Reviews with content warning for Child death - All the Sinners Bleed

Thrilling, mysterious and I couldn’t see any of it coming. I really enjoyed the ride. This author is someone who can weave in social commentary so beautifully with real life, gore, and small town life. He never misses. Highly recommend. The ending and whodunnit lost .25 for me because it felt not connected. But still, read this book!!!!

Content Warnings

bookishcori's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

I’ll start with what I loved: the way Cosby writes about his home and a sense of place, about complicated people and families, about masculinity, about the underbelly of rural Virginia and the overt racism. The writing itself is truly top notch. Also the scene with Titus and his brother on the porch near the end was 😭.

Hearing an interview where Cosby shared how he chooses to write crime/thrillers that seamlessly weave in “issues” that folks may otherwise not engage with makes sense and he excels at this. It never feels forced - you know how some authors throw in random hot button topics and it is irrelevant? Not here, because he’s writing from a Southern Black man’s experience and this is reality.

But here’s the thing, I used to consume a lot of gory serial killer and police procedural media and I no longer like these storylines. This was…too much. Sociopaths, pedophilia, violence against children, flayed and tortured bodies. 🤢 The saving grace here was that all the other aspects of the story were compelling.

If you like law and order: svu, silence of the lambs, or that James Patterson book turned movie about kidnapped girls held in a basement dungeon, check this out. You’ll get more substance with the shock value.

Content Warnings

alireads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

faerietale_princess's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a fantastic novel. Cosby knocks it out of the park.

Titus is a layered, complex character. He is consumed by guilt and tries to compensate for it. In doing so, he kind of loses track of what he really wants in life.

Cosby’s writing in this one is top-notch. The literary devices, themes, and structure are as layered as Titus.

You’ll see many parallels in Titus’ life, as well as vivid imagery and robust themes.

There were a couple of times where I felt adding a line or two would’ve really enhanced the story via callbacks. Sometimes some things kind of felt unimportant, but they were brought up again way later. This makes it feel a bit out of left field.

However, this only happened once or twice max in the whole novel. It did not take away from my enjoyment at all.

This is an incredibly thought-provoking book with plenty of things to discover and discuss. If I were an English professor teaching a class about literary devices, I would use this book.

If you like books that make you think, you may enjoy this.

If you like Criminal Minds, you may enjoy this.

Content Warnings

jhbandcats's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love SA Cosby - I would probably read a phone book if I knew he’d written it. That said, I have some quibbles with this book.

I’m tired of the crazed serial killer story. If there were as many serial killers as serial killer novels, there would be a huge dip in our population. The weakest part of the story was about the fanaticism and insanity, the abuse to the victims, and the descriptions of the torture chamber.

A minor complaint: when the sheriff finds the old woman who knew of the young boy, she doesn’t say his name and he’s referred to as “the boy” thereafter. Why no name? It wouldn’t have given anything away.

Spoiler

Also, it felt like the killer was a rabbit pulled out a hat. I don’t think anyone would have figured out his identity by the end.

Spoiler

The strongest parts deal with the racism embedded in the South (and indeed the whole US) and the way Black people are confronted with it every day. The topical issues of white supremacy and rabid Confederacy adherents show that the worst bits of the story are all too real, not fiction at all.

It’s a shame that Cosby is likely preaching to the choir - I can’t imagine any racist deciding to read to the end of this book.

Content Warnings

itsme_lori's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

realhousewifeofthelibrary's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Check content warnings, but otherwise this was amazing. No notes.

Content Warnings

More...