Thank you! to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC audiobook.
This is one of my very favorite authors!
All the trigger warnings for anything you can imagine.
Very rough, raw, violent, graphic but it broke my heart over and over. I usually find myself crying through the entire last 2 hours of every book of his I read.
The narrator is excellent and PERFECT for this book.

I listened to the audiobook King of Ashes by S.A Cosby. I definitely recommended Roman returns to Jefferson run after 5 years because his father is in coma. Upon his returns he realizes he can never outrun his mother disappearance and soon slips into the role of protector when his brother is the wrong people money. I have read Cosby book Razorblade Tears. I thought there was no way Cosby could create another story with a cast of characters that will stay with me forever. He did it!!! Although this book does have similar themes as RazoBlade Tears it stands out because its underlining mystery. I had no idea thoughout the book who i could trust. I believe adding other characters POV helped tie the story together immensely. READ IT!!

Dear King of Ashes,
S.A Cosby triumphs again. You had such relentless pacing to the twisted situation that the Carruthers siblings find themselves in. Each one of the siblings brought their own pain into their present and it complicated so much for each of them. Your characters were so exquisitely flawed and hurt that they felt quite real. I loved the way that you tied together their pasts and presents. I cannot remember another book that had my jaw on the floor as often. You are so dark and violent and entertaining, but you also said so much more than just the people and story on your pages.

S. A. Cosby does it again! I have a love hate relationship with his books. I love his character development and his storylines, but I hate the amount of violence and the vivid way he writes about it. He’s just so good at what he does.

King of Ashes is about a family in the south that owns a crematory business. This family has been wrecked by tragedy and it’s yet another tragedy that brings oldest child Roman back home from Atlanta. While home, Roman gets caught up cleaning up his baby brother’s mess after he gets involved with some shady people. The way that Cosby writes about these morally gray characters has the reader rooting for a character and upside down on what’s right and wrong.. This story touched dysfunctional family secrets, childhood trauma, different ways people handle grief, and family loyalty. How far would you go to protect your family? The story is engaging and thrilling from start to finish.

I can’t end this review without giving props to the narrator. They really brought the listener to the south with the different accents and helped the story to be an immersive experience.

Roman comes back home after his father is in a car accident, and he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family and family business together.

This book was action packed, dark, and gritty. I read the entire book in one day because I couldn’t put it down. It navigates complex family relationships and shows how far you go to protect the ones you love.

The characters were flawed and made bad choices, but it was so emotional and deeply human. I really liked this one and can’t wait to read more from this author.

this book was 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐞!!!🤯
Brutal, emotional, raw… it had me feeling all the emotions.

The writing is beautiful… but it’s S.A. Cosby, so duh… but those last few chapters had me so stressed… I was legit scared to see what would happen next.

I’m honestly still trying to process it. Just do yourself a favor and pick this one up, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Macmillan Audio ALC
S. A. Cosby is one of my absolute favorites, and he knocked it out of the park with this one. It will easily be one of my top books of the year. The story is dark, gritty, and so violent, and yet I didn't want it to end. I love his writing because of how his characters are deeply human and flawed. Roman was so complex. It was interesting to hear about his work and how it played such a pivotal part in the novel. I don't know how to talk about this book too much, though, because it's best read without prior knowledge and to just let Cosby slowly unravel the story each riveting layer at a time. He's not afraid to have quite a bit of darkness in this story, which made it so compelling. I also loved the setting of a family crematorium and all that brought to the story here. I get to see him when he's on tour, and I can't wait to hear more about his inspiration and writing process.
If you're able, I highly recommend listening to his books on audio because of Adam Lazarre-White's performance. I could not image reading a Cosby book without his narration because of how well he becomes each and every character. They are all distinct, yet it's just him. He's definitely one of my absolute favorite narrators to listen to.

Absolutely loved this book. It really shows how far a family member will go for the ones he loves. I loved the writing style and how all the twist insurance came together at the end. I didn’t like how it ended, but I understand why it ended the way that it did. Phenomenal book all the way around.

S. A. Cosby has never disappointed me, and King of Ashes may be my favorite of his novels. No one can create such sympathetic characters, strong yet flawed, deep love and integrity yet with dark sides that tremble at the ledge of the abyss.

