Razorblade Tears pdf book by S. A. Cosby is a thriller novel, a story of bloody retribution, heartfelt change―and maybe even redemption.
Razorblade Tears Summary
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.
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About S. A. Cosby Author of Razorblade Tears pdf Book
S.A. Cosby is the New York Times national best selling award-winning author from Southeastern Virginia. His books include MY DARKEST PRAYER, Blacktop Wasteland, Amazon’s #1 Mystery and Thriller of the Year and #3 Best Book of 2020 overall, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, Winner of the LA Times Book Award for Mystery or Thrillers and a Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist and the winner of the ITW award for hard cover book of the year, the Macavity for best novel of the year, the Anthony, The Barry , a honorable mention from the ALA Black Caucus and was a finalists for the CWA Golden Dagger. He is also author of the best selling RAZORBLADE TEARS which was also nominated for numerous awards as well
His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, and his story “Slant-Six” was selected as a Distinguished Story in Best American Mystery Stories for 2016. His short story “The Grass Beneath My Feet” won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story in 2019. His writing has been called “gritty and heartbreaking” and “dark, thrilling and tragic” and “raw ,emotional and profound “
Razorblade Tears pdf, Paperback, Hardcover Book Information
- Publisher : Flatiron Books (April 5, 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250252717
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250252715
- Item Weight : 9.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.28 x 0.84 x 8.23 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #11,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Black & African American Mystery, Thriller and Suspense
- #1,295 in Murder Thrillers
- Customer Reviews: 4.4 out of 5 stars 6,865 ratings
Razorblade Tears Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars My new favorite novel
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2021
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Wow! All I can say is Wow!
Last year, I read SA Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland, and I absolutely loved it. I didn’t think that he could top himself, but Razorblade Tears is phenomenal. This book features two men, one black and one white, named Ike and Buddy Lee, looking to find out how their sons, who were married to one another, were murdered.
This book is gritty, raw, and real. Cosby doesn’t inflate his novels with extra fluff. It’s not Clancy length with never-ending descriptions. Instead, it’s to the point. It has beautifully woven sentences that form a picturesque, vivid painting of the novel. It has characters that, regardless of the pitfalls and struggles, are some of, if not the most, unforgettable characters I’ve read about it years. Ike and Buddy Lee will forever be cemented as these two completely opposite characters thrust into this extraordinary situation. This book is timely and touches on some of the most difficult topics society is faced with right now. I knew after reading Blacktop Wasteland that my expectations were going to be high with this one, but I never dreamed it could be this good.
This book needs to be a bestseller. It is the best book I’ve ever read, and I mean that honestly. I’ve read thousands of books over my lifetime, and this one has become the best in mere days. I don’t think there is a higher praise I could give a thriller than saying it’s my favorite book, so there it is. It’s a must-read that will be the best book in 2021.
Richard B. SchwartzTop Contributor: Philosophy
5.0 out of 5 stars How About Six Stars?
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2021
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So what has Shawn Cosby prepared for us? A revenge novel that would make Thomas Kyd weep with envy. The premise is very hip and au courant. A black man and a white man have gay sons who marry one another and are viciously murdered. The reason: one of the gay men was a reporter investigating someone in power who did not want it revealed (mini-spoiler) that he was having an affair with a trans-woman. The twist: both the fathers (who were alienated from their sons because of their sexual orientation) are ex-cons. Tough ex-cons. Homicidal ex-cons. Revenge-seeking ex-cons. Before they can get to the puppet master they have to go through his intermediaries—biker outlaws who will kill without hesitation or remorse.
So the putative story is that this will all eventuate and the fathers will embrace one another across racial lines, embrace their sons in retrospect, embrace the trans-woman, and grow emotionally as part of the experience.
That part of the story is all well and good and as woke as a caffeine-addict with a new Keurig machine, but the bottom line is that that part of the story is ultimately incidental. It may serve to widen the author’s audience, in which case, blessings upon him. That audience, however, may be a little rattled by the violence of the real story. This is a rip-roaring genre fiction feast. We’re talking street-sweeper machine-gun heavy. We’re talking knife points to the throat and a level of mayhem and the old ultra-violence that would make Alex and his droogies blanch.
