Happy Pub Day & Thank You @flatiron_books for my gifted copy of ‘Blacktop Wasteland‘ by S.A. Cosby! (And HAPPY 100th BLOG POST TO ME!!)
A husband, a father, a son, a business owner…And the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.
He thought he’d left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can’t-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver’s seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.
Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland…or die trying.
Like Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby’s ‘Blacktop Wasteland‘ is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime.
***Someone PLEASE make this into a movie! My husband use to build race cars & was a competitive drag racer (the legal kind) when I met him, winning many awards. (Pic below is my fave pic of him back then). He is also obsessed with the whole ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise, so I KNOW he would love ‘Blacktop Wasteland‘ (the movie, if it existed), but sadly, he is not a reader. So he will just have to listen to me telling him how awesome this book is!
Cosby has pure talent as a vividly descriptive storyteller & this will certainly be the most talked about noir, crime thriller of 2020. Buckle your seat belts & hold onto tight, ‘Blacktop Wasteland‘ will have your heart-pounding & breaking at the same time. (And you will love Bug!) Fast-paced, atmospheric, gritty & pitch-perfect writing, I highly recommend this one! It’s available today! Get it on your TBR!
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What others are saying about ‘Blacktop Wasteland’ by S.A.Cosby:
“A fast-paced, fresh take on noir that tears through the underbelly of Virginia.”
―New York Times
“One of the year’s strongest novels. The noir story quickly accelerates and doesn’t lose speed until it careens to its finale. It’s a look at race, responsibility, parenthood and identity via pin-perfect characters with realistic motives. Cosby invests Blacktop Wasteland with emotion while delivering a solid thriller.”
―SunSentinel
“Violence-tinged heists, muscle cars, and dead-end poverty in America generate the full-on action and evocative atmosphere in this beautifully wrought tale.”
―Boston Globe
“S.A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is the buzz book of the summer, and for good reason―this nailbiter of a thriller has everything, including road chases, fast cars, robberies gone south, carefully calibrated underworld shenanigans, standoff after standoff, and some deep family bonds.”
―CrimeReads
“Cosby never misses a note in this high-energy read…A superb work of crime fiction, uncompromisingly noir but deeply human, too, much like Lou Berney’s November Road (2018).”
―Booklist, starred review
“Diamonds and fast cars, trailer park dreams and late night illegal street racing, S. A. Cosby reinvents the American crime novel. Black and white with bills unpaid and no exit in sight, his characters feel the pull of family and swagger with the melancholy ache of wanting to be someone. Blacktop Wasteland thrums and races―it’s an intoxicating thrill of a ride.”
―Walter Mosley, bestselling author of Trouble Is What I Do
“For fans of: Bullitt, The Fast and the Furious and gritty Elmore Leonard-style noir…[Cosby] never lets up on the gas. The result is a high-octane, white-knuckle thriller that will have readers whipping through the pages at breakneck speed…Cosby’s tightfisted prose fuels this story with heart-pumping (and often brutal) action that begs to be adapted for the big screen but never loses its compassionate edge.”
―Bookpage
“High-octane neo-noir thriller…The gritty, brutal narrative is complemented by the author’s sublime use of sensory description and regional imagery. In addition, the epic, jaw-dropping chase sequences that figure prominently are reason alone to read this pedal-to-the-metal but profoundly sorrowful novel. Cosby is definitely a writer to watch.”
―Publishers Weekly
“Beautifully wrought and worthy of envy…Call shotgun, and then buckle up. Blacktop Wasteland is a ride that will stick with you long after the engine has cooled.”
―Salon
“We’re in Elmore Leonard land…Bug’s got a conscience not typical of the thriller genre, but other than that, this novel recalls almost perfectly the classic heist thriller in the vein of Richard Stark’s “Parker” novels. It’ll go like hot cakes.”
―Library Journal, starred review
“It’s fitting Blacktop Wasteland opens with a drag race. This is the literary equivalent of a muscle car―sleek, a little dangerous, and when it kicks into gear, you hold on for dear life. Lucky for you, Cosby is an expert wheelman.”
―Rob Hart, bestselling author of The Warehouse
“Every once in a while a writer comes along with an incredible voice. Think Elmore Leonard, or Chester Himes. With Blacktop Wasteland, add S. A. Cosby to that list.”
―Steve Cavanagh, bestselling author of Thirteen
“Powerful, gritty, and lyrical, S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is the unflinching portrayal of a man who’s deeply aware he needs to make a better life for himself and his family, but can’t ― or won’t. This story is an emotional gut punch, and you’ll find yourself rooting for Beauregard while he’s ripping your heart out. Cosby is a mesmerizing new voice in crime fiction you won’t soon forget. This is literary noir at its finest.”
―Jennifer Hillier, award-winning author of Jar of Hearts and Little Secrets
“With Blacktop Wasteland, Anthony award-winning author S. A. Cosby cements his position as one of the leading crime fiction voices of his generation. The story crackles with a dynamically flawed main character, vivid description, unexpected reveals and dialogue so real you’d swear you were eavesdropping. I couldn’t wait to finish yet never wanted the book to end at the same time. There’s no doubt that Cosby is an authentic and much needed voice in today’s crime fiction.”
―Kellye Garrett, Anthony, Agatha, and Lefty award-winning author of The Detective by Day series
“This book shook me in the best way possible. Cosby’s gritty, powerhouse novel evokes some of the modern masters – Mosley, Pelecanos, and Lehane – with a tone and vibe that is wholly unique. Epic but also grounded and painfully relevant, Blacktop Wasteland is a crime novel for today, and S. A. Cosby is a writer we’ll be hearing from for quite some time. I loved this book.”
―Alex Segura, acclaimed author of Blackout and Miami Midnight
“Blacktop Wasteland is a guaranteed thriller-of-the-year with muscle and heart and characters who will linger long after the last page is read. S.A. Cosby writes with grit and grace. Do not miss this one.”
―Michael Koryta, bestselling author of Those Who Wish Me Dead
“There is a sweet spot in a vehicle, whether it’s a car or a book, a perfect point of harmony between torque and horsepower or character and plot―Blacktop Wasteland is that sweet spot. S. A. Cosby’s new novel reverberates with a throaty roar, pegging the needles with a welcomed strip of rubber laid down in a silk-scarf, lace-backed driving glove mystery world.”
―Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries
“Buckle up. S. A. Cosby is about to take you on a high-speed spin through the rural black south. Muscle cars, backroads racing, double crossing deals and that elusive big score. Red Hill County is my kind of place!”
―Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Revelators
“Blacktop Wasteland will let the world at large in on what the crime fiction underworld already knows: S. A. Cosby is a major, original talent. Searing, twisted and jaggedly human, this Southern noir heist novel leaves scars.”
―Jordan Harper, Edgar Award winning author of She Rides Shotgun
S.A. Cosby is an Anthony award winning writer from S E Virginia. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies & magazines his story “Slant-Six” was selected as a Distinguished Story in Best American MysteryStories for 2016. His short story “The Grass Beneath My Feet” won the Anthony award for best short story in 2019. His writing has been called ” gritty & heartbreaking ” & ” dark, thrilling & tragic “. His style & tone is influenced by his varied life experiences which includes but are not limited to being a bouncer, construction worker, retail manager & for six hours a mascot for a major fast food chain inside the world’s hottest costume. When he isn’t crafting tales of murder & mayhem he assists the dedicated staff at J.K.Redmind Funeral home as a mortician’s assistant. He is also known as one hell of a chess player… Actually its checkers, he’s good at checkers.
*Mom Loves Reading* 