I've read many great books to kick off this year, but I've been waiting for a book to wow me. First released in 2021, S.A. Cosby's Razorblade Tears is that book. I've seen this novel across various book blogs and bookstagrams, so it has been on my radar since it was released. Like many other hyped books, I purchased a copy and promptly ignored it on my shelf for the next two years. If only I knew what I was missing! Razorblade Tears is a searing portrait of regret, revenge, and renewal, the kind of novel I crave to read, but rarely find.
When ex-con Ike Randolph answers the door, he isn't happy to see the cops. What black man would be? Despite all of his fears, he couldn't have imagined that one of his worst would be coming true. Ike's son Isaiah and his white husband Derek have been brutally murdered. Ike never entirely accepted his son's sexuality, let alone that he married a white man, but he is nonetheless devastated by his loss.
Derek's father Buddy Lee is stunned by the death of his son. The pair were equally ashamed of each other. Derek couldn't forgive his father for being an ex-con with ties to racist miscreants. Buddy Lee, couldn't get over his son's sexuality. Add to it all that Derek married a black man, the ultimate sin in this father's eyes, and the father and son hadn't spoken to each other in years.
There's nothing like regret to bring people together. Both Ike and Buddy Lee sit with the loss of things unsaid. Only in losing their sons do they begin to see the error of their ways. Regret alone isn't the only thing that haunts these fathers. They hunger for revenge. The police, for their part, seem either unable or unwilling to find out who killed their boys. The two grieving fathers, then, must set aside their differences and come together to bring their boys' killer to justice. In the process, lines will be crossed, and bridges will be burned. But they just may find redemption in all the wreckage they leave behind.
Razorblade Tears is a tour de force. Cosby writes a thriller that manages to layer in deeper themes of racism, sexuality, and corruption while never ceasing to keep the action moving. The main characters are an unlikely duo, creating tension and comedy in all the right places. In writing about a hate crime, Cosby doesn't refrain from detailing the horrors of such an event. This is a violent book that isn't afraid to go to the dark places that the subject matter requires. At its heart, though, Razorblade Tears is a book about the love a father has for his son. Like life, this love isn't perfect. A father doesn't always get it right. Redemption can be had, but one must decide to seek it. This is the first book I've read this year that truly blew me away. Cosby has a new novel releasing later this year, and I'll be the first in line to read it.
For more information visit Amazon and Goodreads.
(2023, 8)
I read this one last year and still remember how emotional and hard it was to read at times, but so well done! I just wish the fathers could have reconciled with their sons in life, instead of in death.
ReplyDeleteIt was such a powerful story! Tough to read at times, but so emotionally rich.
DeleteThis sounds brilliant!
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely brilliant!
DeleteSounds absolutely awful and beautiful. Not sure I will read it, because it would be a tough read for me, but maybe.
ReplyDeleteThis is a novel of tragic redemption, so there's a good deal of heightened emotions throughout. Some parts were brutal to read, but it all comes together for a story that is incredibly moving.
DeleteI did the same thing as you. Bought this book when everyone was talking about it and then forgot about it on my shelf. Of course, mine is still sitting there. It sounds like I should dust it off and give it a read.
ReplyDeleteThis one definitely deserves to be removed from your backlog. We should do a comparison of our shelves and set up a buddy read. I bet we have a lot of similar titles!
DeleteThis book took my breath away. It was such a spectacular, wrenching read.
ReplyDeleteI agree! This is such a punch to the gut in the best way possible.
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ReplyDeleteWhat a great review Ethan - I too loved this book.
Thanks! I'm really excited to read his new one later this year.
DeleteAwesome! I want something like this too to get the year going
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't read this one already, I highly recommend it. My favorite book of the year so far!
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