Rating: 4.5 ⭐️

This book hooked me from the very first page. King of Ashes is gritty, tense, and full of emotional landmines—and once I started, I couldn’t stop.

At the center of it all is Roman, a man who thinks he has control over the chaos in his life… until his family’s secrets start unraveling fast. There’s a missing mother, a tragic accident that might not be an accident, a brother in over his head with some very dangerous people, and a sister trying desperately to hold everything together. What I loved most is how S.A. Cosby layers these relationships—it’s not just about crime, it’s about the weight of loyalty, generational damage, and the lies we tell to protect each other.

The tone is very Breaking Bad meets The Godfather with a splash of true crime energy—dark, propulsive, and full of those moments where you can feel things spiraling and there’s no easy way out.

The twists come steadily—some I saw coming, but others hit hard. By the end, I had chills. The final line floored me.

My only minor gripe was that one of the characters (you’ll know who) felt frustratingly stagnant at times, but in a way that felt intentional—like Cosby wanted us to feel the weight of that helplessness.

Also—I have to talk about the audiobook. I’m not usually an audiobook person, but this one? I was hooked. The narrator’s voice fit Roman so perfectly that it pulled me straight into the story. The intensity, the emotion, the pacing—it all worked. I stayed locked in the entire time.

Highly recommend if you like morally gray characters, complex family dynamics, and stories where doing the right thing gets messier by the minute. This one will stay with me.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listeners copy of this of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

S.A. Cosby is such a phenomenal author. His stories will immerse you into a carefully crafted gritty and thrilling setting. Every book I've read by him takes me on a journey I'd take time and time again!

King of Ashes follow the Carruthers family. Oldest son Roman has to go back home as his father was in an accident and now in the hospital. Upon his return him Roman discovers his brother Dante has gotten into trouble with a local criminal empire. The Carruthers family own and operate the crematorium, well mainly little sister Naveah is keeping things going. As Roman starts talking to his sister upon his return home, he discovers his father's accident might not be so accidental and Dante might play some part in all that is going on.

This book wrestles with so many family dynamics such as morality, hopelessness, lies, coverups, and hope.

S.A. Cosby is an auto read author for me and this book did not disappoint. It get all the stars!

Saying S.A. Cosby done it again would be an understatement. This book was absolutely phenomenal. It is fast-paced, chaotic, and utterly gripping from the first page to the last. The plot unravels in a whirlwind of twists and tension, keeping you on the edge of your seat the whole time. At its heart, it’s a story about family loyalty—how far you’re willing to go, and what you’re willing to sacrifice—for the people you love.

Roman, the main character, is thrown into an impossible situation, and I found myself constantly questioning whether I’d have made the same choices. Honestly? If I were Roman, I don’t know if I could have gone as far as he did for his brother. Because boy, was Dante infuriating. Every time I thought he’d finally get it together, he managed to push the limits even further.

Still, that dynamic—complicated, raw, and painfully real—is what made the story so compelling. You don’t just read this book; you live through it with the characters. Buckle up, because it’s one wild ride.

First, let me say I love S.A. Cosby! Second, I felt this book was a little darker than others, but I throughly enjoyed it. Roman, heads back to the South to help his siblings out, Crosby does a fantastic job showing their loyalty, how to survive and what one will do to protect their loved ones. Every chapter felt like an electric current running through me, impossible to put down. The final twist hit me like a gut punch, leaving me staring at the last page in stunned silence. A must read, especially for those who love crime fiction. #crimefiction #NetGalley

Tragic story, very different use of setting and point of view. It's a dark story with a lot of interesting conflict and tension. Very hard to predict what will happen next and hard to decide if the whole story was intentional or accidental. The Carruthers family is plagued by darkness and tragedy from the time of their mother's disappearance. The whole town of Jefferson Run speculates about their father's involvement in the event. Now that Roman Carruthers has to return to help his brother and sister deal with the family cremation business following the car accident that leaves their father in a coma, the three siblings are thrown into the underworld of Jefferson Run. The intellectual and scheming eldest brother, overworked and burnt out sister, and messed up in more ways than one youngest brother must decide what is most important to them - staying alive, staying straight, or staying together.

Whew, listen, King of Ashes is a whole ride. Roman Carruthers is that man who’s carrying way more than he lets on, trying to keep his family from falling all the way apart while he’s barely keeping himself together. The way S.A. Cosby wrote this? Chef’s kiss.

Roman’s trying to save a brother who’s loud with his pain, all while patching up the cracks in a family foundation that’s been crumbling for years. And baby, the layers? These characters are deep. You think you know them and then bam, here comes another layer you didn’t see coming.

