All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars rounded up**
When I first completed the audiobook for All the Sinners Bleed I decided to give it 4.5-stars, not rounded up. My thought process was that I didn’t connect to it emotionally in the same way that I did Razorblade Tears, which I gave 5-stars.
For some reason, in my little pea-brain, I was thinking because I didn’t feel that way that it wasn’t as good a story for me as that one. Hence the slightly lower rating.
Even though that was my reasoning initially, and I stress the initially part, I was wrong. Here we are, a full 4-days after I completed the book, and I cannot stop thinking about Titus, Charon County, or this mystery.
First, can we all acknowledge that Adam Lazarre-White is one of the most talented voice artists out there. I could listen to him read anything and be lulled into happiness. It’s true. You think I’m embellishing, but I’m not.
In this story we follow Titus Crowne, the first black sheriff of Charon County in Virginia. Titus used to work for the FBI, but decided to come home for a number of different reasons.
He ran for sheriff with the hopes of making a difference in his community; changing it for the better. The job has had it’s ups-and-downs, but overall, it seems they’re are making headway. Then, a year to the day after his election, a school shooting rocks their small community.
Caution: Scenes from school shooting on page.
A teacher is dead and the shooter, a former student and someone Titus knows well, is shot and killed by the responding deputies.
Even though there are many witnesses, Titus insists on an internal review of the shooting. It’s the right thing to do.
Looking into the teacher, and the former student, Titus and his department unknowingly open up a big ole’ can of worms. It appears the student was abused by the teacher. The teacher everyone felt was so pristine was anything but.
Y’all, this story goes dark and I loved it. It’s extremely interesting. There are religious elements, a cult-like atmosphere, buried bodies and so many secrets it makes Washington D.C. seem transparent.
The most compelling thing about this novel though is simply Cosby’s quality of storytelling. From the very first chapter I was reminded of how easy it is to get swept away by his writing. The way the plot and characters are developed is a masterclass in style.
Titus is such a great main character. He has so many admirable qualities, but he also has a past. He’s human, he struggles with things and second-guesses himself, but he always works hard to do the right thing. He’s the type of character you want to succeed.
He’s also the type of character I’m really hoping I will meet again. To my knowledge, this is a standalone novel, but man, would I love to someday get a follow-up. I’m not ready to say goodbye to Titus.
The mystery aspect, which involves many dead bodies, goes there. It gets graphic. I was actually surprised by how dark certain scenes got. I was living for it.
I recommend this to Readers who enjoyed The Echo Man. If you like that mystery, I think you could end up really vibing with this one as well. There was just something about this that gave me the same level of toe-curling enjoyment that that one did.
I loved following along with this investigation and felt my pulse ratchet up a notch every time the stakes were raised, which spoiler alert, was a lot!
I highly recommend this one for your Summer reading list. If you love a fast-paced, intense, Police Procedural Thriller, this is an absolute must for you. It’s a nail-biter!!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I loved this!