Title: King of Ashes
Author: S. A. Cosby
Publisher: Flatiron Books / Pine & Cedar
Genre: Crime Thriller, Family Drama
Year of Publication: 2025
Date of Publication: June 10, 2025
Pages: 352
ISBN-10: 1250832063
ISBN-13: 978-1250832061
Audiobook Read by: Adam Lazarre-White
Summary of King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby
King of Ashes follows a man named Roman Carruthers. Roman runs a successful investment firm called Carruthers and Associates. He is forced to return to his hometown, Jefferson Run, after learning that his father was involved in a suspicious car accident and his younger brother, Dante, is deeply in debt to a violent gang called the Black Baron Boys (BBB).
Jefferson Run used to be a manufacturing center for large automotives and tobacco warehouses, but has since become run down. As Roman describes it: “like a patient on life support who was too stubborn to realize they were dead.”
“Jefferson got the runs.” — A joking expression about the state of the city
Roman and Dante’s family run a small-town crematorium, which is their lifeline. As Roman negotiates with the BBB, he sinks deeper into violence and a whole lot of deceit. Meanwhile, his sister, Neveah starts looking into their mother’s mysterious disappearance from many years ago.
A lot of the story is about Roman’s plan to get out of the deal with the Black Baron Boys and how Roman strategizes to protect his family.
Main Plot & Characters
- Roman Carruthers: He is the main character in this story. Roman is very good with investing money but finds himself in a position where he has to balance wealth, moral compromise, and his duty to his family.
- Dante (D): He is Roman’s brother. Dante’s debt to the BBB pulls the family into peril and kicks off a series of events.
- Neveah: She is Roman and Dante’s sister. Neveah is reliable and is kind off the center of the family. She begins looking into her mother’s disappearance and her father’s possible involvement.
- Keith Carruthers: He is the father to Roman, Dante, and Neveah. Keith is in a coma and the accident appears to be connected to Dante’s debt.
- Geity: He is Dante’s friend. Getty and Dante got into the deal that set this whole thing in place.
- Cassidy (Cas): She is Getty’s girlfriend but she also has a relationship with Dante.
- Khalil: He is a former army ranger who transitioned into a security specialist for the rich and famous in Atlanta. He works closely with Roman.
- Torrent (Terrence) and Tranquil (Tracy): They are known as the Gilchrist brothers. They run a gang known as the Black Baron Boys (BBB).
- Splodie, Yello boy, the Bang Bang Twins, D-Train, Eddie Munster: They are Torrent and Tranquil’s men.
- Shade Sinclair: Another gang boss.
- Detective Chauncey Mansfield: He is a detective who is having an affair with Neveah.
- Jay: She is Torrent and Tranquil’s half sister.
- Ghost Town Crew: They are a rival crew of the BBB, who have ties to MS-13.
- Corey Gardner: He was responsible for watching one of the houses owned by Torrent and the BBB.
- Lawrence Lee: He was a friend of Bonita Carruthers before she disappeared.
Writing Style
S. A. Cosby tells the story using a narration style. The story is told mostly from Roman’s perspective but we also hear from Dante’s perspective and some other characters. Some parts of the story unfold using flashbacks especially as it relates to Bonita Carruthers’s disappearance and the siblings childhood.
We completely love how S.A. Cosby writes, his descriptions, the characters he builds, how he describes Jefferson Run, everything. The visual he paints when he tells a story and the analogies he draws are truly remarkable. The book gives the vibe that reminds us of scenes from the TV series The Wire mixed with a touch of The God Father.
After reading All Sinners Bleed and then this, we are convinced that Cosby is one of the most remarkable voices in crime fiction, and the two books are must reads.
Memorable Quotes
- “Money is like acid. It burns through everything. Friendships, family, lovers, husband and wives. Whatever bond you think you have, money will make that shit dissolve. It’s acid.”— Roman
- “The more you love somebody, the more a broken heart turns that love to hate.”— Neveah talking about their mother’s disappearances.
- “And when the pain came, it was like slamming face-first into a fence post. It was, sticking his fingers into a light socket. It was taking a punch into the mouth with a handful of quarters. It was all these things all at once”— Narrator
- “He’d gotten so accustomed to the larger-than-life cartoon characters that passed themselves off as tough guys in sound booths in Atlanta, spinning tales of a life they had only observed from the edges, taking that bystanders knowledge and creating tales of imagined street cred that got downloaded millions of times by similarly false thugs who wanted to believe they were about that life, that he’d forgotten there were real gangsters out there.”— Roman‘s reflections
- “Everything burns.”— Roman
- “A penitent to a slumbering God. There would be no divine intervention for either of them.”— Roman‘s reflections
- “Memory is a powerful thing. It’s a spirit we willingly call upon to whisper lies or to help us punish ourselves.”— Roman‘s reflections
- “Not everything burns. Some things end up in the gutter where they belong.”— Roman‘s reflections on his father’s saying.
- “Children shouldn’t know where their parents extinguish their passions”— Roman‘s reflections
- “Greed could make zealots out of heretics.”— Roman‘s reflections about Torrent’s greed
- “Love may not endure, but fear fails when a man has had enough.”— Khalil
- “Fate is like a train roaring down the track. There are times you can beat that train and there are times that train plows right through you.”— Roman‘s reflections
- “He will end up in multi jurisdictions at the same time”— Shade
- “Sometimes the man wearing the crown ain’t the man that’s supposed to be the king”— Roman reflecting on his father’s words
- “Violence exacts a heavy toll on every man who spills blood.”— Roman‘s reflections
Final Thoughts on King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby
King of Ashes is such a well-written book and is packed with a lot suspense. It is a mix of family drama, crime, and really tests its character’s moral compass. Cosby tells a story of violence, loyalty and what people will do to survive. Some of the characters will drive you nuts i.e. Dante and Cas, but you may still find yourself rooting for them.
Rating
Characters ★★★★★ (5/5)
Plot ★★★★★ (5/5)
Writing ★★★★★ (5/5)
Book Cover ★★★★★ (5/5)
Audiobook ★★★★★ (5/5)
Overall ★★★★★ (5/5)
Have you read King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby
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