Wikipedia describes noir fiction as a subgenera of crime fiction where right and wrong are not clearly defined, and the protagonists are seriously and often tragically flawed. As a charismatic, hard working family man, who finds himself backed against a wall due to a number of unforeseen financial hardships, Beauregard “Bug” Montage certainly fits this bill.
He’s approached by a sleazy hustler from his past who comes to him to be part of a quick money making bank heist where Bug has to do nothing except what he’s best at: Drive the getaway car.

Cars are Bugs life and livelihood, running and owning a local car repair shop faced with its own troubles due to a flashy new competitor in town. Feeling like he has no choice, Bug reluctantly agrees to take part, setting off a cinematic chain of events that translate into easily one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a while. Beauregard is a phenomenal character: Complex, loving, prone to violence, and struggling to be a different father than the one he had, S.A. Cosby elevates the typical trope of the good man trying to get out but pulled back in by its protagonist not being the typical white family man, but a black man trying to thrive in a racist south. But Cosby is playing with many themes here to great affect. Abandonment, parental responsibility, and violence passed on from one generation to the next. It’s a thought provoking thriller that has you, like its center character, rooting for him yet feeling an intuitive dread that there are potentially no good results. A terrific read.

Listen, when you're a black man in America you live by the weight of people's low expectations on your back every day. They can crush you right down to the goddamn ground.

If you know me, you know I'm VERY particular about what I consider a true 5 star book, and this is DEFINITELY it. One of the best books I've read all year.

This book was stunning, start to finish and a refreshing take on a genre that was frankly getting way too comfortable and formulaic. This had more excitement and drama than any Ocean's Eleven or Fast and Furious movie, hell - even all of them combined. Not just because its got an incredible heist, double-crossing acquaintances, gun blazing fights, and driving sequences that felt so real you would swear you were there, but because Cosby's work weaves in so many complex issues and themes, including racism, poverty, drug addiction, marriage and family relationships, and violence.

Beauregard "Bug" Montage strives to be a provider on the straight and narrow, raising two strong boys and a daughter to be more than the low expectations placed on them due to the color of their skin and their poverty. Unfortunately, life with all its costly obstacles, seems to be piling up on Bug, putting his back against the wall and forcing him back into the Life - as frankly the bombest getaway driver ever. Take several seats there Baby Driver.

With Bug, we see a man battling not to become like his father but also being unable to let him go, including the tombstone that is his father's old car, the Duster. He is flawed and although he loves his family and wants to give them the freedom of choices, he makes choices that threaten that often in the book. He's our hero, and a badass, yet you really wonder to what extent he's doing this to provide vs. doing it to fulfill his longing for the Life, his other beast.

And the complexity doesn't end with Bug. Cosby's other characters including Bug's own son, Javon, and his wife, Kia are also nuanced and flawed but show a true family bond and love. My heart broke for them both during the book. Kia is honest with Bug about his choices and what they jeopardize. Bug's mother is amazingly well written and captures the difficult family dynamics that are occur far too often, scarring and molding us, and never discussed. Cosby makes mention several times that no one really knows you like family, and no one else can ever cut you so deep like them too, which we all know is all too real and too true.

This is a fast-paced read that many will enjoy. This is a must for your summer reading list.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

At first glance this looks like one of those “Just One More Job” stories in which an ex-con has some special motivation to come out of retirement for a last hurrah—cue the summer-blockbuster music. Not usually my thing. The abundant praise for the novel from so many respected writers suggests that it is much more—and wow, is it ever. The snowballing financial desperation that drives Beauregard “Bug” Montage to fall in with criminals planning a heist is so perfectly rendered that the dilemmas faced by this family man feel completely real. The violence is horrifying but completely in keeping with the situation. Bug's relationships with family, friends, and his idiotic accomplices are incredibly well drawn. His special skills at fixing, modifying, and driving the heck out of vehicles of every description are described vividly, making every driving scene feel both intimate and suspenseful; as a reader you feel like you are in the car holding your breath as Bug executes some crazy maneuver. I’m so clueless I had to google what a Duster was, but I was just riveted. Read this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for a digital advance review copy.

If you enjoy gritty, noir crime fiction, this might be for you. I Thought the premise of a high stakes heist pulling a currently straight and narrow criminal back into the world of crime to be fairly compelling. Bug used to live a life of crime but he's since opened his own auto shop, has a family and is trying to live his life. When circumstances conspire against him- in so many ways- he has no choice but to agree to be the driver on a large heist of a jewelry store. Needless to say, this might not have been his best choice. I thought the author did a great job of letting us see Bug as the flawed character he was. There were many layers to him and the plot as it developed. The action was high, the dialogue realistic and the setting unique as it was set in the rural south which was a nice change of pace for crime fiction

This is a fast-paced, action-packed novel that I very much enjoyed. I loved how deep the plot went, and that it wasn't just your average thriller. The main character in this book was so well written, but I wanted to see more from the supporting characters, at least during the setup. Why does the main character try so hard to save his family? I feel like that needed to be expanded on.