Roman comes home after his father's accident. But soon he learns that his little brother Dante has made a huge mistake with the wrong people and his sister, Naveah, is barely hanging on, lonely and bitter. Roman has skills, knows people, and steps up to help, but even his best intentions cannot keep his family's situation from quickly spiraling, down, down and further down.

Gaspingly violent yet tender and desperate, Cosby pulls the reader into a web of gangsters and psychopaths. As Roman makes choices, the tension builds so perfectly, that you CANNOT stop reading.

Adam Lazarre-White is just a master of narration. His deep voice displays humor, tenderness, rage and fear. I miss him when the book ends.

A masterful thriller.

Another great book by Cosby. The pace of the book definitely kept me listening, trying to figure out what could possibly happen next and who it might be happening to! The cast of characters was great - I liked how some of them played off each other and trying to figure out who might end up helping/hurting Roman and Dante as the story moved along. Neveah was a strong character in a different way as she was trying to navigate running the business, while also trying to find a life for herself. So many unresolved feelings!

Roman has built a life for himself far from the drama of his hometown, but when tragedy strikes his father, he's forced to return. His sister is holding down the family business, the crematorium, while their less than helpful brother adds to the chaos. Once home, Roman quickly realizes the depth of their troubles and sets out to use his success and career to pull them out of it. But as his plan unfolds, the question remains, is he saving his family or making things worse?

This book kept me engaged until the very end. It was a complex story tied together with different characters and nontypical topics but the ease of writing made it easy to understand. The mystery surrounding their mother’s disappearance was a standout element for me. However, the inclusion of torture at times felt excessive, though I did appreciate that it wasn’t overly graphic. My other complaint is that Roman's sexual personal preferences could have been left out. While the fade to black approach was appreciated, I could have done without those details as it didn’t add to the story for me.

This was my first read from this author (but probably not my last), so I’m not sure if these elements are typical of their style or just specific to this story.

A beautifully dark and violent Godfather-inspired story about doing whatever it takes to protect the ones you love.

Cosby's main characters are a mix of likable/unlikable, almost hateable because of impulsive, irrational decisions that make you want to yell into the void.

I was able to access an advanced listening arc for King of Ashes. I was instantly drawn in by the summary, and the minute the audiobook started, I was hooked and sat listening from start to end. This is my first book by S.A. Cosby, and I cannot wait to read his other works. His writing style is dark, brutal, and gritty, and it just works so well. There was one part of the story I guessed correctly, but there were so many other wild twists that I was not expecting.

On top of just a fantastic story, the narrator, Adam Lazarre-White, was just fantastic. His voice is like butter, and I could listen to him all day long. The way he embodied each character made the story so much more enjoyable.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

Another superb book from Sean.

S.A. Cosby has written another literary crime story about a family, impossible choices, and the harrowing outcomes. King of Ashes is everything you need to read today by a master of modern crime fiction.

Full MurderinCommon review available here: https://murderincommon.com/2025/05/11/s-a-cosby-king-of-ashes/

🎧2.0x: 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧, 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙.

2️⃣ 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬: 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝!

𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘫𝘪𝘴:
🔥💵🔪🚘😡🕵️🐕🐕💥💰💻🖤

💭:
I’m a huge fan of author S.A. Cosby’s work!

There’s something about his writing style that immediately captures my interest. I find myself reflecting on his stories for many days, sometimes even months, after finishing one of his books.

King of Ashes had parts that were unpleasant and difficult, but they were so necessary to create the suspense and tension in the story.

Mr. Cosby is a King at gritty, dark, emotionally intense, and edgy writing that boldly describes the representation of a possible reality.

↳ 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙥𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣:

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢:
-𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨
-𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨
-𝙧𝙖𝙬 & 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜
-𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙖
-𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜
-𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧
-𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧-𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the audio ARC of King of Ashes. Here are my thoughts!

Roman is a successful investor, helping many celebrities and business people make lucrative investments. He has to return home when he learns his father is in a coma after an “accident”. Upon his arrival, he sees his sister, Neveah is taking care of the family and is exhausted. His younger brother, Dante, is in with the wrong crowd and seems to be making a lot of bad decisions. But a group of gangsters wants Dante to pay his debts, and Roman is going to step in to help his brother out, hopefully in time.