The pacing of this story kept me listening like I was on a mission. The narrator kept me glued to my earbuds. And Cosby’s timing? Impeccable. He knows just when to hit you with a revelation. Every character feels real, flawed, messy, complicated. There’s love, resentment, vulnerability, ego… all tangled up like real life.

And the message that hit the hardest? Damage doesn’t always leave a mark you can see, but trust, “everything burns.”

<i>This really kinda reminded me of Raising Kanan lol you know the Power spinoff? Except make it in the south. And instead of mommy drug dealer issues it’s daddy. 😅 Full review in a bit - I really enjoyed it 3.5 stars I think?


I've been seeing such high praise for this author, so I've been wanting to get to one of his books for a while now - literally any of them 😅 saw this audio available on NetGalley and thought I'd give it a whirl! 🤞

Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White

Thriller x Suspense
Southern Crime Drama
Plot Twists

Expected Pub Date - 06/10/25


Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillian for the advanced audio copy, all thoughts are my own. 💐

SA Cosby does it again. I have read all of his books and this may have catapulted to the top. A gritty family drama filled with trauma, organized crime, and an intelligent and sympathetic narrator. I was fully invested in this family and their story. His prose is beautiful and the audiobook is captivating! Five stars!

Wow! This book was FANTASTIC. I love S.A. Cosby and this one continues his legacy of amazing and captivating stories!! So grateful for this advanced copy.

Hear me when I say this: KING OF ASHES is not for the faint of heart.

Set against the haunting backdrop of a family-run crematorium, this novel is a slow-burn descent into darkness. It is a sinister, tension-filled read even by S.A. Cosby’s standards.

Roman, a sharp financial whiz, returns to his hometown after his father’s suspicious car accident, one that might not have been an accident at all. What he finds is far more than grief: his younger brother’s reckless decisions have pulled the family dangerously close to a violent gang.
As with Cosby’s previous novels, it’s the gritty, flawed characters full of heart and haunted histories that truly pull you in. With dual timelines and layered mysteries weaving past and present, King of Ashes is as emotionally rich as it is brutal.

READ THIS IF YOU:
-love Adam Lazzare’s audiobook narration that brings perfect tenor and emotion to the story
-want to read more from the author of Razorblade Tears
-are drawn to a story described as “a godfather-inspired southern crime epic”

RATING: 4.5/5
PUB DATE: June 10, 2025

Thanks to NetGalley for the Audio ARC!

4.5/5 stars

Okay, I have been DYING to check out SA Crosby and see if the hype of legit, and boy was I impressed and glad I did! This was captivating - I never quite knew what to expect in this dark, gritty, sexy story that left me feeling unsettled in the best way. I'll warn you now - no happy ending here. But, it's fitting and realistic and perfect for what the story is.

I especially recommend the audiobook for this - the narrator has a deep, looming voice that is perfect for how dark and twisted this story and the characters get - terrifying, because it could (and probably something similar has) happened. Amazingly written, perfectly narrated.

“Everything burns.”

First, it was a true pleasure to receive this ALC from NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and S.A Cosby! The narrator Adam Lazarre-White brought every single character to life and I will definitely be on the look out for any of their future audiobooks.

Now on to this story. The story follows three siblings Roman who left their hometown, Neveah who has stayed and carried the family business with their father, and Dante who lives at home. All of them are reunited after their father is injured.

Roman is a complex character, who will do anything for his family. Neveah is the middle child and while she isn’t in the center of the story her pain and anger is clearly visible throughout the story. Dante is the baby brother and his actions are that of a lost boy through out the book but he never stops trying to get it right.

S.A Cosby does not miss with this book. It’s a must read if you are a fan or looking to get into his work.

Rating: 4.5 stars

King of Ashes is another bold, blistering thriller from S. A. Cosby that punches hard and doesn’t let up. From the opening Pablo Escobar quote, you already know you’re in for something heavy, layered, and real. What I love most is Cosby’s ability to weave personal history into his fiction—his background in the funeral home business gives his male characters unique, grounded identities you don’t often see in the genre.

The narrator’s voice is smooth and reflective, even when tackling themes like grief, betrayal, and familial obligation. And the wordplay? IMMACULATE. Cosby crafts sentences like weapons—sharp, unflinching, and powerful. Lines like “I dug into the velvet fabric like it was a stripper’s ass” and “Roman felt Dante’s comments slip between his ribs like a stiletto” are unforgettable.

This book hit especially hard for its portrayal of family trauma, especially the burden often placed on the “one who got out” to come back and fix everything. It’s a dynamic not often explored with this much nuance. And the twist about their mother’s death? I didn’t see it coming—it landed like a gut punch.

