I can think of few writer-narrator combinations more perfect than S. A. Cosby and Adam Lazarre-White. This fast-paced thriller examines the lengths we will go through for family, even if the consequences are dire. I could not stop listening to this book due to Cosby’s incredible storytelling and Lazarre-White’s superb narration. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Net Galley for an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Book review 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby 🎧

Wow! Just wow! Cosby has done it again! I didn’t know what to expect bc I didn’t read the synopsis, but I knew he wouldn’t disappoint! This audiobook was like I was watching a movie! The action, the drama, the characters, the range! Me yelling as the characters were going through it! Omg I wish I could listen to this for the first time again!

Thank you Macmillan for giving me this arc!

Pub Date: Jun 10 2025

#goodreads #bookrecommendation #bookreviews

Thank you NetGalley for an audio ARC! I really enjoyed this book. The narrator for his books is one of my favorites to listen to. I love how S.A. Cosby slowly, but amazingly brings you through his stories. The plot was well thought out, the characters grow throughout the story, and you don’t want to put down the book, (or stop listening) because you have to know what’s going to happen next. I loved the action, humor, and felt for the characters during their struggles. If you love action packed slow burning thrillers you will love his new book. 4.25⭐️

Once again Adam Lazard White captures each and every character perfectly. This was storytelling at its finest. I know this is technically a thriller but it gave urban fiction and urban romance vibes at times. The way Cosby builds this story up is fascinating. He drops little crumbs on each page and they build on each other until you reach the climax. The last few chapters had me standing up and pacing.

Neveah, Dante and Roman each had their own battles to fight. Dante did drive me crazy but by the end of the book I had a soft spot for him. Neveah, the one who’s been holding it down and never did anything for herself. Roman, the oldest child who is not at all what he seems. There were layers to each character and I enjoyed peeling them back one by one.

This is my new favorite S.A. Cosby book and it’s definitely a top read of 2025.

The narrator brings this story to life! Its already a great story on its own; a story of family and tragedy, its bleak and thrilling all at once. Fantastic prose, plot, and well developed characters.

King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby gripped me from the very first chapter. It’s raw, visceral, and deeply emotional—everything I want in a Southern Gothic thriller. This story hit especially close to home because I’m originally from a small town in West Virginia and moved to Atlanta for college, just like Roman, the main character. The themes of returning to a place that never truly felt safe or free resonated with me powerfully.

Roman, a successful finance professional in Georgia, is reluctantly pulled back to his hometown in Virginia after his estranged father ends up in a coma. His return forces him to face the buried secrets of his dysfunctional family—particularly surrounding his mother’s mysterious disappearance and the simmering chaos left behind by his younger brother, Dante. As Roman tries to clean up the mess, past and present collide in a gripping storm of truth, guilt, and vengeance.

What Worked for me?
✅ Relatable Protagonist: Roman is that guy—the one who “made it out” of a toxic environment and now must confront the trauma he escaped. His emotional complexity and moral conflict felt so real.
✅ Authentic Setting: The small-town Southern backdrop is atmospheric and unsettling, with layers of buried sins and whispered rumors. You feel the weight of the past in every chapter.
✅ Character Dynamics: The sibling relationships are painfully raw—especially Neveah’s quiet suffering and Dante’s infuriating self-destruction. The “us against the world” vibe was palpable, even when fractured.
✅ Unflinching Themes: Cosby dives into generational trauma, addiction, violence, and small-town corruption with unrelenting intensity. Every character is broken in some way, but still fighting.
✅ Villains You’ll Hate: Tranquil and Torrent were bone-chilling. Unhinged, unmerciful, and unforgettable.
✅ Excellent Narration: The audiobook narrator brought Roman and the rest of the cast to life so vividly. Every emotion, every tension-filled moment was delivered with power.

What didn't work for me?
Honestly? Nothing. This was a flawless, immersive experience for me. If you’re looking for a light read, this isn’t it—but if you want something gritty, powerful, and unforgettable, look no further.

