Razorblade Tears by S A Cosby

 The first book that I finished in 2022 is a crime thriller, Razorblade Tears by S A Cosby ( author of Blacktop Wasteland, which incidentally I have bumped back to the top of my TBR) - What I have realized is that the best genre that lends itself well to the audiobook medium is crime/thriller. and SA Cosby has come to own this particular version of this genre fiction, call it literary action thrillers. 

So Razorblade Tears, very much like his previous book, is set in the wildlands of Virginia and traces the lives of two hardened ex-criminals, one a booze-addled redneck living in a trailer and the other a black man, trying to eke out a respectable living by through an office selling landscaping services. Buddy Lee Jenkins and Ike Randolph are as different as two men can be, and yet so alike. Brought together by a common tragedy when both their sons, Derek and Isiah get mercilessly shot down outside an uptown restaurant where they were celebrating their wedding anniversary. Both Ike and Buddy Lee had distanced themselves from their 'gay' sons when they were alive, having failed to come to terms and understand this part of their sons' sexuality, unable to distinguish this from the other aspects of their sons' lives. Now, with both of them taken away in such a brutal violent manner from them, they are determined to rectify the miserable failures they were, as fathers. And as such, with their own violent backgrounds ( they both have done time in prison) it isn't long before they set out on a path of violent justice to find out answers and seek revenge. 

United in their boundless grief, guilt and seething anger, Ike and Buddy Lee set out to find out what happened and bring the murderers to task. The police are useless as they soon realize and they take things into their own capable hands. While between Ike and Buddy Lee, the black man is the rock, the towering well built man who can both take a punch and give it back twice as good, Buddy Lee is the craftier of the two, an honest brave old man who never hesitates to wade into a fist fight to save his 'found' family. It's a straightforward tale that is about revenge, yes but Cosby's lyrical writing takes you through the winding alleys of grief and acceptance of two fathers who have lost their young sons. It's heart wrenching to watch them struggle with their guilt at not having cared enough for their sons when they were alive and this eats them alive, just as it pushes them ahead on this dangerous quest. For they soon realize, there are mysteries and political power play behind the murders, which might just get too deep for them, to disentangle from. 

Cosby's evocative prose, excellent characterization of Ike and Buddy Lee and the visceral, unflinching action is what drives the narrative. Reading Razorblade Tears is an experience akin to getting pistol-whipped. It's gutsy and gut-wrenching at the same time, tackling questions on homophobia (There is a fascinating scene where the snatches of a conversation inside a saloon touch about the marginalization of queers in our society), the issues that persist with being a black in America even today and more importantly plumbing the depths of an irreparable inconceivable loss. You can't not be on the side of these ageing old 'avengers', cheering and rooting for them every single scene of the book. Wishing them to get back on their feet even as they get kicked down, shot at. I cannot wait to see this book in a movie - I can so imagine Client Eastwood directing this one. 

Cosby has built two shining knights in Ike and Buddy Lee and they gain redemption from being fucked-up father figures in life, to becoming 'heroes' for their slain sons in this bloody, high-octane quest for justice. Hats off, S A Cosby - You've just become my go-to-author for all things, crime-thriller. Highly recommended