All The Sinners Bleed - S.A. Cosby - Book Review

 

I had been considering trying a new author when I accidentally came across this book in the library. The name seemed interesting enough to catch my attention, and hence the read.

Titus, an ex-FBI agent, is the first black sheriff in Charon County. Even in this modern year, there is racism still underlying in the county. A year into the office, a school shooting happens that results in the death of a black person, the perpetrator. As the investigation progresses, more deaths happen, and Titus and his team realise that they are in for a wild ride. The violent crimes lead them to believe that a serial killer is hiding in plain sight. As the killer taunts Titus, he has to fight inner demons, tensions due to the far-right group, his dysfunctional personal life and catch the killer before it is too late.

To start with, I am happy to discover this author. The blurb made me look out for a racy story. But that was not so. The book was slow-paced. At the same time, there was no dearth of excitement. There were times when the reading was crawling at a snail's pace, but there was something or the other happening in the story that still managed to keep us hooked into the story. This is more of a crime procedural story. I liked how the social conditions of the county were described. Racism is an underlying theme in the story, and it pretty much runs in tandem with the main storyline. I was particularly impressed by the storytelling and character building of SA Cosby. Almost all the characters are grey shaded, and as the story progresses, the author keeps adding bits of layers to the story and characters. The detailing is spot o,n and the writings take us into the county. I enjoyed the chemistry that Titus has with his father and brother. The FBI background makes him see the crimes in a proper way, and we do not feel it is forced due to that. The crimes are violent, and some people might find it uncomfortable. There are red flags like racism, school shootings, violent death, right extremism, crime against children, etc. These can be trigger points for some. Also, the slow pace can give an undulating experience to the reader.

To sum it up, this is a brilliantly written story that touches a lot of social issues and gives a good procedural crime story. SA Cosby is an author whose works I need to check out more in the future.