While I appreciated the protective bond between the brothers and their sister, I wish the sister had been given more agency. She often felt too shielded, especially given that Dante dragged everyone into danger. Also, the audio pauses between chapters were a bit too long—it occasionally pulled me out of the flow.

Still, King of Ashes is a cinematic, emotionally layered thriller that blends action, grief, and gut-level truth like only Cosby can. Highly recommend.

Favorite Quote:

“Money is like acid, it burns through everything. Friendships, family, lovers, husbands and wives. Whatever bond you think you have, money will make that shit dissolve.”

I LOVED THIS BOOK! In King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby, we follow Roman who has left his family in Virginia to pursue finance in Atlanta. He receives a phone call from his sister stating that their father has been in an accident and is now in a coma and that Roman needs to come home. Roman returns to find his sister struggling to hold the family together while still trying to run their family's crematorium and their younger brother struggling from a drug addiction and the need to get his life together. Roman also discovers that his younger brother, Dante, has gotten himself in over his head with some local drug dealers. When Roman attempts to bail him out he ends up making their situation worse and its chaos from there. This is such a gripping, fast paced story. I loved it from start to finish! This was my first S.A. Cosby read and now I know that I need to pick up the rest of his catalog!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance listening copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Publishes June 10th and follows Roman who returns home after his father is in a car accident. Roman’s brother Dante has been entangled with crime while his sister Neveah is struggling to hold the family together. When it becomes clear that their father’s accident was not an accident after all, Roman and his siblings make the dangerous decision to solve their family problems once and for all.

This is absolutely my favorite SA Cosby book I’ve read so far. While it has his typical crime forward plot, I found this story to be so full of heart. With themes of familial dysfunction and rebuilding - gut wrenching emotional turmoil, I was fully invested in the well being of these siblings.

It was fast paced, emotionally charged, nerve wracking, full of well thought out deeply flawed characters you can root for, and brilliantly written. 4.5

God bless. If S. A. isn’t the best in the crime fiction game, he is so, so close. This one was so good, kept me on the hook the whole time, and stuck the landing. I loved the Easter Eggs, though I can typically do without those, to Cosby’s other novels as well as a quick hat tip to a character from another awesome crime writer’s work. Can’t wait to read and listen again!

I tore through Cosby's latest thriller and managed to finish it in one day because it was impossible to put down. Dark, gritty, and violent, this is not my usual fare, but Cosby seems to be the one author in this genre that I can't get enough of. I think it's because his novels have such heft and substance, while completely immersing the reader in the world he's created. This family drama was riveting, with Godfather vibes and even the feel of a classic Shakespearean tragedy. The ending was *chef's kiss* and I am still thinking about the characters days later. Adam Lazarre-White does an excellent job with the narration. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audiobook review copy.

King of Ashes is raw, intense, and impossible to put down. I call his style "Southern Crime Grit"—it's brutal, beautiful, and full of heart. Cosby creates characters you care about (and some you love to hate), and the action never lets up. Giving Power/Raising Kanan vibes, which I eat up! The comedic relief he brings when this is such dark subject matter is great.

Roman Carruthers gets pulled back home after his dad’s “accident” and quickly finds himself neck-deep in family secrets, danger, and a mystery that won't stay buried. The tension is nonstop, and just when you think it can’t get any crazier, it does.

I listened to the audiobook, and Adam Lazarre-White nailed the narration; his voice is smooth and easy to take in all the characters.

If Cosby writes it, I’m reading it.

KING OF ASHES
By S. A. Cosby

Narration by Adam Lazarre-White is always spot on.

A fast-paced dark gritty southern crime thriller set in a run-down Virginia town, Jefferson Run. Roman Carruthers has been called home because his father is in a coma after a car accident. He finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous thugs and his sister, Neveah, trying to hold the family and the family business together. When Roman learns his father’s car crash was not an accident and because Dante’s immaturity and recklessness has put the family in extreme danger, Roman knows he must now step in. Also, there is a mystery as to why their mother disappeared years ago. How far would you go to protect yourself and your family?

S. A. Cosby’s writing is gorgeous, raw, gritty, and brutal. This book starts out with the gas petal down and never lets up. An intense read of multifaceted, well developed characters. S. A. Cosby is an outstanding author who tells a story brilliantly. This is going to be made into a series, by Higher Ground (Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company) along with Amblin Entertainment (Steven Spielberg’s).

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
Published June 10 2025

SA Cosby is just really good. I had a more visceral reaction to this book than maybe any other book I've ever read because of the graphic torture scenes. You really feel the fear. I will continue to read anything this author puts out. The narrator is phenomenal as well.