Razorblade Tears
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* One of Barack Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer • New York Times Notable Book • NPR’s Best Books of 2021 • Washington Post’s Best Thriller and Mystery Books of the Year • TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 • New York Public Library’s Best Books of the Year • Goodreads Choice Award Nominee • Book of the Month’s Book of the Year Finalist
“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
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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Razorblade Tears* by S. A. Cosby is a gritty, action-packed novel exploring grief, vengeance, and acceptance through two fathers avenging...
What’s it about?
Isiah and Derek are a gay, interracial couple with a young daughter. When they are found brutally murdered both families are devastated. Although their tough ex-con fathers have had trouble accepting them in life- they are fully committed to avenging them in death. Feeling that the police are hitting a standstill they take on the case themselves.
What did it make me think about?
Are they going to make it out of this alive?
Should I read it?
This is a solid mystery that explores racial tensions, regrets, and intolerance. Do not choose this one if you have a distaste for violent novels. This book packs a punch!
Quote-
” ‘Revenge?’ Tangerine asked. Ike smiled ruefully.
‘No hate. Folks like to talk about revenge like it’s a righteous thing but it’s just hate in a nicer suit,’ Ike said.”
Is it brutal? Yes.
Is it uncomfortable at times? Yes.
Did it get a little over-the-too at the end? Sure did!
However, I loved it and can easily see this as a movie!
Here is what I’ll say about this book in seriousness. Sometimes it takes something extremely ugly to happen for someone who can’t see or can’t accept what or who is front of them before they realize that there are things that just don’t matter, that shouldn’t matter. Sometimes they come to those realizations when it’s far too late. Buddy Lee and Ike are not redeemable characters at the end. They absolutely take revenge selfishly. Yeah, they go after the people that killed Derek and Isiah, but they are also projecting who they were and how they treated their sons onto those people. We don’t get to see the aftermath. We don’t know if Buddy Lee would have went on to be a better man if he had lived. We don’t know if Ike was on a better path. Not really. But there is the hope that people can change.
Not making excuses for them being horrible people! Just giving my interpretation of how I saw things at the end.
Still would make a good movie, imo!
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