S. A. Cosby

A Novel

All the Sinners Bleed

Lindsay

It occurred to him no place was more confused by its past or more terrified of the future than the South.

if your cousin ain’t a racist, he is mighty goddamn comfortable with being around racists. That’s a distinction without a difference.

His instructors at the Academy had their own version of string theory. The way they explained it, there were invisible strings that vibrated unseen in the liminal spaces between sunrise and secrets, between rumor, shadows, and lies. Strings that pulled all this together. All you had to do was find the seam and unravel it. Or rip it apart.

Small towns are like the people who populate them. They are both full of secrets. Secrets of the flesh, secrets of blood. Hidden oaths and whispered promises that turn to lies just as quick as milk spoils under a hot summer sun.

“We’re all alone, Pop. We’ve just trained ourselves not to believe it,”

“My brother Luis used to say, ‘Ain’t nothing to do in small towns except fighting, fucking, and drinking.’

“You can’t fix everything, no matter what tools you use, Ty. Shit, you can barely fix anything. Most days you gotta just hold on and keep your head down,”

Sometimes grief is love unexpressed. Other times it’s regret made flesh.

Waiting for the world to shed tears for your pain was like waiting for a statue to speak.

“The South doesn’t change … just the names and the dates and the faces. And sometimes even those don’t change, not really. Sometimes it’s the same day and the same faces waiting for you when you close your eyes.

“The South doesn’t change. You can try to hide the past, but it comes back in ways worse than the way it was before. Terrible ways.”

The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. 

armoni mayes

4.5 stars. I really enjoy Cosby’s writing style and his other novels but the ending to this felt a little rushed and flat to me.

4 stars - a medium-paced thrilling mystery that had me on the edge of my seat. I literally had to physically remove myself from this one and I even lost sleep bcs I wanted to know what happened. This being my first SA Cosby book is promising and I'm so excited to read his other works. Titus (main character) is not to be messed with and I love that! Don't forget to read the trigger warnings just in case

All the Sinners Bleed A Novel

Reviews

Highlights