Another great novel from S.A. Cosby. I love him for the grit and for his raw characters. I always feel like I know his characters, like really know them. He creates them so completely and you get to know them, flaws and all.

He moves the story along at a quick clip, never letting your mind wander. I’m always counting the hours until I can get back to the book. I really appreciate him adding in the details of his experiences working in a funeral home, too. It makes for a more realistic feeling story. ( )

Really enjoyable! ( )

My Darkest Prayer written by S.A. Cosby is a stunning novel filled with pristine metaphors and similes along with a cinematic quality that propels to reader beyond a page turning experience. ( )

Wow, Wow, Wow!!!
I have read the authors other two books, Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears. Both are excellent.
This is a reissue and it is the authors first novel. Much rougher and a lot more corse language and more extreme violence, and yet it is a mighty entertaining thrill ride. Very similar to the early Hap & Leonard books by Joe R Lansdale! There is even humor in the book.
Nathan a former marine and former deputy sheriff is asked by some parishioners at a local church to fine out how and why their pastor died.
This opens up a huge mess in a small southern town where everyone has secrets!
I loved this book!!! ( )

Handling the Bodies
Review of the Flatiron Books paperback edition (December 6, 2022), of the Intrigue Publishing LLC paperback original (January 1, 2019)

This is a re-edit and re-release of S.A. (Shawn) Cosby's first crime novel which first had an independent release in 2019. Cosby has since had breakthrough hits with his further novels Blacktop Wasteland (2020) and Razorblade Tears (2021) which both had a wider release by the Flatiron Books imprint under Macmillan. I first became aware of Cosby and his rural noir style when I read Razorblade Tears due to its 2022 Edgar Award nomination for Best Novel. I have also read his short fiction collected in anthologies such as Jukes & Tonks: Crime Fiction Inspired by Music in the Dark and Suspect Choices and The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022.

As he mentions in an online interview (see Trivia and Link below), Cosby used the opportunity of a re-release to go back to his first book and do some edits to strengthen the portrayals of his female characters and to cut back on his use of metaphors and similes. Both of these aspects were his perceived weak spots and, without having read the original, I felt the resulting re-release is a strong effort which sits well with his later books.

Cosby's protagonist is Nathan Waymaker, a former Marine and former Sheriff's Deputy, who now works as an assistant in his cousin's Funeral Home (a job which Cosby himself worked at in his time). Nathan is described as a 'chubby' version of Dwayne Johnson and can be a formidable foe in hand-to-hand combat, especially when his rage fuse is ignited. The atmosphere of a small town & county in Virginia is well portrayed here. There is a considerable number of cliche elements thrown in i.e. the corrupt rural Sheriff's department, the hypocritical church leaders, the mysterious crime lord, the exotic femme fatale, the faithful family, friends and coworkers. Those all do seem like signs of a first book, in an attempt to cover all possible angles. But it is all well done regardless.

Nathan (who moonlights as an occasional vigilante) is asked by some local church ladies to look into the death of their pastor. Esau Watkins died as the result of a gunshot fired from several feet away, although the Sheriff's Department calls it a suicide to begin with. This is enough to awaken Nathan's suspicion as he himself left the department when his own parent's deaths by car accident were covered up due to a likely bribe by a rich family. His questioning leads him to further suspect corruption in both the police and the church. Various heavies soon show up in attempts to discourage his efforts. Nathan will not be discouraged however.

I did especially like the use of the 'even more dangerous than the protagonist' friend/partner, in this case a character named Skunk. This reminded me of similar favourite figures such as Mouse partnered with Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins, Pike partnered with Robert Crais' Elvis Cole, Juanell Dodson partnered with Joe Ide's IQ etc. All of those are high marks in the noirish partner field. So Cosby is in good company.

My thanks to GR Follow Barbara for her review which brought this re-release to my attention.

S.A. Cosby's next novel to be published will be All the Sinners Bleed (expected June 6, 2023). I think I have a line on an ARC for that one 😊.

Other Reviews (of the original 2019 release)
Review of My Darkest Prayer at Tough Crime, by Rusty Barnes, December 24, 2018.
Review of My Darkest Prayer at Crime Spree Magazine, by Dan Malmon, January 1, 2019.

Trivia and Link
The Murder by the Book Facebook & YouTube channel hosted a discussion by Sarah Devillo and author S.A. Cosby on the re-release of My Darkest Prayer which you can watch here. ( )