I wanted to like this book so badly—I really did.
Summary
For everything he thought he’d outrun, Roman Carruthers finds himself back in his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia, after his father is left comatose by a terrible accident.
When Roman left for college in Georgia, he believed he’d escaped his pain and guilt, but the memory of his mother—who went missing when he was sixteen—has haunted him ever since. No amount of miles can distance him from what happened.
Now back in town to look after his father, Roman gets mixed up with the wrong crowd while trying to save his little brother from himself. Since their mother’s disappearance, Dante—the youngest Carruthers sibling—has numbed his pain with drugs and alcohol. He floats through life, just sober enough to see the wreckage he’s made.
When the problems don’t go away and the bodies keep piling up, the only way through is to let everything burn. Roman must protect Dante and shield their sister Neveah—who’s held the family together—while facing off against the Black Baron Boys. One man against an army of reckless gang-bangers, Roman has to save his brother and himself before everything blows up. If they burn, everyone burns with them.
Character Summary
- Roman (35) – UGA grad with degrees in economics and accounting; runs a successful Atlanta wealth-management firm. Expert at skirting the edges of the law—just enough to make millions without landing in jail. Carries a heavy guilt he can’t shake, relieved only through unconventional, self-punishing “therapy.”
- Neveah – The middle child and reluctant anchor. Runs the family business, cares for their father, and lives in the home that still echoes with their missing mother’s presence. Stuck in purgatory while her brothers flee—or numb—their pain.
- Dante – The baby of the family, lost in addiction. Chooses numbness over clarity, wandering through the nightmares he’s made real. Not just broken—shattered—and no amount of saving seems enough.
My Thoughts
I really, really, really wanted to like this book. I’ve enjoyed other S.A. Cosby books and I think he’s an exceptional author. I just… I just wasn’t feeling this one. I couldn’t suspend reality—or common sense—enough to really place myself in this book. The plot was so far-fetched it played out like a Tyler Perry movie… maybe even worse.
Let’s start with the timeline. At the halfway point, only two weeks have passed in the story, yet so much has happened it’s almost laughable. Shootouts, gang wars, near-death experiences—it’s all crammed into a fourteen-day window. Now, is that plausible, sure, crime happens everyday but, it was a lot happening in such a short amount of time. The entire book spans from early September to October 6, and somehow we’re expected to believe all this unfolds in that short of a timeframe? I’m sorry, but no. I would have liked more time to really spell out Roman’s plot for making money and maybe understand that side of his “job” more.
Speaking of his self-appointed “job”. I’m not saying that Roman does not have super-human wealth management prowess and, I’m not saying it’s impossible for someone to bend the rules of financial underworld to get rich. What I am saying is, it’s inconceivable for someone to be moving that much money, that fast, and not catch the attention of the alphabet boys. As I said in my review of The Couple Next Door—you can’t move large sums of money around without red flags going up. The feds would be at your door before you even finished setting up the money counter. Yeah, sure, because the story is moving so fast, maybe the feds didn’t have time to put a case together, but just know, they’d have someone in town watching Roman even if they don’t act on it.
And speaking of the alphabet boys—where are the cops? We’ve got bodies stacking up left and right—seven in one scene after a shootout—and yet there’s no real investigation, no actual police work. One detective shows up, and he’s useless from the moment he’s introduced. We get one brief mention of his partner, who we never see again. That’s it. No other officers, no follow-ups, no questioning. I would have love to have seen Roman hauled down to the police station and questioned, or an undercover whos in town to take down the twins… I don’t know something! Maybe I’m reaching. Maybe it’s me. Am I the drama?
On another note. Let’s talk about the vocabulary. I love a good word salad, but come on. It felt like Cosby had a thesaurus open the whole time. Coterie instead of gang, genuflection instead of reverence, flotsam and jetsam instead of debris—it was giving “look how many syllables I know.” Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the mature words, I just didn’t think all that were used were needed.
My last gripe, I promise. The narration felt like a complete mess, to me. It’s third-person but bounces between Roman, Neveah, Dante, Mike Handler, Bruce Wallis, and others that I’m sure I’ve missed. The voice shifts without warning and without payoff. I would have liked to read from Roman and Dante’s perspective; maybe Neveah toward the very end but, the jumping around of who is narrating, felt odd. And why did we need to hear from Bruce?
Based on the ending, I’d love for there to be a continuation of this story, just so that I could see where this is going. But as it stands, this book just didn’t work for me, no matter how badly I wanted it to. Everyone I know, loved this book. Maybe I’m too cynical or being too harsh, either way, that’s just my take.
Final Verdict
I like S.A. Cosby’s work, but I didn’t like this one. When the majority of readers rave and I don’t, I wonder what I missed—but I can’t imagine a reread turning this into more than a two-star experience. But I’ll never say never.
Ya win some, ya lose some.
Note: I went back and edited this review—not to remove anything, but to soften the tone and make it more palatable. I genuinely like S.A. Cosby and plan to continue reading his work. I realize I brought certain expectations to this book that weren’t met—and that’s on me.
whitneydaniell 
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