5/5 Stars. King of Ashes is Southern Gothic excellence. Raw, lyrical, and emotionally gutting in all the right ways. I devoured the audiobook and left no crumbs. Highly, highly recommend—especially if you're into thrillers with depth, family drama with secrets, and layered Black characters trying to survive the weight of generational pain.

If S.A. Cosby writes it, I'm reading it! This man can write! Another thrilling, emotional, and very intense book. I'm always amazed at the way he writes grit in such an emotional and lyrical way. The build-up to the conclusion was amazing. Bravo!

King of Ashes is a gritty Southern crime thriller set in the small town of Jefferson Run, Virginia. The story follows Roman Carruthers, a successful financial expert who returns home when his father is hospitalized under suspicious circumstances. He has to return back to the town he tried to leave behind, where he finds his family falling apart. His younger brother is in deep with dangerous criminals, and his sister is struggling to keep their family’s crematorium business afloat.

As Roman digs deeper, he finds himself pulled into a world of real danger, forced to use his skills in new and sometimes questionable ways to protect the people he loves. At the same time, his sister Neveah is trying to uncover the truth behind their mother’s long-ago disappearance, a mystery that still haunts the family.

This was a really enjoyable thriller. I really enjoyed the smooth voice of the narrator, this was very solid as an audiobook.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for giving me an advanced review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

S.A. Cosby the King of Southern noir, southern crime stories that are a fast-paced thrill.
I am a huge fan of this author and have read and listened to all of his books. This new book does not disappoint. Cosby's writing has gotten better with each book! His writing is poetic, full of southern drawl and colloquialisms, funny, and will have you quoting his work! The author shows his devotion to his craft, and all accolades go to him.

The amazing Adam Lazzarre-White narrates the audiobook and does an excellent job of bringing the characters in this novel to life. King of Ashes had my hair standing on end, I was almost crying and had me yelling in frustration! And I'm here for it all!

Oldest son Roman has to return home when his brother gets the entire family in danger. Roman must work to save them all. The family is also dealing with the decades-old mystery of what happened to their mother. This has a complex cast of characters, and the combination of the cunning story and characters will keep you on the edge of your seat. Hold on tight, you are in for a wild ride that you are sure to enjoy!

I was so excited to get approved for an advanced audiobook. I absolutely love SA Cosby’s. Writing and storytelling. Let’s put it like this if he writes it I will read it. I absolutely love this book and look forward to reading more from him.

When you get in over your head and your big brother has to come and pull you out to try to save everyone you’re connected too. Roman is back home and his siblings need him more than he knows and he needs them. Family ties, lies and corruption in this small town Roman wants to escape. He doesn’t know but his return is the start he needed to close that chapter of his life he has been running from to finally be free but will his siblings feel that same freedom.

Suspense, frustration and love are some of the emotions you will come across when reading this book. SA Cosby gets another 5star review from me

🔥🌟𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨🔥🌟

Every single thing about this edge-of-your-seat thriller reminds me of that phrase you'd hear as a kid --ℐ𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝑒, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒷𝓊𝓇𝓃𝑒𝒹.

Roman Carruthers is called home after his father has been in an accident. His sister, Neveah, and his father have been running Carruthers Crematorium, the family business while his little brother, Dante has gotten himself into some hot water with local criminals. When Roman learns that his father's accident may not have been an 'accident' and that his brother, Dante has put them all in danger, he knows he must step in. Roman, a financial whiz by trade, takes the local criminal group to task, trying to beat them at their own game. On top of that, Neveah and the boys are all still dealing with the aftermath, trauma, and mystery (?) of their mother's disappearance from their childhood.

As usual, Cosby's writing is so raw, gritty, vivid and with beautiful descriptive prose. He does not shy away from the difficult moments and, gulp, there are a few jaw dropping moments that are extremely disturbing in their graphic violence. He captures the gruesomeness of these moments with such perfection. I've seen the comparison's to The Godfather and I can see it, because there is a beauty and almost symphony to the violence that Cosby captures like no other.

I will say that there was soo much going on, with the vast number of secondary characters, girlfriends and sociopathic gang members, at times I felt a little disconnect to the main story line.

