Community Reviews
This is only the second book I’ve read by Cosby, but it won’t be the last; I’ve already added Razorblade Tears to my to-read list. From the get-go, Cosby’s writing, and use of symbolism in this story captured me, which is a little unusual because I typically don’t enjoy crime thrillers and murder mystery writers who use a lot of parables and flowery poetry to describe scenes, especially crime and murder scenes. However, Cosby’s symbolism and poetry is most certainly NOT flowery. Maybe it’s those stark and harsh, realistic, yet figurative, descriptions he uses that appealed to me. Whatever it was, I like the way he writes, he’s a good writer.
The book summary introduces the primary storyline and lays out the start of the story: a school shooting by a black and troubled student who killed a white and beloved teacher, and the student was then killed by a white cop, in a VA county that still flagrantly flaunts its racist attitudes, behaviors and statutes like it’s still the Jim Crow south. Titus, the first black sheriff in the county, must balance the investigation, a town in an uproar with a police department where some of the officers are certainly reflective of what is wrong with the town.
It's discovered early in the story that the teacher had initially abused the student/killer before the student/killer eventually became an accomplice in a child pornography ring who murdered children. This is not a spoiler since it was revealed before the 20% mark. Titus and his team are now looking for a third perpetrator, the Last Wolf, who is still alive and probably among the townspeople.
Most of the story revolves around the investigation of the shooting and the discovery of a bunch of dead bodies, with many of them displayed is really gruesome ways and always with religious passages carved in the bodies. There is also the search for the Last Wolf who has continued the killing, after the deaths of his two partners. It’s around the halfway point of the story that Titus discovers some disturbing news that impedes his investigations, which was no surprise to me because I suspected as much from pretty early in the story.
However, it’s well into the second half that Titus is bearing down on discovering who the Last Wolf is and Titus is rattling him, and the Last Wolf is breaking down and coming apart. After aSons of the Confederate racist, white supremacy parade comes to the expected disastrous and fatal ending (think Charlottsville 2017 type disaster), the end of the story comes pretty quick after that. However, is it just me or did the final chapter NOT seem like a fitting end? Is anyone else thinking that maybe S.A. Cosby just might have some more stories to tell about Titus Crowne?
I listened to the audiobook and while Adam Lazarre-White had a nice voice and his narration of Titus was very well done. Titus was portrayed with a perfectly sounded voice, tone and diction that made him sound like the well educated man he was with no trace of his southern upbringing, except when he was drinking with his brother. Almost everyone one else, men, women and children, sounded like uneducated southerners. SERIOUSLY??? Good grief Mr Lazarre-White, I think you could have done better than that. JMHO
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Child Abuse, Child Pornography, Animal Abuse (one scene)
The book summary introduces the primary storyline and lays out the start of the story: a school shooting by a black and troubled student who killed a white and beloved teacher, and the student was then killed by a white cop, in a VA county that still flagrantly flaunts its racist attitudes, behaviors and statutes like it’s still the Jim Crow south. Titus, the first black sheriff in the county, must balance the investigation, a town in an uproar with a police department where some of the officers are certainly reflective of what is wrong with the town.
It's discovered early in the story that the teacher had initially abused the student/killer before the student/killer eventually became an accomplice in a child pornography ring who murdered children. This is not a spoiler since it was revealed before the 20% mark. Titus and his team are now looking for a third perpetrator, the Last Wolf, who is still alive and probably among the townspeople.
Most of the story revolves around the investigation of the shooting and the discovery of a bunch of dead bodies, with many of them displayed is really gruesome ways and always with religious passages carved in the bodies. There is also the search for the Last Wolf who has continued the killing, after the deaths of his two partners. It’s around the halfway point of the story that Titus discovers some disturbing news that impedes his investigations, which was no surprise to me because I suspected as much from pretty early in the story.
However, it’s well into the second half that Titus is bearing down on discovering who the Last Wolf is and Titus is rattling him, and the Last Wolf is breaking down and coming apart. After a
I listened to the audiobook and while Adam Lazarre-White had a nice voice and his narration of Titus was very well done. Titus was portrayed with a perfectly sounded voice, tone and diction that made him sound like the well educated man he was with no trace of his southern upbringing, except when he was drinking with his brother. Almost everyone one else, men, women and children, sounded like uneducated southerners. SERIOUSLY??? Good grief Mr Lazarre-White, I think you could have done better than that. JMHO
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Child Abuse, Child Pornography, Animal Abuse (one scene)
