King of Ashes by S.A Cosby
Flatiron Books|Pine & Cedar (June 10, 2025)
Reviewed by Dave Simms
Today’s modern master of crime fiction is back in a scathing work that does what S.A. Cosby does best — entertain, but also leave a scar on the reader’s psyche. If one is familiar with the growing catalog, the expectations are high. In King of Ashes, those expectations are met again, and exceeded. His writing is akin to a beauty and the beast dichotomy — gorgeous prose wrapped around vicious scenes and broken characters — a mix that is addicting but also a gut punch, sucker punch, and whisper of poetry.
Roman Carruthers is a financial master. Born and raised in the shadows of Richmond, Virginia, he has celebrities as clients, often far removed from the brutal life he survived growing up. He’s living the high life, taking in all the pleasures that come with the hard work. When he receives the call that his father has been in a critical car accident, he knows it’s time to go home — and face a reality he thought he had left behind in the scars of a memory.
His sister, Neveah, keeps the family crematorium afloat, but is dead set on what happened to her mother long ago and how her death could tear the Carruthers family apart. Dante, the younger brother, finds himself in torrid waters, in debt to some truly awful people.
Roman decides to help out and fix everything, as he’s wont to do, he realizes he might be a bit out of his league when he faces the drug dealers of Jefferson Run.
He’s torn by his family loyalty and keeping the reputation he’s built over the years far removed from home, but the deeper he digs, the uglier the truths become. Dealing with the human monsters who are set on revenge outweigh him with their viciousness and psychopathy.
The tumble through chaos begins when he agrees to negotiate with people who will never give up a dime for family — or mercy.
What ensues is a stunning journey of three siblings who battle through the legacy of family and community and how perception of who and what they are could either save — or kill — them all. Roman is yet another masterpiece of a character, with layers upon layers of trauma and hope, the effects of which haunt him daily.
Cosby has skills like few others. What could be just a simple crime story with revenge and redemption goes incredibly deep to weave a tale out of barbed wire and sweat. He spins the story of a family whose lives are born with the cloud of ashes lingering over them, a perfect metaphor for the Carruthers’ fate.
Highly recommended reading.