BUT, this writing was wonderful. I felt every emotion Bug felt, and the entire novel made me emotional from start to finish. The end left me heartbroken, but I would not have wanted it to end any other way.

This feeling I feel when I think about this book is like the first time I read a Donald Goines book. It was astonishing. Bug is complex but raw.

He is genuine, talented, blunt, sad, loveable. He is that character that you know down right could lead you astray very fast if he wanted to. The story is intense but relevant to Black folks, small business owners, poor people, the working class.

Your emotions are on high with this read and I want nothing more than to read a second part to this. Officially adding this to one of my favorite reads of the year.

[This review was posted on twitter as opposed to a full blog post]

First, many thanks to NetGalley for this ARC of Blacktop Wasteland.
Due to personal issues, this took me too long to read, however, once past a third of the way, I could NOT let my foot off the pedal.
A very unique voice, beautifully and sparingly written, telling the story of people of color living in a rural area of the south...……..the characters themselves are full of nuance, the everyday, the mundane, but every review written by other writers about this book is more on point than I could ever be. It's quiet in its story and its strength, it shows but doesn't tell.
I know nothing about cars but I was definitely riding shotgun the entire way of this story, and you cannot, I dare you, stop. Nor breathe.
I still can't breathe when I think about it. Truly, a "modified V-8 with a nitro kit." And much much more.
HIGHLY recommend this book. I am obsessed.

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby @leoking8473

Thank you @lex_withthe_text and @flatiron_books for gifting me with this free egalley in a giveaway!

I haven’t been a huge fan of reading thrillers these days, but I PULL UP for action and thriller movies. Front and center, popcorn in hand. The whole time I was reading this book, I was envisioning Beauregard as this bad ass, no-nonsense character with a heart (think Denzel Washington in The Equalizer 1 and 2), and I was hooked.

Beauregard wants to be on the straight and narrow, but gets pulled back in to the game as life get in the way and money gets tight. The high-speed car chases were everything and I liked that this book got straight to the point without a lot of boring fluff to get through. It was action packed and literally didn’t hold back any punches. Blacktop Wasteland might have just got your girl back into reading thrillers again!
#blacktopwasteland #netgalley

I loved this book so much. It was different and interesting and unpredictable and violent. The writing was on point, even down to the minor details of the car chases (which did get a little tedious at times), and I loved the points it made about racism and family and who we truly are and can become.

My only issue was with the main character's name, Beauregard, because I kept thinking of that one Muppet. But that's on me, not the book.

The idea of a heist so big and good you can retire on it, your one last job, yeah these things always end well.

I thought this was great. Fast-paced action, a great back story, sprinklings of harsh violence, everything I look for in a book.

S. A. Cosby writes like a breath of fresh air, taking familiar crime fiction themes and giving them new life from a different perspective. While the book gives readers plenty of action, Cosby also fully develops the characters while exploring deeper issues, most notably that of the father-son relationship, as well as looking at how that father-son dynamic subsequently impacts a man’s own relationships as a father and husband. This was one of my most anticipated reads in quite some time, and it did not disappoint.

What a heart pumping ride! Blacktop Wasteland was a superb crime novel with a bit of a southern noir feel to it. I’m surprised at how on the edge of my seat I was during the race scenes. My adrenaline was up! This is another book that I would not have expected I would enjoy so much.

A fast-paced, gritty crime thriller with a protagonist you'll remember for a long while.

If I had to give this novel a label, it would be Southern Rural Noir. Fast-paced, gritty crime fiction featuring very real characters. I didn’t expect to love it quite as much as I did. After all, I’m a white grandmother from Canada who has little basis to ‘relate’ to Beauregard Montage. Set during a sweltering Virginia summer, the oppressive heat seemed palpable.

Kudos to S.A. Cosby who created a criminal protagonist – a man whose actions were often deadly and cunning – but is also a likeable, empathetic, moral, good man. A good man whose family history, fate, and circumstance conspire against him at every turn.

A loving husband and father, Beauregard was brought up in dire poverty with only a criminal father as a role model. Despite his upbringing, his intelligence, his eidetic memory, and his strong moral code ensured that he was truly a character who the reader is rooting for throughout the narrative despite his criminal proclivity.