The ending, while disturbing, really brought everything together for me. In this world, there's is no black and white, no good or bad. I've seen many reviewers comment that this book is about what you would do to protect your family. For me, it's even more about what doing anything to protect your family will cost you.

“𝘼 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙞𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙.”

If you’ve never read a book by S.A. Cosby, you must be living under a rock. This man is talented, prolific, and knows how to write a Southern thriller like no one else.

King of Ashes is a book you simply cannot put down, no matter what. Roman Carruthers is a money man, that’s what he does. He uses his financial skills to make money for himself and his clients. When he’s called back to his hometown after his father is involved in an accident, he quickly learns that it wasn’t an accident at all. It was the work of criminals connected to his younger brother Dante, who owes them money.

Roman decides to use his expertise to get Dante out of debt and make the gang problem disappear. What he doesn’t realize is that these aren’t just street thugs, they are real gangsters, and they don’t play. Roman is suddenly caught in a life-or-death situation. His father owns a crematorium, which is being run by his sister Nevaeh, who is struggling with her own internal battles. Their mother disappeared years ago, and Nevaeh believes their father killed her.

While Roman hustles to make the money needed to save his brother, Nevaeh is on a mission to solve the cold case of their mother’s disappearance, all while having an affair with a police officer. Dante is of no help, lost in addiction and completely unreliable.

Now Roman finds himself pulled into the criminal underworld, operating from the crematorium, surrounded by ruthless people. But he knows two things for sure, he has the skills to survive, and his father’s words still ring true, everything burns.

Now on to the audio, Adam Lazzarre-White narrates this book and that man can speak! He does an amazing job of capturing the intensity of the characters voices and the moments. He does the male and female voices and his voice is smooth like butter. I thoroughly enjoyed the narration.

Thank you to Macmillan audio for the advanced listening copy of this audiobook and thank you to Pine and Cedar for the advanced read copy of this book.

I was so surprised at how much I was rooting for this flawed family with so many secrets and the fact that I still rated this book five stars and there was no epilogue speaks volumes.

King of Ashes is a gripping, dark and extremely gritty story that grabbed me and would not let go until the very end. The setting of this book was so vivid it felt like a character in and of itself. And the ending? I honestly get chills just thinking about it.

Cosby's characters have a raw depth to them that makes them feel real, and Adam Lazarre-White, narrator of the audiobook, did an incredible job bringing them to life!

5/5
amazinggg!!
The thrill, mystery, crime, family ties, and drama was EATING!!
S.A Cosby is now an auto-buy author of mine. Make sure yall pick this one up June 10th 2025!
Thank you NetGally & Macmillan audio for my ARC!

In King of Ashes, S.A. Cosby delivers a gritty, emotionally charged crime saga about family, loyalty, and the cost of legacy. When Roman Carruthers returns home to a crumbling family business and dangerous secrets, he’s forced to confront the darkness he thought he’d left behind. Intense, raw, and unforgettable.

When Roman received the call from his sister about their father's terrible accident, he had no idea he was about to enter a fierce battle for the safety and well-being of his family. Will he find an easy way out, or will everything end in ashes?

S.A. Cosby is an incredible author; I loved this book, even with the reckless little brother who just wouldn’t listen! There were moments when I wanted to choke him myself! Once again, Adam Lazarre-White does a phenomenal job of bringing these characters to life. This is a story you don’t want to miss.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced listening copy.

I loved "King of Ashes" and Adam Lazarre-White's narration was excellent! This is probably my favorite of S.A. Cosby's novels. The narration is what made this book so AMAZING!! The ending I didn't see coming, soo good! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of King of Ashes! I hope any thriller lover reads it!

Jeeeesus this was dark 😅 It was twisty and interesting and all of the characters were so real - all complicated and un/likable and making decisions you want to scream at them for but totally understand. I did not see the ending coming but it was satisfying in a dark, dark way.

As always, Adam Lazarre-White's narration is impeccable and lends itself perfectly to Cosby's story-telling.

Highly recommend for Cosby fans especially and gritty murder mystery/crime fans in general - a fantastic idea for a vaca read.