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‘Razorblade Tears’ by S.A. Cosby Razorblade Tears (Flatiron
Books, 2021, hardcover, 336 pages $13.49) by S. A. Cosby is the gritty and often gut-wrenching saga of two bereaved fathers, Ike Randolph and Buddy Lee. Randolph is a Black man with a violent temper. But after serving a fifteen-year prison sentence, Ike has learned to suppress his demons and now owns a successful landscaping business. But his life changes when his gay son, Isiah, is murdered along with his married partner, the white son, Derek, of another ex-con, Buddy Lee. Buddy Lee is a man with nothing to lose. Lee lives in a trailer park and his best and only friend and constant companion is a bottle of hard liquor. He’s also grappling with deep regret over his inability to accept his son’s gay lifestyle before Derek died. Determined to stay out of trouble, Ike initially refuses to become a vigilante when Buddy Lee approaches him with the idea of trying to solve the brutal murder of their sons. But when police investigators fail to identify any suspects, and after Isiah’s and Derek’s gravestones are vandalized, Ike can no longer accept that no one will be held accountable for his son’s death. His decision to join forces with Buddy Lee steamrolls them down a road of
retribution. Set in Richmond, Virginia, Razorblade Tears tackles racism, sometimes subtly and sometimes head-
on. In one poignant scene, Buddy Lee says he’d switch lives with Ike if he could have Randolph’s fancy truck. Ike spirals into a lecture about how Buddy Lee’s life will change if the color of his skin is black. At the end of the diatribe, Randolph asks Buddy Lee if he still wants the truck
Books ‘N Pieces Magazine — JULY 2022 — www.BooksNPieces.com
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