Marianne’s Pick of the Week: King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby

“Everything Burns.” Keith Carruthers

Hold on to your hats. This one is a wild ride.

In S.A. Cosby’s newest, The King of Ashes, we meet Roman Carruthers, a successful wealth management professional. One evening he receives a call from his sister, Neveah, telling Roman to come home. Their father, Keith, has been in a terrible accident and is in the hospital on life support.

Upon arriving home, Roman finds that his younger brother, Dante, is in deep trouble with a local group of criminals. Roman feels it is his duty to extricate Dante from this situation. After what we’ll call a “rough” meeting, Roman offers the services of the family crematory business for the disposal of their rivals’ remains. This is the business that Roman’s father built from the ground, sacrificing his marriage and family along the way. The business where his sister has worked since she was a teenager. And the last place, any of the Carruthers saw their mother alive sixteen years ago.

Their mother’s disappearance damages the Carruthers siblings in diverse ways. Neveah tries to keep the family and the business together while investigating their mother’s disappearance. Dante resorts to substance abuse. Roman engages in some less than safe romantic practices.

We watch as Roman morphs from smooth Atlanta-based businessperson to a person who can run with the toughest of criminals. Roman will do and become whatever it takes to save his family and the business his father built. These actions build and move to an unexpected ending. (No spoilers here!). Where we witness how everything burns.

I felt like I was in the middle of watching Goodfellas or The Godfather while I read this book. Cosby does not shy away from the grittiness and violence of criminal enterprises. The dialogue immerses the reader in the action.

Fans of Attica Locke and Walter Mosely will want to grab this one.