| Publisher | Headline |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 12 May 2022 |
| ISBN-10 | 1472286545 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1472286543 |
| Format | paperback |
| Pages | 336 |
| Price | £ 8.99 |
Razorblade Tears
by
When a gay mixed-race couple are shot and killed, the fathers of the two boys seek retribution, fuelled by a recognition that they owe a debt.
Review
In Razorblade Tears, sexual orientation generates the heat. The book is set in Richmond, Virginia, and begins with the execution-style shooting of Isiah and Derek, a mixed-race married couple, leaving their three-year-old daughter Arianna without parents.
The fathers of the two boys have both spent time in the criminal justice system. Ike, Isiah’s father, has gone straight for many years and now runs a successful garden maintenance business. He was never reconciled to his son’s homosexuality, but now that Isiah is dead, Ike comes to the realisation that his prejudice prevented the expression of the love he felt, and he sheds bitter tears.
Buddy Lee, Derek’s father, was also estranged from his son while Derek was alive, mainly through idleness and alcoholic excess. He is, however, determined to avenge him, and it is Buddy who presses Ike to join in an investigation when it becomes clear that the police are making no progress.
The two are ill-matched. Ike is uptight, disciplined and very fit for his age, while Buddy is a slob with a habitual cough who is rarely sober. It is a while before Buddy can be brought to realise that his casual racism is offensive to Ike. Nonetheless, they make an effective pair and soon dig out a few leads from friends of their sons previously reluctant to talk.
Things do not progress very far before the pair run up against a biker gang, under the leadership of Baron, a particularly nasty piece of work. The identity of the person directing the gang’s actions takes longer to figure out, and there are several set pieces before the final showdown.
SA Cosby’s first book, Blacktop Wasteland, featured a well-drawn character struggling with a problematic early life and making moral compromises to solve existential problems. His protagonists in Razorblade Tears both reflect the same dynamic, having achieved wisdom enough to turn their back on behaviour that got them in trouble as young men, but still remaining willing to use acquired skills to obtain revenge for the death of their sons.
The circumstances explain the coming together of two very contrasting personalities, as well as bringing out their differences and this provides an entertaining read. The headway made by the heroes of the story is not entirely unbelievable. The general intolerance shown to the LGBTQ community in Richmond is deplorable, but the internal dialogue of the pair, Ike in particular, provides a moving counterpoint, with the increasing realisation that he was the greatest loser from his intolerance.
The fathers of the two boys have both spent time in the criminal justice system. Ike, Isiah’s father, has gone straight for many years and now runs a successful garden maintenance business. He was never reconciled to his son’s homosexuality, but now that Isiah is dead, Ike comes to the realisation that his prejudice prevented the expression of the love he felt, and he sheds bitter tears.
Buddy Lee, Derek’s father, was also estranged from his son while Derek was alive, mainly through idleness and alcoholic excess. He is, however, determined to avenge him, and it is Buddy who presses Ike to join in an investigation when it becomes clear that the police are making no progress.
The two are ill-matched. Ike is uptight, disciplined and very fit for his age, while Buddy is a slob with a habitual cough who is rarely sober. It is a while before Buddy can be brought to realise that his casual racism is offensive to Ike. Nonetheless, they make an effective pair and soon dig out a few leads from friends of their sons previously reluctant to talk.
Things do not progress very far before the pair run up against a biker gang, under the leadership of Baron, a particularly nasty piece of work. The identity of the person directing the gang’s actions takes longer to figure out, and there are several set pieces before the final showdown.
SA Cosby’s first book, Blacktop Wasteland, featured a well-drawn character struggling with a problematic early life and making moral compromises to solve existential problems. His protagonists in Razorblade Tears both reflect the same dynamic, having achieved wisdom enough to turn their back on behaviour that got them in trouble as young men, but still remaining willing to use acquired skills to obtain revenge for the death of their sons.
The circumstances explain the coming together of two very contrasting personalities, as well as bringing out their differences and this provides an entertaining read. The headway made by the heroes of the story is not entirely unbelievable. The general intolerance shown to the LGBTQ community in Richmond is deplorable, but the internal dialogue of the pair, Ike in particular, provides a moving counterpoint, with the increasing realisation that he was the greatest loser from his intolerance.
Reviewed 20 August 2022 by Chris Roberts
