Mark Twain wrote: Every man is a suffering-machine and a happiness-machine combined. The two functions work together harmoniously, with a fine and delicate precision, on the give-and-take principle. For every happiness turned out in the one department the other stands ready to modify it with a sorrow or a pain - maybe a dozen.

King Of Ashes
by S. A. Cosby

Category:  Suspense

Average Rating:  3.0

When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father's car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family--and the family business--together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante's recklessness has placed them all in real danger. Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he's forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his brother: himself, and his own particular set of skills. Roman begins his work for the criminals while Neveah tries to uncover the long-ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything. Because everything burns.

Jeff

[2026-07-08 17:06:43]

Rating:  3

King of Ashes is S. A. Cosby's Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic, centered on Roman Carruthers, a financial advisor pulled back to his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia, after his father is left in a coma following a car accident. What he finds waiting for him is a mess: his brother Dante drowning in debt to a dangerous local gang, and his sister Neveah running herself into the ground trying to keep both their father's crematorium business and the family itself intact. Roman decides the only way to save his brother is to offer the one thing he has left -- himself, and the particular skill set he'd rather have left behind. It's a premise with real teeth, and Cosby, the author behind Razorblade Tears and All the Sinners Bleed, is no stranger to Southern noir with a body count. The audiobook was a finalist for Audiobook of the Year at the 2026 Audies, a nod that says more about the strength of the performance than the story itself.

The narration is where the audiobook earns every bit of its acclaim. Adam Lazarre-White is genuinely excellent here, moving fluidly between a large cast of characters -- male and female, weary and vicious, grieving and furious -- without ever losing the thread of who's speaking. His pacing knows exactly when to let a scene breathe and when to tighten the screws, and he brings a real sense of dread to the novel's violence without tipping into melodrama. It's the kind of performance that elevates material even when the material doesn't always deserve it, and it's easy to see why it was recognized as one of the year's best. If you're picking this title based on narration alone, you won't be disappointed.

Unfortunately, the writing itself doesn't hold up its end of the bargain. The plot leans hard into over-the-top territory -- the kind of escalating violence and criminal intrigue that asks for a lot of suspension of disbelief, and doesn't always earn it. What should feel like a slow, inevitable unraveling instead often feels like it's reaching for shock value.

The bigger issue is the characters. Not a single one of them is particularly likable, and that's not a case of "morally gray and compelling" -- it's more that there's little to actually root for or connect with as Roman, Dante, and Neveah stumble from one crisis to the next. A story steeped this deeply in family loyalty and sacrifice needs at least one person the listener can care about; here, everyone feels a bit too hardened, too cynical, or too reckless to land an emotional gut-punch when the story clearly wants one.

King of Ashes is a frustrating listen: a technically superb performance in service of a story that doesn't rise to meet it. If you're drawn in by Lazarre-White's narration credentials or Cosby's reputation for Southern grit, it's easy to understand the temptation -- but go in expecting style over substance. This one is worth it for narration completists and Cosby diehards; everyone else may find the unlikable characters and overwrought plotting a tough sell.