Under the Thumb: Stories of Police Oppression

by S.A. Cosby (Editor), Travis Wade Beaty (Contributor), Andrew Case (Contributor)

Say their

Sandra Bland.

Philando Castile.

Daniel Shaver.

George Floyd.

And too many others.

They died, the victims of a justice system which, for many people in our country and around the world, is seldom just.

In this anthology, our authors explore the darker side of the badge, where a traffic stop can go one of two ways—bad or worse. Where evidence can and will be forged. Where the Blue Wall of Silence closes ranks, and accountability becomes a four-letter word.

At the end, you’ll wonder—is the system broken? Or more chillingly, is it operating just the way it was always intended, and are we meant to live our lives Under the Thumb?

Guest-edited by New York Times Bestseller S.A. Cosby, with stories

Travis Wade Beaty

Andrew Case

Hilary Davidson

Hector Duarte Jr.

Michael Downing

Jeffrey Eaton

Michael A. Gonzales

James D.F. Hannah

Zakariah Johnson

Preston Lang

Bobby Mathews

Mike McHone

Richie Narvaez

Oluseyi Onabanjo

James Queally

Keith Rosson

Jeff Soloway

Joseph S. Walker

and Tim P. Walker

Genres: Anthologies

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 19, 2021

Reviews

[Colin Brightwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthology of short fiction that should get some conversations about modern policing started. The scariest thing about these stories is that they didn’t read like fiction, because we live in an all-too-real police state where cops have power and continually find ways to abuse that power and inflict harm on the very people they are sworn to “serve and protect.” Crime writer S.A. Cosby - author of BLACKTOP WASTELAND and RAZORBLADE TEARS - includes a great line-up of stories that tackle a multitude of policing issues: retaliation, not giving a shit about sexual assault, police sexually assaulting women at traffic stops, etc etc. The stories here are at times frustrating and illuminating. Frustrating because you might just hate what is included, and illuminating because you’ll start to realize that fiction is just the truth inside the lie, as Stephen King would say. Rock and a Hard Place Press did a fantastic job creating this anthology. It is doing an important job that fiction can accomplish. Buy this book. Proceeds go to BLM NJ chapter.

[David Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under the Thumb gives you the gist of the stories in its subtitle. Stories of Police Oppression. It's in the news every day. It's not going away. No matter how many good officers there might be, the type of person who thrives on controlling others, the type of person who likes to bully others... they are attracted to this sort of work, and they are everywhere.

What I found poignant and most meaningful in these stories was not the descriptions of brutality and mistreatment, but the variety of the voices and characters. A young man finds he is dating a girl whose uncle, a police officer, beat him when he was a boy. A musician is thrown in prison for walking down a road. An artist is beaten for a small pieces of graffiti.

Kids, wives, neighbors, and even some messages you might not expect... all of that awaits you in these pages. S. A. Cosby and the others who helped edit and put this together did a commendable job. Some of the stories are told more eloquently than others, but none of them left me untouched. An important book I would recommend to anyone.

[Thomas Trang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blistering collection - recommended

A solid mix of stories about police brutality and corruption. Despite this narrow theme, there are many different takes and angles on display here. As always, some spoke to me more than others but every single one is quality and worth your time.

[LM Goodrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each short story showed the brutal effects of policing in America. Instead of protect and serve, it has moved to a war zone, where each party sees the other as the enemy.

[Michael Daines · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Under the Thumb” is a collection of short stories covering a variety of people affected by their interaction with the police. Every story is tense, and this is not a light read. Though fictional, most of the stories feel all too real. I read this before bed once, then had to commit to reading it during the day, because of how stressful each vignette is.

Highly recommended to all.