S. A. Cosby is an author known for his Southern crime fiction, with the twist that they are told from the perspective of a Black protagonist. While earlier books featured characters at odds with the Law or taking it into their own hands, in this 2023 novel, the main character “is” the Law. Titus Crown is a former FBI agent who has returned home where, much to the chagrin of the local elite, he has been elected as the first Black sheriff in Charon County, Virginia, deep in the heart of Dixie. At the beginning of his second year in office, there is a shooting at the local high school. A former Black student has murdered a popular teacher and has been shot and killed in turn by Crown’s deputies. In the investigation that follows, disturbing photos and videos are found on the teacher’s phone, showing him taking part with another masked figure in the torture and killing of a number of young Black people. Titus, using the skills he honed as a federal agent, begins a hunt for the remaining serial killer, placing his own family in harm’s way as he slowly begins to piece together the clues in this edge of your seat whodunit.
While Cosby utilizes the typical tropes found in most crime stories, what elevates his fiction to another level is his detailed deconstruction of small town Southern life, including its conservative religious overtones which may have played a part in these killings. As a Black person in a position of power, Crown is dealing both with a serial killer and with the living legacy of racism in the community where he was raised. As expected, it is a gritty crime story, but in this case the bloodshed takes place mostly off stage. Told from the Sheriff’s perspective, enthusiasts of this type of fiction are sure to appreciate the fresh perspective that Cosby has brought to this gripping piece of crime fiction.
Robert Up At Dawn 