Background Information
A little background on S.A. Cosby, he is a multi-award-winning author, known for his thrilling novels that always have an underlying message interwoven into them. The two works being discussed in this blog are Razorblade Tears and All the Sinners Bleed. He has also appeared on New York Times Best-Selling Author multiple times (1). He is referred to as the King of Southern noir, hence the title. He has published a total of 5 crime-thriller novels, with his first publication, self-published, being in 2014 (3). The TIMES Magazine mentions, "S.A. Cosby is one of the best crime fiction writers working today..." (4). One writing technique I admire about Cosby, is he is able to put his personal experiences into his novels giving them a better aspect of reality.
 |
| S.A. Cosby (5) |
Cosby is very open about how he was brought up in the world. He grew up in a rural area of Virginia, he was poor and his parents were divorced. However, his parents did live extremely close to each other (1). He is also open about his mother's health struggles and how those circumstances led him to dropping out of college. While taking care of his mother, Cosby would bounce between multiple jobs to help keep his family afloat. Him putting his life on hold to take care of his family has gained him a lot of respect from his readers and others (3).
Through all of these hardships, he never let his passion to become a writer go. Cosby states that he would take whatever free time he had in-between work and caring for his mother, to write (2). It is mentioned that his mother is the one who helped shape his passion in writing through riddles she would have him and his brother complete (1). She would also gather all she could to get books for her children to read, some being historical fiction and nonfiction (5).
Razorblade Tears
 |
| S.A. Cosby's Razorblade Tears (6) |
Razorblade Tears is a novel where two fathers, both ex-convicts, come together to avenge their sons who were violently murdered. Their sons were married, one white and one black, with a young daughter. Neither father was a fan of their sons' marriage, but they still joined together to get justice for them, despite their differences (4). Cosby has displayed multiple underlying messages in this novel such as, gay marriage of two different races. Two issues that are still receiving pushback to this day. Then to add adoption into the mix. His novel helps deliver this message, by showing the two fathers come together, two different races come together, because of the love they have for their children. It helps deliver the message that all violence brings is more pain, and how love for something can bring anyone together. It is a truly moving novel.
 |
| Cosby's All Sinner's Bleed (4) |
All the Sinners Bleed is another very successful novel written by S.A. Cosby. This novel is based off of a new Sheriff, Titus, who used to be a FBI Agent and was also a well-known football player in this town. He is also the first black sherif the town has ever had. While investigating a death in a school shooting, he uncovers a huge series of sexual assault and torture on children. Two of the serial killers are dead, but one still remains. Of course, this investigation has led to a lot of uproar within the community between the black community and white community. Titus must have to fight to keep the tensions at bay, while also trying to find the third serial killer (7). This book is full of complete plot twists and turns, definitely a way to keep a person from putting the book down. This book also seems to bring out how the South's past will always be with it.
All the Sinners Bleed came after Razorblade Tears and has also won multiple awards. One of those awards being the Anthony Award. The Washington Post has also said, "...'All the Sinners Bleed' is deeply moving and memorable" (7). This outlines the underlying messages Cosby will incorporate into each of his readings, each relating to a current or past issue that is also personal to him. The readers are able to see the message Cosby is conveying, of how not letting go of the past can create future issues, this relating to the South's history with slavery.
Overall Perspective
Cosby is a very prestigious and passionate writer, and his novels are only getting better as he furthers his career. He has had very successful novels and now has adaptations of his novels coming out on Netflix.
Works Cited:
(7) Bell, Carol B. “Review | S.A. Cosby Returns to the Scene of Many Crimes.” Washington Post, 7 June 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/06/06/cosby-sinners-bleed-novel-review/.
(6) Cosby, S. A. Razorblade Tears. Flatiron Books, 2022, https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250252715/razorbladetears/.
(1) Greenlee, Cynthia R. “The Roots and Rise of S. A. Cosby, the New King of Southern Noir.” Garden & Gun, 23 June 2025, https://gardenandgun.com/the-roots-and-rise-of-s-a-cosby-the-new-king-of-southern-noir.
(2) Kellogg, Carolyn. “Who Is S.A. Cosby? The Author behind Obama’s Favorite Rural Noir Books.” Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2026-04-16/king-of-ashes-sa-cosby-festival-of-books.
(5) Marsey, Marisa. “Chris Murphy.” Coastal Virginia Magazine, July 2024, https://coastalvirginiamag.com/article/sa-cosby-noirs-new-literary-lion/.
(8) Nicolaou, Elena. “All of the Books on Barack Obama’s 2022 Summer Reading List.” TODAY.Com, TODAY, 27 July 2022, https://www.today.com/popculture/books/barack-obama-reading-list-books-2022-rcna40226.
(3) “S. A. Cosby.” Wikipedia, 7 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._A._Cosby.
(4) TIME Staff. “Razorblade Tears.” TIME, Time, 22 Nov. 2021, https://time.com/collections/100-must-read-books-2021/6120662/razorblade-tears/.
Your title is what initially drew me to your post, but I'm glad I read deeper. I was unfamiliar with S.A. Cosby, but his work is something I'm interested in. I might honestly order his book "Razorblade Tears" because it seems so interesting!
ReplyDeleteI never heard of S.A. Cosby before reading your blog, so I really enjoyed learning about his background and what inspired his writing. I was very interested to learn that he used whatever free time he had while taking care of his mom to keep writing, since that shows how just how much writing meant to him.
ReplyDeleteCosby is an author I hadn’t heard the name of but I was aware of the book All The Sinners Bleed. I really appreciate challenging books that show all sides of human nature in one story. The disapproval of the marriage by their fathers, the struggles that come with both race and sexuality, etc. These stories see important because they show us how easily people are put into these situations and how to reflect on ourselves.
ReplyDelete