Goodreads

Release date: July 6, 2021

Publisher: Flatiron

Genre: Thriller

Synopsis:

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 his father was a criminal. 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.

Review:

Last summer you may remember me raving about this authors book, Blacktop Wasteland because I couldn’t shut up about it. It was such an incredible story and definitely still a favorite to this day. While this was another highly original story it had many of the same elements that I loved in BW which really solidified this authors place on my auto buy list, he’s outstanding.

I think where this author shines the most is that he is able to combine an action packed series of events with an emotionally charged motivation and that combo will always reel me right in. Ike and Buddy Lee’s sons have already been murdered when the book begins so the whole thing is about the two men teaming up to get revenge. The cops have no leads so it’s up to them and since both men failed their sons while they were alive, the only option left is to get them vengeance in death. This was powerful as you have not only two grieving fathers but two grieving fathers who don’t really have many nice memories to look back on with their sons. Both men were homophobic and totally unaccepting of Derek and Isiah’s marriage and seeing their raw struggle was such a powerful thing. It’s hard to say what’s better here, the depth of the characters or the high octane, action packed plot because both were just amazing. This one is a must read and definitely a favorite of the year for me so it’s highly recommended!

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.