Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby

*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* “Provocative, violent — beautiful and moving, too.” —Washington Post “Superb...Cuts right to the heart of the most important questions of our times.” —Michael Connelly “A tour de force – poignant, action-packed, and profound.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance. Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid. The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss. Derek’s father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed of his father's criminal record. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy. Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys. Provocative and fast-paced, S. A. Cosby's Razorblade Tears is a story of bloody retribution, heartfelt change - and maybe even redemption. “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

And cue the movie. This one has Hollywood written all over it. Vivid characters, powerful emotions that had me teary a few times. Having gone to college in Richmond, I loved the setting. I found the plot to be complex but easy to comprehend and the characters' ex-con street cred and criminal capabilities were frankly fascinating and like nothing I had read before. They consistently outflanked their enemy with their street smarts and I loved every bit of it. Great read. Highly entertaining. And such a satisfying ending. Now I need to go pick up Blacktop Wasteland. I'm a fan.

This book was so good! I loved the subtle discussion of classism and racism, and how that affects western society. Also, the realness in this book is what makes it so good. It would be naïve to ignore some people's view of the LGBTQ+ community, and so to expand on this and show two men who have to confront their homophobia is a concept that I love. The fact that they aren't immediately perfect only adds to the realness of this book. This book is about ex-criminals with a vengeance, so if you have a problem with violence or profanity, it's not for you. But love love.

Definitely one of my favorite books of 2021. Fast paced, thought provoking and character driven. I loved it.

im like legitimately baffled how this has such a high rating and how many people who's opinion i trust(ed) enjoyed this i genuinely don't understand... im not even talking about the premise because that's an entirely different mess (two old men who beat and or tossed out their kids for being gay come around to “repent” for their abuse and neglect only after said gay sons have been killed) i think this story could have been told and been interesting and thought provoking but this book did not tell that interesting and thought provoking story. the writing here is fucking abysmal. this feels like the author picked up writing on a whim because he wanted to produce an action packed b-movie revenge flick but couldn't write a screenplay. it's written out like it's meant to be a movie. things just happen and there's no depth behind the characters or their words or their actions and none of it means anything because none of it feels real. no one talks like this in real life, no one acts like this in real life, not even those goddarn rednecks who are all white trash alcoholic racist deadbeats (lmao). this whole book screams Man manly manly masculine man. this is a book for Real men.

i didn't finish this book and i don't care to, nothing that could happen in the last 60% would change my mind and i really highly doubt the writing suddenly becomes better so im shelving this shit. i did start marking things i really really hated in this so here are some of those lines:

- The powerlifter had sweat stains spreading down from his armpits that vaguely resembled maps of England and Ireland respectively.

- His chest was as tight as virgin pussy.

- The wound on his cheek was weeping like a broken-hearted bride.

- Dom was five seconds away from busting a nut in the mouth of the brunette that had been crashing at the clubhouse since Saturday when he heard the sound of metal smashing against metal. Reflexively he grabbed his .44 off the nightstand and popped his nut all in one movement.