What if trying to hold the world together is the only thing that keeps you from falling apart? As a black man bearing a badge, Titus Crown is faced with the arduous task of not only conquering the monsters of his past, but also one that is haunting the county he loves and is sworn to protect. 

Cosby continues to stun readers with his uncanny ability for storytelling while simultaneously stepping outside the realm of his normal formula for character building. Titus is different from Beau, Nathan, and Ike obviously due to his position as a sheriff, yet similar in the way they all fiercely protect the people they care about. There is a thorough examination of how black men in law enforcement are viewed as sellouts by their community and as interlopers “out of place” by white residents. Religion and biblical references are essentially the backbone of this book. Cosby walks a fine line throughout the novel of how faith intertwined with our humanity can yield various, and in the case of Charon country, horrific results. As someone raised in a Christian household that has divested from church culture, I had no qualms about this topic being explored, but I understand if for others it may be touchy. 

While Titus’s battle with grief and a hero complex are like subtle waves throughout the book, Cosby concisely highlights how a black man’s mental health can be disregarded when they are seen as aggressors/suspects. It’s heartbreaking to think about how many other Latrell’s there are, but a character like this also challenges the reader’s empathy in a complex way.

With Virginia’s dark history as the backdrop, this novel takes off like a bat out of hell in the first chapter and doesn’t let up until the final pages. Suspenseful, gruesome, and gut-wrenching, All the Sinners Bleed solidifies Cosby as a connoisseur of crafting compelling crime novels.