Book Review: All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Adult, (Horror???)
Pages: 344
Format: Ebook | Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 
Initial Thoughts
After reading Heat of the Everflame, I decided I needed a break from the romantasy and fantasy romance genre. The repetitive tropes were really starting to get to me and I just needed a change. I had seen S.A. Cosby around on TikTok, and while I didn’t remember what was specifically being said, I did remember the overall consensus of him being a great author and storyteller.
I landed on All the Sinners Bleed simply because it was on Kindle Unlimited. I didn’t know anything about the plot, and just decided to go in blind (this was a mistake.)
The Plot (Spoiler-Free!)
Former FBI agent, Titus Crown, has returned to his hometown of Charon County, Virginia and recently became its first black sheriff. It wasn’t an easy win, and Titus’s presence isn’t really respected by most, but he’s determined to do the job he was selected for, while practicing fairness and justice for all, no matter the skin color.
Charon County is a small town, where everyone knows everyone, families have been there for generations, almost everyone goes to church, and nothing stays a secret for long. Charon is not without its fault, the county was “founded in bloodshed and darkness.” With a dark past and history, the present isn’t looking too much brighter, with a resurgence of gruesome and gory murders, starting with a beloved teacher and a troubled student.
Titus is determined to solve this case, but the suspect seems to always be one step ahead. Not only that, Titus is also battling his own demons and past that’s making it harder to put an end to these killings.
What I Liked
I enjoy a lot of things about this book. First, I liked the juxtaposition of Titus living in a town with a racist past and present, but he willingly chose to come back and be the sheriff of said town. I found him to have a strong moral compass, no matter what he wants everything to be fair and balanced for all people.
I also liked how this is a town that is deeply rooted in religion, with more than 20 churches, but after enduring something traumatic as a child, Titus is a non-believer. But despite being a non-believer, he is able to pull Bible verses from the recesses of his mind when someone is trying to use it as a weapon against him.
“And just for the record, Mark, chapter sixteen, verse eighteen doesn’t say anything about not being bitten or not being harmed by poison. You fixed that to say what you wanted it to. And since that’s a king snake, not a coral snake, a bite from him won’t mean much,” Titus said.”
As someone who went to a Christian and Catholic school from first through twelfth grade, I’ve always seen it as a positive aspect in my life. Religion was a really consistent theme in this book and I think it shows how some people can manipulate God’s Word. So even though I’m a believer, I enjoyed reading about Titus’s perspective and why he viewed things in a negative way. Heck, he was teaching me things even I didn’t know! One of my favorite lines Cosby wrote was, “The Word is perfect, but the way men interpret it is corrupt.”
Even though I was physically cringing at times, Cosby has some of the best descriptions I have ever read. The scenes he was able to describe and the similes he used was outstanding. I felt like I was reading a horror story, and not only that, I felt like I was watching it in my mind. I take notes while I’m reading and something I wrote down was “this is sick twisted stuff,” and even though that’s true, I still loved it. I felt like my mind was being pushed to its limits and forced to imagine things in a way it’s never had to before.
It was nice reading a book by a black author because there were times I felt like the way Cosby wrote was exactly how I grew up talking to my family. When he was describing food in one scene, I was like YES, you know exactly what you’re talking about (because some people don’t, I’m sorry!).
“Gilby’s served down-home, unadulterated, nutritionally dubious Southern cuisine. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, hominy grits, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, buttermilk biscuits the size of your hand, baked and boiled ham, fried fish of every ichthyological designation, shoofly, pecan, chess, and chocolate pie, and iced tea so sweet it made your A1C rise two points just by looking at it. Titus loved it.”
Lastly, but certainly not least, I loved the subtle connections to Greek Mythology. If you’re new to my page, then you may not know that I do enjoy dabbling in Greek Mythology, (check out my reviews of The Song of Achilles, Medusa, Circe, and Mythos if you’re interested). Cosby deciding to name this town Charon had to be intentional and then there was a mention of Tartarus in the book as well which I also believe was fully intentional.
Sorry, just thought of one more thing. I just really liked how knowledgeable Cosby was about what he was writing. He seemed to had really done his research. He had great attention to detail in terms of being in the mind of a serial killer and again, he had to have a religious background as well to weave the Bible verses in as intricately as he did.
What Didn’t Work for Me
Something that didn’t work for me was the mental trauma I felt like I endured. I was in bed reading and I would be on the edge of my seat, or bed in this instance, and Cosby would describe something so detailed and paint such a vivid image that I was starting to fear I would get nightmares. This is just one of many examples:
“…body resembled a piece of cured meat that had been cut into sections and wrapped in waxed cotton in a deli.”
But on a serious note, I can’t say what didn’t work for me because I don’t have anything to say!
Final Thoughts
I do recommend this book and it’s something I will reread again in the future. It was my introduction to S.A. Cosby’s writing and he made a fan out of me. I will continue to read his catalog but intermittently – my mind needs a break LOL.
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