Reviews tagging 'Gore'

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

34 reviews

silkyyy's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Mass/school shootings, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Drug use, Animal cruelty, and Drug abuse

Minor: Vomit

morybaby's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Objectively, it’s a good book. The thing is I read razorblade tears before this and that is my standard. This did not do ✨it✨ for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, and Pedophilia

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Torture, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Classism, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Racism, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

kiragreads's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Torture, and Gore

bookishcori's review against another edition

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, and Child death

faerietale_princess's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Child death

Minor: Racism

jhbandcats's review against another edition

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Animal death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Torture, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Vomit, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Chronic illness, Murder, Gore, Blood, and Mental illness

violentlyagitated's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Racism, and Gore

blacksphinx's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't normally read this kind of book - a modern crime thriller. I heard good things about it through the grapevine, and I was overwhelmed with hours and hours of tasks at work that would keep my hands busy but nothing to think about it. I checked it out from the library on a whim and I've been amazed at how good it was.

S.A. Cosby knows how to put words in front of each other, really painting a vivid image of this rural southern community and its conflicts. This is only enhanced by Adam Lazarre-White's incredible narration which brought each character to life. I found this book to really take its ideas and themes seriously and with the level of nuance they deserved, even if I felt some points could have been pushed farther or were fumbled. It hit more often than it missed.

I wouldn't say it's perfect? There's a question I wanted answered that didn't, there's a romantic plot line that I felt didn't really add anything, and sometimes I found the narration to be repetitive (yes there's a serial killer running around and you want to catch him, I've been reading the book I know this!). But when the book finished playing, I didn't think it detracted enough from my overall enjoyment and appreciation to give the book anything less than 5 stars. I am absolutely going to go and read the rest of S.A. Cosby's books now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Gore, Racism, Racial slurs, Blood, Death, Torture, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Mass/school shootings, Classism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pedophilia

Minor: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Addiction, Pregnancy, and Excrement

There is a brief description of an unseen character dying from HIV/AIDS in the 80's.

readingtomydogs's review against another edition

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

4.75

Not a perfect book but very close. Exciting, well written, with deep insight into the main character’s mindset. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Child abuse, Gore, Blood, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Rape, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Cursing, and Hate crime

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Chronic illness