S.A. Cosby is a genius writer. I was super invested in this family’s story from the get-go. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of what happened with Roman’s mother and was shocked with some of the reveals through the book. This family makes my family feel pretty normal and healthy. I loved how much Roman was willing to do to support his family. I could feel the frustration that the siblings were feeling towards each other, and I was getting frustrated with some of their decisions.

There is quite a bit of violence in this, but it’s done in a way that adds to the book and creates so much tension. The pacing is phenomenal, and reveals were done right on time. I loved Adam Lazarre-White’s narration. I enjoyed the changes he did for different characters, and the variety of depth in his voice. I could listen to it all day.

I think this is going to

This was a rollercoaster of a ride. At no moment did I expect what was going to happen, happen.
I enjoyed the raw grittiness of this book. It wasn't too over the top or gory, which I appreciated.
5 stars, will definitely recommend

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance audio copy of this title. Roman, a successful financial planner, must return home to his small Virginia town when his father is hospitalized after a strange accident. Many things in his hometown haunt him: his mother's strange disappearance when he was a teen, growing up with a father who was obsessed with running a successful crematorium, guilt over his sister dealing with the majority of family caretaking, and his younger brother's illegal antics. All of these things draw Roman into a web that he cannot extricate himself from.

Set in small town Virginia, Roman must come home when he finds that his daddy is run off the road and in a coma. Once he comes home he finds out that his brother has gotten into bed with some very dangerous people. SA Cosby has done it again, created a story that keeps you hooked and invested. The feel of the small town with the danger of the BBB was a mess. There were so many secrets, and as you learn more you better understand the characters and their struggles. During majority of the story I hated the brother Dante. He felt like a whiny ass baby and it was beyond frustrating. However once you learn more about the family’s history you can understand him. The sister Nevaeh, represents every eldest daughter. Capable of taking care of everyone, but no one really takes care of her. I enjoyed how even when you second guessed what was happening with Roman, the character had it all under control. Great writing and narrating!

This was my first SA Cosby book even though his previous novels have come highly recommended. It won't be my last! This is a book about family and how far you'll go to protect them and keep them safe. It's also about secrets and how they can destroy a family over the years until they explode and the fall out can be deadly.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron for the ALC! While I do own some of his books, I have yet to physically read an S.A. Cosby book. Reason being, the audiobooks are as fire as the flames on this damn cover. HOT. Adam Lazzare-White narrating an S.A. Cosby novel is going to be a hit every time. I absolutely love the intentional choice to keep him (on the two other books I've listened to) because the way each character is intonated with perfect authenticity really brings the stories to life. Peak audio quality and execution. While I plan on annotating and physically reading this book, the listening experience is worth revisiting and will remain a highlight in my mind.

Roman is a financial advisor for high profile clientele in Atlanta when he receives a fateful phone call that pulls him back to his hometown. Jefferson Run is a run-down town in Virginia with a lot of crime and when he returns, he finds his family in chaos. His father is comatose in the hospital, his brother in major debt with the wrong people, and a sister hanging on by a thread while she attempts to keep the family business afloat. The Crematorium permeates this book with the heaviness of loss, secrets, and the stench of bodies turned to ashes. As the oldest sibling and natural born problem solver, Roman has his work cut out for him. To address the current problems and past traumas that haunt his family he may have to get his hands dirtier than he ever imagined...

S.A. Cosby has done it once again, friends! This man knows how to craft an emotionally turbulent story at a break-neck pace while never sacrificing the full development and relatability of his characters. And the setting? Jefferson Run may as well be a character all its own. Roman is a flawed MC that you can't help but feel for throughout. He has major mommy issues due to his mothers disappearance at a formative age. People in town have long suspected his father as the culprit, since she vanished without a trace after gossip of an affair.

When I tell you my stomach was in my ass the whole time! IN MY ASS. No, further down in my toes, maybe. What starts as a gut-wrenching tale of what one man will do to protect his family turns into a deeper exploration of Roman's need to feel in control externally to combat the blender of suppressed emotions within his psyche. While I did see the big twist coming about midway through, the execution of how it was revealed was still 100% impactful. This gory, intense crime thriller is not for the faint of heart. BE PREPARED TO BE EMOTIONALLY WRECKED. I most definitely was yelling, then staring at a wall and tearing up after this, seriously. I will be thinking about this book for years to come, worth a pre-order.