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All the Sinners Bleed
by S.A. Cosby · 2023
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A Black sheriff. A serial killer. A small town ready to combust. Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon.…
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"This Southern gothic thriller, exploring race and justice in a small town, fits Barack Obama's interest in narratives that delve into American social issues and the complexities of community."
"Also based in the US is the International Thriller Writers association or ITW, which “represents professional thriller authors from around the world.” Its first award dates to 2007 and winners include Stephen King, Jeffrey Deaver, Lisa Gardner and Robert Harris. In 2024, the winner was All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby, whose previous books, Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland also won best novel. All the Sinners Bleed is probably my favourite of the three because the main protagonist is on the right side of the law, so you don’t spend the entire book thinking, “No! No! Don’t do that! It’s not worth it. You’re going to get caught!” Instead, he’s a former FBI agent, now a sheriff in rural Virginia. In terms of genre, this is a police procedural, with a serial killer at the heart of it and race relations as the backdrop. As Stephen King wrote in his review of the book in the New York Times , “As in S.A. Cosby’s previous two novels…the body count is high and the action pretty much nonstop.”"
"New York Times bestselling author S.A. Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed is crime fiction at its best. Titus Crown, the first Black sheriff in Charon County, Va., is a former FBI agent who returned home to care for his sickly father, but solving crime is in his blood. A school shooting and a suspect shot to death by deputies lead Titus to the discovery of a series of gruesome murders – and the chase is on for a serial killer. Cosby’s powerful writing makes this an unforgettable tale that expertly weaves a taut criminal investigation with heart-pounding action and a heartwarming family. S.A. Cosby’s novel is another must-read from a crime fiction master."