S. A. Cosby is an Anthony Award-winning writer from Southeastern Virginia. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was a New York Times Notable Book, the Sun Sentinel's and BookPage's #1 Best Mystery of the year, a Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist, and was named a best of the year by NPR, The Guardian, and Library Journal, among others. When not writing, he is an avid hiker and chess player.
New York Times Notable Book - NPR's Best Books of 2021 - Washington
Post's Best Thriller and Mystery Books of the Year - One of Barack
Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer - TIME Magazine's 100
Must-Read Books of 2021 - Kirkus's Best Mysteries and Thrillers of
the Year - New York Public Library's Best Books of the Year -
Chicago Public Library's Best Books of the Year - Goodreads Choice
Award Nominee - BookPage's Best Mystery and Suspense of 2021 - Book
of the Month Club Selection - Kirkus's Best 100 Fiction Books of
2021 - New York Times Editors' Choice - Finalist for the Southern
Book Prize (SIBA) - Financial Times (UK) Best Crime Fiction of 2021
- Book of the Month's Book of the Year Finalist
"Cosby's prose is vibrant and inventive, his action exuberant and
relentless...You may come for the setup, but you'll stay for the
storytelling. Cosby writes in a spirit of generous abundance and
gleeful abandon."
--New York Times Book Review "S.A. Cosby's new crime novel is
provocative, violent -- beautiful and moving, too...Elmore Leonard,
wherever you are, you've got competition...S.A. Cosby has
reappeared as one of the most muscular, distinctive,
grab-you-by-both-ears voices in American crime fiction."
--Washington Post "Razorblade Tears is superb. No doubt, S. A.
Cosby is not only the future of crime fiction but of any fiction
where the words are strong, the characters are strong and the story
has a resonance that cuts right to the heart of the most important
questions of our times."
--Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"A tour de force - poignant, action-packed, and profound."
--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "A visceral full-body experience, a
sharp jolt to the heart, and a treat for the senses...Cosby's moody
southern thriller marries the skillful action and plotting of Lee
Child with the atmosphere and insight of Attica Locke."
--NPR "Stunningly poignant and brutally profound...Cosby gives
readers a unique take on a revenge narrative, one propelled by
furious action and two incredibly authentic and compelling main
characters."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune "Utterly unique...Cosby wisely tweaks
the formula, mixing in biting humor and frank confrontations about
race and sexuality amid the mayhem...Riding shotgun with the
violence, though, is also great beauty -- in descriptions of the
grief of a community, in the fathers' stirring awareness of the
true meaning of love and even in Cosby's reverence for the vibrant
natural world (a sunset "dipping lower than a ballroom
dancer")."
--Los Angeles Times "Cosby has crossed Elmore Leonard with Walter
Mosley to produce the thrill ride of the summer...Sounds like the
perfect vehicle for a Will Smith/Bradley Cooper summer
blockbuster...Cosby's writing is cinematic, with action-movie
sequences and dialogue that's more buddy movie than
noir...Razorblade Tears is an instant classic."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "An action-packed story that starts
strong and accelerates, Razorblade Tears also is an insightful
story about racism, homophobia, parenting, classism, squandered
chances and seized opportunities...Razorblade Tears combines the
best of thought-provoking fiction, character studies and
hard-charging action."
--South Florida Sun-Sentinel "[A] powerful thriller...Equal parts a
bloody Tarantino film -- think "Kill Bill" -- and a saga of
redemption by fire, both men needing to avenge their boys' deaths
to atone for failing them in life...I agree with the hype.
Razorblade Tears may run only 300 or so pages, but it's an
epic."
--Washington Independent Review of Books "Following Blacktop
Wasteland was one hell of a challenge, but S. A. Cosby doesn't
merely deliver, he ups his game with Razorblade Tears, a story that
addresses the big questions while never losing sight of the
characters at its core. Taut, tense, and thoughtful, Razorblade
Tears confirms Cosby as one of the most important new voices in
contemporary fiction, period."
--Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who
Wish Me Dead "A violent noir revenge story you can't stop reading.
One of my favorite books of the summer."
--R. L. Stine, bestselling author "A powerful blend of pulsing
action, sensitive and subtle character interaction, and
uncompromising but highly nuanced reflection on racism and
homophobia...Few novels marry tough and tender, head-banging and
coming-of-age, as seamlessly as this one does, but that's no
surprise from a supremely talented writer who keeps getting
better."
--Booklist, starred review "A lean, mean crime story...Fast on its
feet, by turns lethal and tender...This is a bloody good yarn with
two compelling antiheroes you'll root for from the start."