And I loved every word. The difficult thing with a novel like this lies in the proportions. The villains must be truly villainous and the price they have to pay must have a far-east decimal point. There must be tears and there must be blood but there can’t be too much or too little. It must be fulsome but … just right. And it is. Shawn can cook like a master chef. Interestingly, his greatest creation here is Buddy Lee Jenkins, the white sidekick of Ike ‘Riot’ Randolph. Buddy gets all of the best lines because Ike is ultimately his straight man. Somebody’s got to be strong and silent and lethal and somebody else has to put the whole experience into words.
I thoroughly enjoyed Blacktop Wasteland, this novel’s predecessor, but Razorblade Tears takes things to a whole other level. Jerry Bruckheimer and Paramount have already snapped it up.
Bottom line: gird your loins. It’s going to be a long and bloody night. This is the unexpected buddies story of the decade. Somebody done them wrong and they’re breaking out the street sweepers, the Mac-10’s and the gardening implements, the kind with sharp edges. If that is your cup of tea (and it certainly is mine) prepare to swim in oceans of it.
2.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing, quite naïve and stereotypical
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2021
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I enjoyed Mr. Cosby’s first novel though I found he used way too many clichés in his writing. This novel has an excellent premise and who on earth doesn’t like revenge stories. However, he has this buddy book, a black guy and a white guy, both fathers of an interracial gay couple who were murdered, and they’re on a mission to find the killers and exact the much needed revenge to effect some sort of closure. I found it strange that both men speak in “Black” jargon as though they’re both Black. I also found the ethnic stereotyping in the novel to be obnoxiously off-putting, especially when it’s coming through the pen of a Black author. He also uses metaphors very promiscuously to the point where they appear quite naïve and forced. I read the entire book out of a sense of obligation, which I always hate, but that’s the kind of reader I’ve always been. Very, very disappointing.
Oliver Clarke “whatmeworry”
5.0 out of 5 stars Cosby has reinvented the pulp thriller for the 2020s
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2021
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Quite rightly, everyone raved about SA Cosby’s blisteringly kinetic crime debut ‘Blacktop Wasteland’ when it was released last year. That includes me, and you can read my review of it here. The danger with an out of nowhere, word of mouth smash like that from a new author is that it ends up being a flash in the pan. A one off work of genius that the writer can’t repeat. For that reason I was nervous opening ‘Razorblade Tears’. It took me precisely one paragraph to know I had nothing to worry about.
The setup of the book is one of my favourite things about it. The heroes, Ike and Buddy Lee, are both ex-cons, one white, one black. They’re brought together when their sons, a married gay couple, are murdered. The two men set out to find the killers and kick off a truly memorable, gripping novel that is one of the best examples of popular fiction I’ve read in years. It mixes mystery, action and a buddy movie style odd couple to make a thriller that ticks every single box. In ‘Blacktop Wasteland’ Cosby proved he could write car chases that screamed off the page with the energy of a great movie. In ‘Razorblade Tears’ he does the same thing with gunfights. The shootouts here grip and thrill completely, not least because the reader really cares about the outcome.
Not only is it brilliantly entertaining, it also comments on the state of modern America without ever feeling preachy. It covers racism, homophobia, and the affects of poverty, in a way that doesn’t shy away from the hard questions. Ike and Buddy Lee both struggle with their sons’ gay identities but come to a new understanding of equality in a way that feels completely natural. They’re both great characters. Ike a dour, determined man who reminded me a little of Walter Mosley’s Socrates Fortlow. Buddy Lee a washed up, wisecracking alcoholic redneck who finds redemption through his quest for justice.
I really think that Cosby has reinvented the pulp crime novel for the 2020s. His prose may go over the top at times, but it’s never less than brilliantly readable and has a raw authenticity that makes it a delight to read. Whether he’s describing acts of violence or tenderness his words have huge impact. ‘Razorblade Tears’ really does have everything you could want from a book. It’s filled with humour, compassion and righteous violence. It thrilled me and moved me and I can’t wait for Cosby’s next book.
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