Robin’s Review of Perverts by Adam Cosco

Perverts

Perverts is a provocative, darkly comedic collection of interconnected stories set against the backdrop of Los Angeles in 2012, as the city burns. It pulls back the curtain on the secret lives of sexual deviants, abusers, addicts, and fame-chasers lurking in the shadows of the City of Angels. Each tale is boldly erotic and savagely satirical, exposing the hollowness behind Hollywood’s glamour.

From a powerful Tinseltown predator spinning a web of exploitation, to a desperate addict in search of salvation, these stories paint a raw, unfiltered portrait of a city in collapse. Unapologetically transgressive yet wickedly witty, Perverts blurs the line between comedy and horror; you’ll find yourself laughing one moment and recoiling the next. The result is a searing satire of Los Angeles where the real monsters wear human faces.

Robin’s Review

Triggers: Sexual violence, exploitation, drug abuse, cannibalism, extreme body horror, coercion, graphic sex, predation, psychological abuse

What Did I Just Walk Into?

A scorched Hollywood funhouse, part comedy, part confession, where the monsters are painfully human and the punchlines cut deep.

This collection is Los Angeles, 2012, on fire, and somehow the people are worse than the flames. Perverts is a set of interconnected stories that read like one long crime scene where the tape keeps moving. Mr. Cosco mines Hollywood’s rot for humor and horror, and the result is grimy, funny, upsetting, and way too readable. One page you laugh, the next you need a shower.

Mr. Cosco’s trick is simple and cruel, he keeps the camera tight on fame junkies, predators, and strays with soft spots, then lets the city chew on them. Power games, bad choices, worse men, and a steady drip of “I cannot believe he went there.” It is transgressive, but not edgy for its own sake. There is real craft, sharp timing, and a through line that makes the stories click together like handcuffs.

Here’s What Slapped:

Interconnected arcs that actually pay off, side characters boomerang into leads

Satire that lands laughs, then twists the knife a beat later

Set pieces you will not forget, cult vibes, dirty money, things that should not be on a menu

Voicey prose, brisk pacing, endings that stick the landing

What Could’ve Been Better:

The first couple pieces feel tame before the fuse catches. If you want the abyss immediately, give it a few chapters and let it cook.

Perfect for Readers Who Love:

Hollywood noir that trades glamour for moral corrosion

Dark comedy welded to genuine horror, no safety rails

Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review

P.S. I went in curious, I came out singed and impressed, and I will be side-eyeing every Hollywood headline for a week.

Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review

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