RaveSpectrum CultureCosby’s latest novel, Razorblade Tears, hits the ground running and rarely ceases until its searing ending ... One of the thrills of Razorblade Tears is getting close to Ike and Buddy Lee. Both display anti-hero tendencies, an ex-gangster and a redneck, but Cosby really digs in and allows us to understand the hurt pulsing at their cores, hurt that exists not only because their sons have been killed, but also regret for how they treated them when they were alive. These men learn to get in touch with their emotions, something many revenge thrillers put on the backburner in favor of plot and thrust. For those looking for an innovative plot or surprises, look elsewhere. Razorblade Tears is effective genre fiction, even if it includes thoroughly modern themes and meditations on gender and sexuality. Even with such an inclusive angle, the book still doesn’t really develop its gay characters. And when one character explains to the flabbergasted fathers what an \'ally\' is, it feels more like Cosby stepping out from beyond the curtain to clarify to in-the-dark readers what the term means in this day and age. Still, Razorblade Tears is a propulsive page-turner about righteous anger and when Ike and Buddy Lee get to the heart of the mystery surrounding the murder of their sons, it isn’t hard to cheer. Cosby appears to have a bright future as a fleet writer unafraid to go for broke in his mysteries. Razorblade Tears is a good place to get lost for a while.
