King of Ashes Book Review | S.A. Cosby

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Violence
Pages: 333
Format: Physical & Ebook – Libby
Rating:

This King of Ashes book review explores S.A. Cosby’s dark, gripping crime thriller about family loyalty, love, and the cost of survival.

You know a book is good when it makes me break my normal review format.

Imagine starting your year off with a five deer-star book. S.A. Cosby is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I may have only read two books by him so far, but both have been five deer-stars. Cosby is a master storyteller. He excels at creating complex and unique plots with multi-faceted characters, using imagery that turns words on a page into a movie in your head.

Okay, now let’s get into it.

Plot

Roman Carruthers left his family’s business behind years ago and is now a big-time financial advisor in Atlanta, Georgia. But he is forced to return to his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia when his sister calls to say their father is in the hospital after a hit-and-run.

Concerned, Roman returns home and is immediately confronted with a past he thought he outgrew. His mother’s disappearance still haunts him and his siblings. His sister has taken over the family crematory business, which has left her cold, friendless, and simply going through the motions of life. His brother Dante uses drugs and alcohol to cope and has inevitably fallen in with the wrong crowd.

As the eldest sibling, Roman sees himself as the protector and will do anything to help Dante out of the mess he is in.

Characters

Oh man, what a trio of siblings these three are. Let’s talk about them.

Roman

Roman, Roman, Roman. He is the definition of “I am my brother’s keeper.” He will do anything to protect his brother and sister. All of the siblings carry their own trauma from their mother’s disappearance, and Roman’s way of dealing with it was surprising and unexpected, but it also made a lot of sense.

I think Roman’s character shows what true love really is. The lengths Roman went to in order to protect his siblings reminded me of the quote, “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Roman’s clientele in Georgia consists of movie stars, rappers, and athletes. But when he returns to Virginia and has to get his brother out of trouble, he is suddenly dealing with gangsters, murderers, and drug lords. And boy was Roman a quick learner.

Some of my favorite moments were seeing how Roman used his expertise in financial advisement to navigate situations most people would never survive.

Neveah

Oh, Neveah. She really needs a hug.

Plagued by her mother’s disappearance, forced to carry the burden of the family business, and battling complicated feelings of both love and resentment toward her father, Neveah is lonely and searches for love in all the wrong places as a result.

She lives life on autopilot, simply going through the motions. She is living the life that is expected of her, not the life she actually wants. She is a strong Black woman doing her best to hold her family together while sacrificing herself in the process.

Family means everything to Neveah, and she will do whatever it takes in her own way to protect her brothers.

Dante

The number of times Dante pissed me off is unreal. Every time Roman found a way to get him out of a mess he created, Dante just could not stick to the plan.

He completely embodied that younger sibling energy of being a straight-up nuisance. At the same time, his feelings were valid and deeply human. Dante experiences and witnesses extremely traumatizing events that would make anyone spiral and lose control. Adding drugs and alcohol to that only worsens everything.

Still, as a reader, I often found myself thinking that this entire situation was his fault and that he was not doing anything to help himself.

Dante is complex in his own ways. He experienced the loss of his mother, has to watch his sister struggle to keep the family business afloat, and watches his brother thrive in a successful career in Georgia. He knows he is a “screw-up,” and despite his attempts to do better, he cannot seem to dig himself out of the hole he is in.

Favorite Lines

Like I said, Cosby is a masterful writer. Here are some of my favorite lines.

“It was during those times, when he felt like Atlas carrying the full weight of his clients’ lives, their legacies, their earned or unearned prosperity on his shoulders, that he came here for a ‘supplemental’ appointment.”

This is the second book I have read by Cosby where he references Greek mythology, and I love that so much.

“The ovens roared like demons who stood sentry at the gates of hell.”

Such powerful imagery.

“Roman felt his scrotum crawl up the crack of his ass.”

Now this one was just funny.

“The music switched from soft and sensual R&B to an old-school classic by Waka Flocka Flame, ‘No Hands.’”

This one actually hurt my feelings because since when is No Hands considered an old-school R&B classic?!

Final Thoughts on King of Ashes

This book could absolutely be a movie. It is incredible how Cosby is able to create such layered plots and tell stories in such exhilarating ways. The dual timelines, multiple POVs, characters, and emotional weight all work together seamlessly.

I cannot wait to read more of S.A. Cosby’s work.

If you would like to support The Reading Deer, you can purchase King of Ashes here.