Southern Crime Book Review: King Of Ashes by S.A. Cosby

Genre: Southern Crime Fiction Murder Thriller and Suspense

King Of Ashes was my second read by S.A. Cosby, and it was a slightly better read than his My Darkest Prayer, which was my introduction to Cosby's books and writing style.

I decided on King of Ashes because it had just come out and people were talking about it on social media. Some people were expressing how good the book was, while others were saying they couldn't wait to read it. Based on the hype, I took it as a sign that it should be my next read. I purchased the book from Amazon and received it in the mail a couple of days later.

I started reading the story on July 12th and finished on July 31st. Yes, it took three weeks to read. It wasn't that the story was bad, I just find I enjoy reading in smaller bites. Now let's dive into the book review, the analysis of the characters, the story, and the villain(s).

Character Analysis

The story opened with Roman Carruthers. He lives in Atlanta and works as a financial advisor. Roman's claim to fame is that he's good at making money. And money that can buy everything, even loyalty. Roman was likable, but he had a lot of flaws. Those flaws made his character three-dimensional, but they also led him to be the cause of his family's destruction.

He was good at keeping secrets and lying, especially to those he loved. One secret that weighed heavily on his mind was his mother's disappearance and the fact that his father had a successful crematory business. Their motto was: "everything burns." And it did indeed. Those burning secrets also led Roman into the lifestyle of BDSM, where he wasn't the predator causing pain but more of the prey upon whom pain was inflicted. Now mind you, it wasn't a deep dive into the lifestyle. He only indulged his proclivity for seeking punishment occasionally to rid himself of the guilt that had burned its way into his life starting when he was a teenager.

Dante was Roman's younger brother. Dante only cared about getting drunk and doing drugs. He wanted to be his own man outside of what his father provided for him. He was childish and immature. That immaturity, coupled with his addiction, led him down a dangerous road and straight into the path of a local gang who operated through violence, among other things, to which Dante would become indebted.

Neveah was Roman's sister. For years she helped their father run the crematory business. Neveah was also obsessed with finding out about the disappearance of their mother. She was also growing tired of the business because it hampered her love life.

Khalil Sanders was Roman's good friend and a person Roman knew never to cross. Khalil was a former Army Ranger who now worked in security. Khalil would prove valuable to Roman as he set a dangerous plan in motion to take down the local gang responsible for Dante's problems.

Plot Overview

The story began with Roman living in Atlanta. He gets a call from his sister asking him to come home because someone tried to kill their father. The father's car was found near the same train tracks where their mother had disappeared almost twenty years earlier.

When Roman gets home, he finds that his brother has slipped deeper into drugs and that his sister is not only worried about their father, but believes he killed their mother and burned her body to hide the evidence. She was sure her father did it because of her mother's constant infidelity.

Roman is shocked when he finds out that Dante is the reason their father is in a coma. Dante owes a lot of money to a local gang known for killing those who cross them. To protect his brother's life as well as his own, Roman devises a plan with Khalil's help. I was particularly intrigued, wondering how Roman was going to get them out of the mess Dante had gotten them into. However, Roman had made the situation worse by bragging about how he could make them more money. From there, the debt had tripled. Roman had money, but he didn't have the type of money the gang was asking for.

The storyline kept me on the edge of my seat. But knowing that Dante, one of the main characters, had caused the problem, I wanted to stop reading the story. But once again, I was fueled by my curiosity to know who had harmed their mother and how Roman was going to outsmart the bad guys. Continuing to read the story in light of that meant S.A. Cosby had done his job. He hooked me on the mystery, but not so much on the violence.

What Worked and What Didn't

I didn't like all the violence in the story. A scene or two that went into violence mode I had to skip over or skim through. I was a little bothered by the fact that the book read like I was watching one of those TV shows like Power or Snowfall. I don't watch those shows because I'm against that type of viewing. Now, I have watched movies over my lifetime that depicted that type of storyline, but with it being a movie, it's easy to move on from. I've also watched shows like Reacher, but that's in a different category. Here, I'm simply explaining some shows I can watch and some I can't.

Of course, the ending of the book was the best part. Finding out what happened to the mother at the end was a total shocker. The twists and turns with Dante, Neveah, the dad in the coma, and the local gang came to a great ending. But it was also open-ended. Spoiler: there was no happy wrap-up. No family love: it had all been broken by lies and fire.

Final Thoughts

The book did a great job of keeping me hooked throughout the story. I would give it about three and a half to four stars. Three and a half stars because of the violence, but four stars because it was a darn good book with some fantastic writing.

But who was the actual villain in the story? It was the local gang run by Torrent and Tranquil. But the ultimate villain who was morally gray was Roman, in my opinion. His lies and cover-ups hurt everyone and were the family's downfall in the end.

Recommendation

Given my views, I still highly recommend this book to anyone who is fond of certain TV shows but who also likes a good book with great writing and a story that keeps you turning the pages.