In addition to being a ‘heist’ crime novel, “Blacktop Wasteland” examines the situation that people who are living in poverty experience. Particularly black Americans. The rural south, where poverty breeds desperation and racial profiling is a grim reality. Where folks think a double-wide mobile home is the epitome of what life will provide them. A place where poverty and sometimes avarice guide the actions of its inhabitants. The characters that people this novel want more choices that will get them out from the low expectations of others. They want a better life for themselves and those they love.

Potential readers should be warned that this novel contains quite a bit of graphic violence within its very fast-paced story. I was fully immersed in the book throughout. The ending was realistic – as in life, you’ll find no ‘happy ever afters’ here.

Wow! What a great movie this story would make! Highly recommended!

Raw and visceral. Getaway drivers are my favorite protagonists to glimpse the crime genre through; the perspective they provide is unique and, I think, criminally underrated. S.A. Cosby sees that potential and realizes it, however, delivering a narrative that is unflinching; Bug is a character you sympathize with and root for despite all the terrible things he does - and he does many, his flaws displayed as equally as his strengths. The prose is sharp and unwavering, and even if I felt like the action scenes nearing the end seemed to drag a bit, the lessons learned are enough to pick up whatever slack might've occurred. Absolutely a strong novel. Cosby is an amazing voice in the genre and deserves all the recognition for this work of art.

BLACKTOP WASTELAND #BookReview

S.A. Cosby wrote one hell of a gritty crime noir novel. It’s an action-packed, emotionally charged heist story with a complex character that I couldn’t get enough of. Every sentence is written with high precision, and every chapter is keenly executed.

Beauregard “Bug” Montage is a loving husband, a family man, a mechanic, and a business owner with a strong work ethic. He was also known as the greatest getaway driver in the South until he decided to leave it all behind to live an honest life. However, like any person with responsibilities, kids to feed, and bills to pay, he becomes engulfed in a cloud of financial stress. This is when going back to a previous life gets all too tempting. Could one more lucrative job save the day? Is it worth the risk?

I am always in the mood for a character-driven story, and it’s a bonus when one moves at a rapid pace. Bug is a tough, no-nonsense character, a good man with a checkered past. He wants to live life on the straight and narrow, but it’s difficult running a business in an economically depressed town. Also, he loves to drive. There is nothing like a high-speed adrenaline rush.

Cosby blew me away with his writing talent and stellar character development. I was with Bug every step of the way. I was there while dealing with his past, through his time with his mother and father, the intimate moments with his wife and children, and every thrilling heist scene and mind-blowing escape. I can see why this book is compared to the movie Drive - and now I am just as obsessed with this book as I am with that movie.

BLACKTOP WASTELAND is a Southern noir dream of a crime novel. It’s dark, suspenseful, intelligent, and keeps you mesmerized. Cosby just got himself another diehard fan.

Do you enjoy a good crime novel?

Thank you so much @flatiron_books for my copy.

When you read this book (and you should), be prepared to feel all the feelings.

I don’t even want to discuss the story because it’s one you need to experience. And the experience is like this:

Imagine you’re driving a nice car down a straight highway. The sun is behind you and a storm is building up ahead. Rain starts with a slow drizzle. Then a sudden downpour. Thunder rumbles. The road takes an unexpected twist around a concrete barrier. The asphalt cracks open. Lightning shatters your windshield. Hails pelts your face. You’re gripping the steering wheel with every bit of strength you can muster just to stay on the road.

That’s this book.

This story is intense, beautiful, poignant, heartbreaking, and real. It fractured me into a million little pieces.

This is a book I would not have picked up if it weren’t a book I was reviewing. I am glad I was forced out of my comfort zone. I could speed-read through the violent parts and focus on why this was a book that made me glad I read it. “Bug” Beauregard Montage, a mechanic in a small rural Virginia town has been down on his luck most of his life. He has rebuilt a car into a fast road race machine. While he still loves road racing, having a loving wife and two great kids makes him realize that he needs to leave his criminal life behind him, except that he cannot. He is so deep in debt; he can’t see anything but everybody coming after him….and thus begins a really gruesome story of how he got caught up again in crime. For me, I was willing to read to the end the real story of family and how Bug really wanted to make a real legitimate life for himself and has family.

BLACKTOP WASTELAND
S. (“Shawn”) A. Cosby
Flatiron Books
ISBN 9781250252685
Hardcover
Thriller

Before we get rolling on a discussion of one of the very best books I have read so far in 2020 we need to do a bit of clarification housekeeping. I have seen the author of BLACKTOP WASTELAND listed as both “S.A. Cosby” and “Shawn A. Cosby.” Check him out under both names. He has published a few critically acclaimed short stories in hard to find (though not impossible) places, wrote a fantasy novel some years back, and published MY DARKEST PRAYER, an under-noticed but critically acclaimed crime novel in 2019. Whether he comes to be known as S.A. Cosby or Shawn A. Cosby, however, BLACKTOP WASTELAND will be the novel that gets him the notice, attention, and readership that he has earned and deserved.

