My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby is a re-release of his first novel.

"Nathan Waymaker is a former marine and former deputy. He works with his cousin at the funeral home and knows how to get rid of a body. After a local reverend is found dead, an elder of his church asked Nathan to look into the pastor's death because the sheriff does not seem interested in finding out what really happened. Nathan starts asking questions and soon finds that there are many who want the real reason kept quiet."

This is gritty crime fiction from Cosby. There is lots of violence, murder and sex. Nathan Waymaker is a man with violence bubbling just below the surface. It doesn't take much of a threat to turn him loose. He feels like a precursor to Ike/Riot in Razorblade Tears. (There's even a Plymouth Fury reference) And there's a cast of big characters - like Skunk and Shade and Rev Short.

Sometimes you can tell this is a first novel (never use a big one when a small one will do) but Cosby's gift is putting the reader in the story. You can see and smell and hear everything going on in the story.

The narrator, Adam Lazarre-White, is phenomenal. His big voice is perfect for this story and these characters.

Fans of Cosby or edgy crime fiction will enjoy this book.

Part true-crime, part thriller, part... what the hell. I was totally into this one and listened to the entire thing in one sitting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
While this audiobook really ended up not being something I would normally listen to, I did finish it to the end.
The narrator did an amazing job. The book itself is very well written (I understand it is an edited re release). I expected something more of a thriller and this wasn’t at all.
But I can’t give a bad rating just because it wasn’t my usual type of book when it is so well written and thought out.
If you like more of an action with some comic thrown in (I did laugh out loud a few times) that is rather dark then you’ll enjoy this for sure.
If you’re looking for the regular thriller or psychological thriller then this isn’t for you.
Still four stars even though it isn’t something I would normally listen to.

4.75/5 = This is a re-release of the author’s first novel and while you can definitely see an improvement in his writing and storytelling skills, this one doesn’t fall too short of perfection. Crosby definitely has a gift and I’m glad he finally took a chance on it!

Gritty, graphic, and very engaging, this was a very impressive read!

Pages: 288 pages (audiobook 9.25 hours)
Narrated by Adam Lazarre- White
Expected Publish Date: December 6, 2022
Warnings: Language, violence, physical altercations, death, sex, child sexual assault
Genre: Thriller/Mystery/Detective

Thank you to #netgalley and #macmillanaudio for the ARC of #mydarkestprayer by #SACosby. I was a huge fan of Razorblade Tears so when I saw the advanced reader’s copy of his next book, I had to read it and it did not disappoint. A gritty and compelling, fast paced detective novel. Former marine and sheriff’s deputy Nathan Waymaker has been hired to investigate the death of a beloved local pastor. What should have been an easy payday very quickly becomes mayhem with crooked cops, crime lords and pornstars. S.A. Cosby is a true storyteller through and through. Highly recommend 4.5 stars.

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S. A. Crosby had such success with his last two novels, he is re-releasing his debut novel. And his signature style shines through this one as well, although it definitely was honed in his later books. Still, it’s great entertainment although lacking the poignancy of his last two.
Nathan Waymaker is a former Marine, former sheriff’s deputy, current funeral home assistant. He left the sheriff’s department after evidence was lost in the investigation into his parents’ deaths. So, when several parishioners of the local black church suspect the sheriff’s department of not actively investigating the death of their pastor, he agrees to look into it.
What should be an easy way to make some money quickly becomes complicated and dangerous. Before he knows it, he’s dealing with minor league punks, a crime lord and the police.
Crosby’s skill includes creating colorful characters on both sides of the equation. His writing style is definitely dark, with lots of profanity, violence and sex. But there’s also plenty of humor and I found myself chuckling numerous times.
The ending was as you would expect, overly violent and OTT.
Adam Lazard-White did a good job as Nathan and Skunk, but was less successful with other voices.
My thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook.

A GREAT READ, SUPER FUN!!!


As a guy from the south I felt like I knew everyone in this book. The characters were described so absolutely perfectly. I would love to hang out with Nathan. That being said the actual plot and mystery behind this novel was actually damn good. 100% recommended to anyone who enjoys old school detective novels. It has the vibe of the old gumshoe pulp stories, but not a cheesy. Quite possibly the best part is it doesn't take itself too seriously. I would love to see Nathan again working on another case in the future.

