Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

49 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

alext73's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

A riveting thriller that touches on many painful aspects of current American life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, and Racism

Moderate: Child death and Pedophilia

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

johoha93's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Terminal illness and Death of parent

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

txsweetheart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Murder, Hate crime, and Racism

alireads's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Gun violence, Body horror, Cursing, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Child death, Torture, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

runlaurarun's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Torture, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Racial slurs

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

pomoevareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book won’t be for everyone but if you can stomach some sick gore wrapped in some captivating southern noir then Cosby’s latest crime fiction book All the Sinners Bleed might be up your alley. I had to breathe through a few parts as it was a bit much. 

This book is as much about a sheriff working to be a respectable and honorable leader as it is about the town over which he tries to maintain order. A group of confederate supporters want to hold a march in town to honour a statue that seeks to bring the town back to its (racist) roots. Opposing this group is another group led by a modern church leader who wants to see the statue removed and for the town to move forward in a more harmonious community. In the midst of tension between the two groups, a shooting occurs. As a result of the shooting, Titus learns about more deaths that have been carried out in his quiet town. Titus must track down a serial killer among a group of folks who don’t all stand out. 

Cosby excels at getting the reader to root for a character and presents moral issues in a meaningful way. I found his character of a Titus Crown, the first black sheriff in this small Virginian town, to be well built and interesting. Titus has his own demons which we learn about slowly throughout the novel. Many side characters are introduced and keeping notes helped me keep them straight. 

The pacing of the novel starts out a bit slow for a Cosby novel leaving me unsure what to expect but rest assured the action and suspense arrives. I stayed glued to a couple of clues but never guessed who the killer was. Looking back, I can see some more clues that were dropped that I glossed over. 

Overall, I found All the Sinners Bleed hard to put down once I got into it. There was a lot of religious imagery and quotes that didn’t mean as much to me as it will to others but helped develop the story. This book is not for the faint of heart and contains many topics that may be triggering to those who have experienced child abuse in particular. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Racism, Child death, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death, Torture, Confinement, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry