I really enjoyed "All the Sinners Bleed," one of few thrillers to make the "Notable 2023" list in the Times, and a book that caught Barack Obama's attention. The main impressive feature in this book is its protagonist, Titus, a Black sheriff in a troubled Virginia town, Charon. Titus is torn between two women; it worries him that he no longer mentions his love to his girlfriend, Darlene, but instead waits for her to say the sentence. He wants to reform his team of police, but he also sees that corner-cutting can sometimes be a valuable option. Titus is irritated when his brother skids off the rails--but he himself has his own memory of skidding off the rails, in an FBI case from his recent past. The writer, S.A. Cosby, has an eye for nuance. When a white officer shoots a disturbed Black man, protestors suggest this is a fathomless tragedy (though the Black man had been assisting in the rapes and murders of Black children in Charon). Titus doesn't get on the...