Razorblade Tears
A Novel
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4.2 • 59 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* One of Barack Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer • New York Times Notable Book • NPR’s Best Books of 2021 • Washington Post’s Best Thriller and Mystery Books of the Year • TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 • New York Public Library’s Best Books of the Year • Goodreads Choice Award Nominee • Book of the Month’s Book of the Year Finalist
“Provocative, violent — beautiful and moving, too.” —Washington Post
“Superb...Cuts right to the heart of the most important questions of our times.” —Michael Connelly
“A tour de force – poignant, action-packed, and profound.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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.
“A visceral full-body experience, a sharp jolt to the heart, and a treat for the senses…Cosby's moody southern thriller marries the skillful action and plotting of Lee Child with the atmosphere and insight of Attica Locke.” —NPR
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This violent, propulsive thriller from Southern noir master S. A. Cosby packs an emotional punch. Ike Randolph and Buddy Lee, both formerly incarcerated men, are grieving their married sons, who they barely understood, and now they’ve teamed up to find out who murdered them—and take revenge. The two fathers have little in common beyond guilt, rage, and a shared history of failing their gay sons when it mattered most. But that’s enough to fuel a relentless, blood-soaked journey through Virginia’s criminal underworld, and maybe even two long-overdue self-reckonings. Cosby writes with grit, velocity, and real moral weight, and Ike and Buddy Lee’s banter is funny, caustic, and often painful in its honesty. Cathartic and blisteringly fast-paced, Razorblade Tears doesn’t flinch from ugliness, but it never loses sight of grace.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this strong crime novel from Thriller Award finalist Cosby (Blacktop Wasteland), the double murder of married couple Isiah Randolph and Derek Jenkins, shot dead outside "a fancy wine store" in Richmond, Va., drives African American Ike Randolph and self-proclaimed redneck Buddy Lee Jenkins, both hardened ex-cons, to track down their sons' killers. For the fathers, it's not just simple vengeance but a matter of redemption for having rejected their sons because they were gay. Ike and Buddy Lee soon realize that the double killing was not merely a hate crime but tied to their sons' search for an elusive girl known only as Tangerine. Looking for Tangerine leads the pair to a Nazi biker gang, and when Ike and Buddy Lee refuse to back off after a violent encounter, things escalate: Ike's home is destroyed, his wife seriously injured, and their granddaughter abducted. The relentless pace and at times brutal action stand out, but more memorable are the richly developed characters of Ike and Buddy Lee. Along the way, the book provides a nuanced take on contemporary race and LGBTQ issues of a type not commonly found in crime fiction. Chalk up another winner to Cosby.
Customer Reviews
Wow!
I really enjoyed reading this book. It has a fast pace and never leaves a dull moment. It reads like an action movie! They should definitely make this into a film! The story is about two fathers, one white trailer Park redneck and one black ex con whose both only sons get murdered. They collaborate together to try to solve the mystery. In through their partnership you get to see the strained relationship they had with their respective sons when they were alive because they were gay lovers who who were married with a child. You get to see from their experience how prejudice against LGBTQ+ community affects your life and robs you of important relationships with love ones. The fathers realized that in their quest as they try to avenge their son’s death because of hate crimes against their lifestyle. I think the author does a superb job at painting the picture of fathers loving their son no matter what is their relationship preference and shows the consequence of not doing so. Great book! The new modern Romeo and Juliet!