Genre: Mystery / Suspense
Book Type: Audio
Author: S.A. Cosby
Narrator: Adam Lazarre - White
Pages / Length: 336 pages / 12 hours
Publisher: Flatiron Books (July 6, 2021) / Macmillan Audio
Book Description:
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 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.
Provocative and fast-paced, S. A. Cosby's Razorblade Tears is a story of bloody retribution, heartfelt change - and maybe even redemption.
Thoughts: This is the perfect example of why I love to read. While this was a bit more gory than I was prepared for, but was able to be a thriller genre, while also touching on issues people deal with today. This book addresses race, sexual orientation, love, heartbreak, revenge, and justice in a captivating, heart-racing novel. I couldn't stop listening to this book as I NEEDED to find out what was happening, who was going to live, and what actually happened. This was incredibly fast-paced and for those who can stomach a few gruesome scenes, recommend this one! This would be a great movie!
Favorite Quotes:
🔸 You let an animal know you're afraid of it and it loses all respect for you. If it doesn't respect you, it has no qualms about ripping your belly open and showing you what your stomach looks like. Men might walk on two legs but they were the most vicious animals of all. (page 107)
🔸 "Oh, so you think it's easier being Black than being gay? I tell you what, you go somewhere don't nobody have to know you gay unless you tell them. I'm Black everywhere. I can't hide that shit," Ike said. Tex pulled his towel out and twisted it with both hands.
"Yeah, you can't hide that you're Black. But the fact that you think I should hide who I am proves my point. Like Dr. King said: an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," Tex said. (page 141)
🔸 Tomorrow he'd have to see what was left of their house. What was left of their life. [...] All the mind-numbing minutiae that kept the world moving even after you've lost everything. (page 272)
🔸 "How do you do it? Kill people and keep going like nothing happened. [...] You two just keep moving forward like sharks. I don't know how you do it," Tangerine said.
"People like [...] didn't deserve to die the way they did. And the people that killed them don't deserve to live. I can't speak for Buddy Lee, but that's what keeps me going," Ike said.
"Revenge?" Tangerine asked. Ike smiled ruefully.
"No, hate. Folks like to talk about revenge like it's a righteous thing but it's just hate in a nicer suit," Ike said. (page 285)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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