, each of these formidable law enforcers have FBI backgrounds. A shout out to the Bureau. 

 

Set in the Virginia County of Charon, former FBI Agent Titus Crown returns to his hometown of Charon, to see after his aging father, who by the way you’ll quickly want a dinner invite from, Titus’ father’s cooking is on par with that of Alex Cross’ Nana Mama. Reading some of the meals he cooks up will make you want to jump inside the book searching for the kitchen, but I digress. 

 

After returning home Titus runs for and gets elected as the first Black sheriff in a historically white dominated rural town, where the high school is named after Jefferson Davis and a statue honoring the Confederate cause stands outside the local courthouse. A year later, almost to the day that Titus was elected, a beloved white teacher is shot by a former student, who is black and he then is shot and killed by Titus’ white deputies, which the Black community questions, did they have to kill him when it appeared he was surrendering with gun in hand. Sounds like an open and shut case, justifiable shooting, the killer is then killed. But all is not what it appears to be. Titus’ FBI training kicks in and as he begins to investigate the motive for the shooting of the teacher and questioning his deputies’ quick fingers, he uncovers unspeakable horrors which quickly reveals there is a serial killer preying on young Black girls and boys, a killer that could be hiding in plain sight. 

 

Titus knows all too well that being the first Black sheriff the expectations are much higher than if he were white, the bar is higher and he must not fail. In addition to catching the killer, he still must carry out his sheriff duties, crime and stupidity does not stop. He has to contend with a far-right racist group that is still living in the pre-Civil War days, where black folks should know their place. This group of Neanderthals are planning to hold a parade to celebrate the town’s Confederate history, and a young charismatic Black activist is having none of that and plans to hold a counter-march. You get the picture, another Charlottesville, VA in the making. 

 

Are you exhausted yet! Wait, there is more. Not only does Titus have to carry out the duties of being a sheriff, he is also battling his own personal demons – his discarded faith in God for allowing his mother to die while Titus was young, an estranged relationship with his brother, his only sibling, and a painful and haunting secret from his past. 

 

Cosby delivers strong characters within a story that pulls you in from the very first page. The Washington Post hit it straight on in their review, which stated, “Cosby weaves politically charged salient issues — race, religion, policing — through the prism of a serial murder investigation and the perspective of one of the most memorable heroes in contemporary crime fiction. . . Deeply moving and memorable.”

 

Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca said, “Crimes often return to their teacher.” There are plenty of examples throughout this story.  

 

This is a rollercoaster of a ride, full of emotions ranging from regrets, anger, hate, love lost, gained, lost, humor, sadness, and so much more mixed in. Like any good crime story, Cosby does not spare us the horrible side of crime, the ruthlessness, ugliness, and brutality, this story is definitely not for the faint of heart. 

 

An audiobook can rise or fall based on the narration, no matter how well written the book is. Adam Lazarre-White delivers a stellar performance, he is Titus Crown. Lazzare-White’s narration brings the small-town vernacular front and center, you know you are in Charon. The story comes alive in so many ways, the delivery is spot on and you are captured from the very first spoken words. The voice inflections, the delivery, the style generates almost unbearable tension and unease from start to end, in fact so much so, I had to stop listening for periods of time just to regroup. You are in Titus’ world. 

 

The ending will have you go, “What the @##$%!!!! “ and there is an epilogue that will put a smile on your face and make you pump your fist. 

 

This is an awesome good book, one that will stay with you long after you have stopped listening or closed the cover. I rate this 5-Stars, with no further explanation needed.