BLACKTOP WASTELAND is the story of Beauregard “Bug” Montage. Montage is up against it, if you will, from the opening paragraphs of this stark, gritty novel. He is a mechanic who owns his own shop, a husband, and a father, quietly keeping his eye on the ball and maintaining, even as a competing outfit in the small, rural Red Hill County, Virginia community where he lives and works threatens
his business. Montage is behind on the mortgage of the building where his business is housed and enters an illegal race with a purse that will help him make his monthly nut. Montage, it should be stated, is an even better driver --- legal or illegal --- than he is a mechanic. Even though he wins, however, Montage loses, a pattern which repeats itself throughout the course of BLACKTOP WASTELAND. He gets hit with other financial fastballs, personally and professionally, in short order. So it is that when an associate from a prior deal that badly went south shows up needing a wheelman Montage wants to say no, but cannot, in spite of his wife warning him off of the job, not to mention reminding him of the evil of bad companions. The job gets done, Montage pays
his debts, and everyone is happy. That isn’t what happens, however, not quite. Things go from bad to good to bad to very bad, as Montage makes a desperate plan to save everything he loves even at the almost certain cost of his own life. Among his few remaining assets: a seemingly bottomless well of determination and an ability to seemingly make himself one with anything that has four wheels. Neither of those, however, may be enough to get Montage to the other side.

BLACKTOP WASTELAND is an edgy study in dual natures existing in the same person at the same time. Montage --- the irony of the protagonist’s name is not lost in the narrative --- is a man attempting to break the pattern of his own upbringing and only partially succeeding. His greatest asset, ultimately, is his ability to acknowledge his own mistakes and shortcomings, even when such comes too late to overcome the results. There is violence here, for certain, offset somewhat by occasional tenderness and introspection. What is perhaps most interesting about BLACKTOP WASTELAND is the manner in which Cosby with great subtlety whispers to the reader the question of “what would YOU do?” if faced with the same problems and situations and possessed of the same skills as Montage. The answers are not easy ones. Another question or two is left unanswered at the close of BLACKTOP WASTELAND. It would be grand to see if the characters who make it to the end of the book --- and there aren’t many --- return to answer them. These folks --- not to mention Cosby --- are way too interesting to languish in limbo. Very strongly recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2020, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

A man named Beauregard “Bug” Montage who commits a crime at the cost of his life, his job and his family. Blacktop Wasteland is a mystery thriller that deals with social issues such as racism, class and identity. Dark, Gritty, emotionally charged and action packed. We see Bug struggling with who he is, who he was and who he thinks he will be. Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron books for the E-ARC.

Hands down one of the best heist books I’ve ever read. Made better by the fact that to class this as “just” a heist book feels woefully inadequate for a story that is also a fascinating character study, a heartfelt examination of whether we can ever truly change who we are, and just an all around fantastic novel.

For those who are here for the heist plot, you won’t be disappointed. Cosby’s cleverly orchestrated heists (yes, there’s more than one!) are beautifully choreographed and compelling, sort of like watching a ballet...if the stage were on fire and the dancers had to dodge bullets while executing perfect fouettés.

But don’t sleep on the character driven component of this story either. Beauregard “Bug” Montage is one of the most enthralling protagonists I’ve encountered. His fascinating backstory and struggles to reconcile how Beauregard the family man and Bug the Wheel man can exist as the same person are complex, compelling, and not just a little heartbreaking.

The secondary characters also don’t disappoint, from the ones you love to the ones you love to hate, Cosby has put together an action/thriller that somehow doesn’t include a single phone-it-in stock character. Even those who follow hero/villain archetypes are uniquely wrought individuals in their own ways.

Finally, I think this book presents a great opportunity to encourage everyone to read more books by authors of color other than just the ones that are specifically about race.

Obviously I encourage everyone to educate themselves on racial issues, preferably via OwnVoices books. However, I also think it’s important to not limit ourselves to reading authors of color only when they’re teaching us about racial inequality.

There are so many amazing books out there but authors of color (both fiction and nonfiction), which everyone should read just because they’re damn good books. To support authors of color, we need to value their voices when talking about things other than just their race. And there are so many authors in this category doing incredible work who make this easy for us.

Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is an exceptional example of that. I’m already eagerly awaiting his next novel.