--Kirkus, starred review "Simultaneously a contemplative mystery
and a stunning thrill ride. A master of his craft, Cosby balances
incredibly complicated characters with enveloping suspense and some
of the most captivatingly violent scenes that you will ever
read...Cosby's writing is both fearless and sympathetic, exhibiting
his formidable intellect alongside vivid imagery, sharp wit and
intricate plot lines."
--BookPage, starred review "[Cosby's] story of fathers and sons, of
men learning to respect others' lives, has an unexpected depth for
such a violent, confrontational book. This powerful book should be
in every library."
--Library Journal, starred review "A double-barreled action saga
that brings to mind the mayhem of early Dashiell Hammett and the
bedlam of vintage Sam Peckinpah. Leavening the violence is the
salty banter of two bereaved fathers who turn out to be, for better
and worse, much more alike than they suspected."
--Wall Street Journal "S.A. Cosby blew us away with last year's
searing heist thriller/rural noir Blacktop Wasteland, and with
Razorblade Tears he's done it again. In a heartbreaking tale of
love, murder, vengeance, and acceptance, two ex-cons, one Black and
one white, team up to find those responsible for the death of their
sons, who were married to each other...Shattering and beautiful,
this is a must-read for genre and literary fiction fans alike."
--CrimeReads "S. A. Cosby is a once-in-a-generation storyteller --
and he's only getting started. In Razorblade Tears, Cosby delivers
a jaw-dropping thriller of vengeance, cruelty, and heart. His
iconic voice, cinematic prose, and brilliant plotting will have you
hearing an 80-piece orchestra at full crescendo as you race towards
an ending so explosive, you'll literally duck for cover. This book
is far more than a work of art; it's the gold standard."
--P. J. Vernon, author of Bath Haus "The mystery community has been
raving about Blacktop Wasteland, in my mind, the best novel of last
year. Believe it or not, this book is even better...This book is
not only an exciting thriller, there is much depth to the writing,
as well. Race, LGBT, class structure is all covered here...The plot
is totally compelling and the pacing is relentless, overall. I
could not put it down...Highly, highly recommended."
--Deadly Pleasure Magazine "The very definition of a white-knuckle
ride...don't know when I last read such a bruising book about
bruised people."
--Ian Rankin, New York Times bestselling author "A harrowing
portrait of two fathers grappling with their messy pasts amid a
violent present in the American South."
--TIME "Buckets of blood are spilled, but in a volume that's
proportional to the amount of soul-searching going on and the
number of jokes being cracked...Razorblade Tears ups the ante by
introducing characters forced to grapple with their thoughts on
homosexuality and interracial love while Confederate flags fly
around the...S. A. Cosby's terrific follow-up to Blacktop Wasteland
is another rustic noir centered on a Black man with a checkered
past who feels forced to jeopardize his straight-arrow status."
--Shelf Awareness, starred review "Gripping and fast-paced, this is
an immensely entertaining read. The laconic protagonists, on a
mission to avenge their sons' murders and make amends for their own
shortcomings as fathers, meet some fantastically nasty bad guys,
and the results are deeply satisfying. There is a real humanity in
the storytelling which elevates this thriller to another league.
Highly recommended."
--Alex George, bestselling author of The Paris Hours "If you prefer
your summer reads to be grab-you-by-the-throat sort, be sure to
check out Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby...Cosby's deft blue-collar
characterization and powerful, high-octane prose will thrill fans
of Dennis Lehane, Walter Mosely and Don Winslow."
--Shawnee Mission Post "Fast-paced but moving thriller...The
exuberant but choreographed violence in Razorblade Tears might
remind you of Quentin Tarantino's films...like [Elmore Leonard],
Cosby can create a vivid character sketch in a few lines and knows
how to counter the darkest situations with humor...His voice is his
own, his characters engaging and surprising, his narrative skill
impressive."
--Tampa Bay Times "Graphic, explosive, cinematic story-telling at
its finest... Razorblade Tears is crime fiction as raw, gutsy and
hardcore as it comes . . . definitely not for the faint of heart...
Highly recommended for fans of hardcore crime fiction and great,
heartfelt storytelling everywhere."
--mysteryandsuspense.com "Cosby's talents for pungent dialogue and
Chandler-esque phrase-making...[are] evident again in this
pulsating follow-up, which oddly but fruitfully combines
progressive values...with the mayhem-packed chronicle of an
atavistic pursuit of revenge."
--Times of London "A nuanced take on contemporary race and LGBTQ
issues of a type not commonly found in crime fiction. Chalk up
another winner to Cosby."
--Publishers Weekly "A vivid, tense thriller...reminiscent of
another superlative black American writer, Attica
Locke...Ferociously gripping."
--Financial Times (UK) "It's a rare trick to combine violence with
social commentary, but Cosby pulls it off."
--Daily Mail
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