My Darkest Prayer by S. A. Cosby (audiobook review)
Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White - (9 hours 25 minutes).
Thriller - (5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

The best-selling author of My Darkest Prayer, S.A. Crosby, is a master of storytelling. The narrative immediately drew me to the audiobook. Having never read Crosby's work before, I was stunned by it. The story was engaging and heart-pounding! Listening to the chapters unfold, I felt as if I was there. Although I loved it, it may not be suitable for everyone. Please check the trigger warnings listed below before proceeding.

Synopsis:
Nathan Waymaker, a former marine and sheriff's deputy, has established himself as a dependable source of help in his small Southern town. He is street smart and knows how to take care of bodies, whether he's tossing around local riffraff at the neighborhood bar or working at his cousin's funeral home.

Nathan is asked to investigate the death of a beloved local minister by his parishioners. What begins as a simple job for easy money turns into crazy events filled with gangsters, ruthless crime lords, porn stars, and crooked police officers. Even as dark secrets of his own threaten to surface, Nathan uses his skills and wit to navigate a dangerous conflict involving small town corruption.

Warnings: Language, violence, physical altercations, death, sex

Book and audiobook versions of My Darkest Prayer by S. A. Cosby will be available on December 6th, just in time for Christmas.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sharing this intriguing audiobook with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

Thank you for the ARC!
I am a 38 year old mother of four who works as a secretary and I felt my testosterone go up while I was reading this. This is the manliest book I have ever encountered in all of my life, and somehow it was still beautiful.
The narrator could not have been more perfect! His voice...I was not even slightly annoyed when he did women's voices and that's a thing. That is a huge deal. He is the most amazing male narrator ever.

I reccomend everyone read this. Especially read it if you want to spout hair on your chest.

To be able to hear S.A. Cosby's voice in the opening of this was incredible. He is a master story teller and I have read and loved his other books but this was my first audiobook by him.

The narrator nailed it and made the book such a fast paced, gritty, violent , and even funny engaging listen. I like how you get a wide variety of characters in this book from cops, a preacher and even a porn star and the church ladies.

Nathan Waymaker is a former Marine, an ex-cop and he currently works at the funeral home with his cousin. The local church leader is found dead and the local parishioners ask Nathan to look into the case. I loved this book and was screaming for joy when I got approved for this as it is one of my most anticipated books.

This one was phenomenal. I am such a fan of everything S.A. Cosby does in the lit-realm and I can't wait for this baby to hit publication shelves on December 6, 2022. I am very thankful to have received both physical and audio versions of this book from Flatiron and Macmillan Audio so I could review it prior to its publication day!

You can always expect dark humor and gory fights when it comes to S.A. Cosby's works of art, and My Darkest Prayer surely did deliver on the R-rating. When a local esteemed pastor is found dead in his own home and passed off as a supposed suicide, small-town Virginia runs to Nathan Waymaker, a former cop and Marine veteran, to find a motive, since the town's police force had all but written the case off. Nathan currently works as a "body mover" at the town's funeral home and jumps back into old ways to shake some secrets out of the close-knit town, and unravels more than he can handle, including a potentially corrupt police force, dirty pastors, and a sex cult in the making.

This stunner of a thriller will keep you on your toes and wincing along with every delivered blow and beating, just like in every S.A. Cosby novel.

I usually love SA Cosby books. Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears are awesome. He has a gritty way of writing but still brings tenderness to his characters and I enjoy the action scenes.

I wanted to like this one, but it just wasn’t for me. Was he turned on while writing this? The amount of vulgar sexual descriptions and analogies were too much and not necessary to the story.

I want to add that I’m not a prude, I can get down with some dark and depraved stories and don’t take offense to sexual jokes or topics but it felt forced and overdone at times. There was too much random raunchiness going on and not enough action or plot for me.

I had to DNF. Couldn’t even make it to 20% so maybe it gets better? I sadly just couldn’t deal with it anymore. Perhaps it would work better for a different audience, I really don’t know.