King of Ashes: A Novel
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Propulsive and powerful. . . A gripping roller coaster ride of escalating danger.” —New York Times Book Review
“Pick up the novel everyone will be talking about.” —The Atlantic
“Dark, riveting, and accomplished.” —Washington Post
Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby returns with King of Ashes, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.
When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father’s car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family—and the family business—together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante’s recklessness has placed them all in real danger.
Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he’s forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his brother: himself, and his own particular set of skills.
Roman begins his work for the criminals while Neveah tries to uncover the long-ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything.
Because everything burns.
"[A] sizzling summer read that concludes with a few unexpected twists.”
—Atlanta Journal Constitution
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Community Reviews
What’s it about?
Roman is a successful wealth manager living in Atlanta when he hears that his father has been the victim of a hit and run accident in his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia. Although he makes a point to never to go home- Roman is deeply attached to his family. Once he arrives he finds himself protecting his younger brother Dante, and his sister Neaveah, in ways he never expected.
What did it make me think about?
This is one violent book!
Should I read it?
This is the third book I have read by S.A. Crosby and I am always impressed with his writing style. He has a particular way of writing that is both concise and stylistic. His books are plot driven and do not shy away from violence. But this was the most brutal novel yet- and that is saying something…
I would recommend this to anyone who likes a fast paced crime novel. But be aware- lots of people die in lots of ways…
Quote-
“ ‘I work with money every day. Money is like acid. It burns through everything. Friendships, family, lovers, husbands, and wives. Whatever bond you think you have, money will make that shit dissolve. It’s acid. Don’t ever lie to yourself and think it ain’t,’ Roman said.”
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