All The Sinners Bleed - S.A. Cosby

Crime Fiction

Rating: 9/10

It came to me as I was reading this spectacular and provocative novel, that apparently, I love a small-town crime story. One that can be a narrative about murder, an exploration of trauma and a contemplation about the sins of the past all rolled into one.

Charon County is a small southern town sown together through generations of blood letting and shed tears. And despite so called “progress”, racism and violence still simmer close to the surface.

Titus is the newly appointed Sheriff who has returned home to care for his aging father and reconnect with his younger brother after leaving his FBI position under mysterious circumstances. As the first Black Sheriff ever appointed, he has his work cut out for him, even before a single crime is committed during his reign.

Titus and his deputies are called to the scene of a reported school shooter, one who has killed a beloved teacher and is himself killed when officers believe he is going to turn his weapon on them. Sounds straightforward, a bad man killed a good man and then a good man killed the bad man, what more could there be to talk about?

Turns out quite a bit. An investigation into the shooting unearths evidence of shocking crimes and brutal slayings spanning years. A lot happens from the first crime to the last in this book and none of it should be missed.

The sense of grief and ravenous pain that permeates this novel is immeasurable, written with such beautiful prose that the reader can almost picture it as water wrung out of a wet cloth.

This author is a master storyteller, able to have his characters stare into the abyss and yet still retain their humanity and hope. Few writers can accomplish such a feat and I am grateful to have found my way to him.

Book Pairing(s): We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker, Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane, And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling