An unplanned pause in sharing reviews – work got insanely busy and I’m finally finding some down time between stuff in the warehouse and calls.
Thank you Flatiron Books for the gifted copy!
KING OF ASHES – S.A. Cosby (Released June 10th, 2025)
You can see my thoughts on his other books here!
Book Description:
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 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.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
If you haven’t picked up anything by S.A. Cosby yet, why are you depriving yourself of such amazing books?? Blacktop Wasteland remains one of my favorite books, and Razorblade Tears just wrecked me. King of Ashes was action-packed, brutal, intense, and I just couldn’t put this book down.
I’ll read or watch anything that involves organized crime, gangsters, and the mafia. Supernatural? Yes. Dark romance? Yes. Horror? Yes. Another DeNiro/Scorsese movie? Yes. An S.A. Cosby novel? Absolutely!
Roman Carruthers returns to his hometown after finding out his father is in a coma. Waiting for him are his sister, Neveah, and younger brother, Dante. While Neveah runs the family business, Carruthers Crematorium, his brother Dante continues to make one bad decision after another. These bad decisions have landed him in some hot water with some dangerous people, and Roman must go against the town’s local crime family to save Dante’s life.
This book. Violence and family bonds. How far will you go to protect your family, no matter how stupid and reckless they may be? Cosby’s books are gritty, heart wrenching, and he shows us how cruel and raw the world can be. The character growth in Roman – you find yourself on his side in the beginning, and as the story evolves, you see a man changing and making you almost reevaluate your feelings. I love when books do this and really make you feel and connect. If you want a reading experience, pick up anything by Cosby!
Jessicamap Reviews 