The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Cosby, S. A. Razorblade Tears. Flatiron Books, 2021. First Edition. Hardcover.

The novel is narrated in the 3rd person, past tense, and begins with Ike Randolph hesitantly opening his door to two detectives who inform him his son, Isiah, has been murdered. There is a joint funeral for Isiah and his husband, Derek Jenkins, who was murdered along with him. There are few members of both men’s family present; their interracial, gay marriage (Isiah was Black and Derek was white) was not well accepted by their families. Buddy Lee and Ike meet for the first time over their sons’ caskets and briefly talk about being ex-cons and their strained relationships with their sons.

Two months pass. Both men reflect upon their past inability to accept their sons’ sexuality, and begin to be wary of the stagnation in the progress of the murder’s investigation. They decide to join efforts and search for the sons’ murderer on their own after the tombstone is desecrated with racist and homophobic slander. There is no ambiguity between Ike and Buddy Lee that they intend to kill the people responsible, rather than bring them to the police. Simultaneously, a man named Grayson gets called from a person unknown to the reader; the caller wants Grayson to kill a woman involved with a recently murdered reporter (the reader soon learns this was Isiah). Grayson immediately presents as a nefarious character.

Ike and Buddy Lee visit various places to collect information about their sons. Their dynamic as detectives quickly develops into an archetypal duo: the calm and collected but latently lethal detective (Ike), and the proverbial loose cannon (Buddy Lee). Grayson, meanwhile, visits his biker-gang hangout and sends two initiates to visit Derek’s and Isiah’s old home to get information about the woman the anonymous caller wants killed. They arrive at the same time Ike and Buddy Lee go there on their own investigation. After a fight, Buddy Lee and Ike take one of the initiates (Andy) hostage for interrogation. The interrogation proves useless; Andy attacks the men in an attempted escape but Ike kills him and proceeds to use his garden tools to dispose of the corpse (he operates a landscaping outfit).

Buddy Lee later visits Derek’s grave and sees his ex-wife, Derek’s mother, Christine, there. They briefly chat and her intolerance of Derek’s sexuality becomes apparent. She also mentions her husband, the judge Gerald Culpepper, who likewise was intolerant and ashamed of Derek. Later, Grayson and members of his biker-gang, Rare Breed, visit Ike’s landscaping shop, clearly intent on attacking him. Ike wards them off with the assistance of his secretary, Jazzy, but understands that the Breed and he are now in conflict; he suspects they were involved in his son’s murder. The next few chapters depict the dynamic between Ike and his wife, Mya, and their granddaughter, Arianna, who has come into their custody since Isiah’s murder. Conversations between Ike and Buddy Lee continue to demonstrate the perceptions and effects of race and sexual-tolerance in these chapters. They get a new lead when they visit a gay bar and learn of a music producer, Mr. Get Down, who hosted a party that Derek and his bakery catered. En route back to his home, Ike is trailed by the Rare Breed. He wards them off his property but Mya subsequently becomes aware of Ike’s detective endeavors and the danger he is now involved in.

Ike and Buddy Lee track down Mr. Get Down’s address (his real name is Tariq). They confront Tariq at his home, but his bodyguards fight Buddy Lee and Ike, who get away. Ike and Buddy Lee go to a barbershop to visit one of Ike’s old friends, Slice, whom he knows from his days in a gang. Slice agrees to bring Tariq to his barbershop so Ike can interrogate him. Ike gets Tariq to give him the address of a woman named Tangerine whom Ike believes is involved with his son’s murder. After Ike and Buddy Lee drive away, Slice calls Grayson and also tells him where Tangerine is located. Ike and Buddy Lee arrive at Tangerine’s home. She reluctantly agrees to talk with them, as they believe she is sleeping with their sons’ murderer. The Rare Breed soon after pull up to her house and a gunfight ensues. Ike, Buddy Lee and Tangerine get away, but Tangerine is shot and her mother is killed in the fray. They take Tangerine to Buddy’s trailer and Ike calls Mya (who is a nurse) to tend to Tangerine’s wounds. She arrives with Arianna.

Mya tends to Tangerine’s wounds and Ike takes her to Jazzy’s house to stay there incognito and hide from the Rare Breed. It becomes apparent that Tangerine is transgender. While Ike is away, Buddy Lee, Mya and Arianna drive back to Ike’s home. They are attacked by Grayson and the Rare Breed who crash into the car; Grayson kidnaps Arianna, and Buddy Lee and Mya are rushed the hospital after the car crash. Ike visits the hospital, where Mya is in surgery and Buddy Lee is recovering in a room. Feeling remorse for the recent events, Buddy Lee confesses to Ike that he desecrated their sons’ tomb to incentivize Ike to join him in the hunt for the murderer. Ike leaves him, furious. Shortly thereafter, Christine calls Buddy Lee and mentions Gerald’s full name: Gerald Winthrop Culpepper. Buddy Lee deduces that this is murderer (they suspect Tangerine to be sleeping with the murderer, who is saved in her phone as “W”). Buddy Lee leaves the hospital and barges into Christine’s and Gerald’s home, intent on killing Gerald. Police arrive and detain him. At the jailhouse, Gerald talks to Buddy Lee in the confidential “lawyer” room. He candidly admits to being responsible for the murder and does not appear worried by admitting it to Buddy Lee. He tells Buddy Lee he will exchange Arianna for Tangerine, and lets Buddy Lee leave.

Buddy Lee informs Ike of Gerald’s complicity and the hostage-trade proposal. They decide to kidnap Gerald’s father, Gatsby, as leverage. Buddy and Ike arrange with Gerald and Grayson to meet at a remote barn to exchange hostages. Unbeknownst to Gerald and the Breed, this is a weapons’ storehouse for a gang Buddy Lee has ties to via his brother. The Breed and Gerald arrive with Arianna and a gunfight soon ensues. Ike hardwired a makeshift bomb out of gardening materials prior the exchange; as he, Buddy Lee, and Arianna escape, the bomb explodes and kills most of the Breed members. Ike and Buddy Lee walk through the corpses and find Gerald, who is barely alive. They proceed to kill him, though the murder is not described. They return to their car to drive away but find Grayson there, holding Arianna at gunpoint. A fight ensues and Buddy Lee stabs Grayson to death, but he too suffers a fatal wound and soon after dies. The final chapter resumes months later. It depicts Ike visiting Buddy Lee’s grave, which is next to their sons’. Ike talks to Isiah’s tomb and weeps relieving tears of remorse in the novel’s concluding moments.