Blacktop Wasteland is a powerful novel that is already being touted as the best American crime novel of the year.

As others have noted, the story is an emotional variation on the classic 'heist' plot of a former crook who is forced, through unfortunate circumstances, into taking on one more job. Beauregard “Bug” Montage, a former getaway driver with exceptional skills agrees to take on one more job, with a tricky background, to keep his business afloat and his family intact. It is a decision which comes with considerable risk and brings him up against some very nasty characters. It also makes him revisit his past and his emotionally charged relationship with his father, a crook who went missing many years ago.

This is a pitch perfect tale that invests familiar old tropes with new perspectives and intelligence. The writing and the dialogue is very assured and although it is primarily a crime novel, Cosby uses his story to explore issues of family, poverty, racism and the relationships between fathers and sons. These issues, however, do not slow the plot and it races along at quick pace, with plenty of action and violence.

Bug is a fully fleshed out and interesting character and it is easy to feel for his plight. Cosby, however, does not turn him into a saint and is honest about his failings and his tendency to violence. The secondary characters are also well sketched and the dialogue crackles off the page. There is also some great writing and terrific descriptions.

Blacktop Wasteland belongs in that same category of high quality American crime fiction as Lou Berney's November Road, and is a gripping, powerful novel that easily captures the reader up in its thrall. There are, perhaps, some quibbles, but overall it is a superior piece of fiction that I suspect will dominate award discussions for 2020.

Thanks to Flatiron and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

See my full review at: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/blacktop-wasteland-by-s-a-cosby-flatiron/

Man oh Man oh Beauregard......

"Listen, when you're a black man in America you live with the weight of people's low expectations on your back every day. They can crush you right down to the goddamn ground. Think about it like it's a race. Everybody else has a head start and you dragging those low expectations behind you. Choices give you freedom from those expectations. Allows you to cut 'em loose. Because that's what freedom is. Being able to let things go. And nothing is more important than freedom."

There's Bug and then there's Beauregard, the same man with conflicting sides within himself. One part is the loving devoted husband and father, the other is a fast car driving outlaw.

Bug thought he left his past behind, he thought he could move on and run his business and be there for his family, but he couldn't leave the ghost of who he used to be and the memory of his father who disappeared when he needed him the most.

With mounting bills and stress, Bug cannot walk away when he is presented with the opportunity to make some money. All he must do is drive the getaway car. Bug is drowning in bills, stress and obligations and it seems like easy money, but is it?

S.A. Cosby put the pedal to the metal with this one. Blacktop Wasteland is raw, gritty, dark and action packed. It's a character study of one man's last-ditch effort to make a better life for his family but at what cost? It is beautifully written in vivid, raw and descriptive prose.

Thought provoking, gripping and raw. This book is not to be missed.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for and honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Beauregard, Bug for short, owns an auto repair shop in a small rural town. But what he loves is driving—driving fast. Street racing for money. Driving criminal gangs away from the scene of their crimes. Because the only fun in this Blacktop Wasteland is speed.

Life has hit Bug hard. After turning away from his life of crime—luckily before going to prison, Bug is hard-pressed to pay his business’ rent, his son’s braces, and his mom’s overdue nursing home bill. His only option? To do one more big job with Horace, the person who has already screwed him out of money in the past. Bug needs the money now and can’t afford to wait for better choices. And nothing can go wrong with this job, right?

If a young Quentin Tarantino wrote a book, it would be Blacktop Wasteland. It has the same gritty and realistic feel like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. The feeling of dread and the inevitable failure of both plans and hopes suffuses the book. If you like your thrillers bleak, you will enjoy this book. 4 stars!

Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a ride!? This book is like if Fast & Furious, Ocean’s Eleven, and a complicated family drama mixed. There’s action, there is father/son relationship angst, there is social commentary, and there is great writing.

The characters are deep and relatable and Bug was someone you could really root for. I am hoping that this is the beginning of a series or that there is at least one more books involving him and his family.

Blacktop is emotional and violent, but it is also beautifully done, and I am still thinking about the characters days after I finished this story. I also think this would make a great, action-packed movie!

Reneck noir isn't a genre that particularly attracts me, but this was such a beautifully written book that I couldn't stop reading it. It is prose wrapped in poetry, and it reminds me of how common and ordinary most published fiction actually is these days. Thank you for providing me with the ARC. It made me feel better about the state of writing and publishing today in the United States.

Wow! Wow! Wow! What a GREAT thrilling story. Very original and refreshing. "Bug" is one of the most fascinating and original characters I've ever come across. A man who walks the line between husband and father and the thrill of the outlaw life. But that life comes with a price as we see in this exciting and emotional story. This book surpassed the hype and early praises. I absolutely loved it!

Wow- this was one hell of a ride! (Heh). Beauregard "Bug" Montage is a business owner, mechanic, and family man in rural Virginia. He's also known as the best getaway driver on the East Coast. He came into the game through his father, but unlike him, he gave it up to make an honest living and provide for his family. That is until, one by one, what he's built begins to crumble and he sees no choice but to take on one more high paying job to get rid of his debts.

Make no mistake- this story is brutal and violent. Yet the writing is beautiful and cuts to the heart of things like fatherhood, generational trauma, racism, and poverty while still giving you an action packed story that you won't be able to put down. Bug is an unforgettable character and once I got a handle on all of the players, I raced to finish. I can definitely see this being made into a movie!

If you like gritty Southern noir (just a fancy way of saying thriller!) with a memorable story and characters you'll care about- this one is for you.

I don’t normally read a lot of crime novels but I was drawn to S.A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland because it’s set in my home state of Virginia. Whatever my reasons for initially picking it up though, I’m so glad I did because Blacktop Wasteland really blew me away. It is both an action-packed thrill ride that features a high stakes heist and an emotional journey about a man who is caught between the sins of his past and what he desperately wants for his future.

Blacktop Wasteland hooked me from the very first chapter when we meet the protagonist, Beauregard “Bug” Montage. If you like complicated characters, you’re going to love Bug. When we first meet him, Bug is drag racing for cash and it becomes immediately clear that Bug’s driving skills are unmatched. Think “The Fast and the Furious” and you’re on the right track. For years, Bug was the go-to wheelman for anyone out there who was trying to pull off a heist. He’s now trying to leave that life of crime behind though. Bug has a wonderful wife, great kids, and he owns his own auto body shop. He loves his life as a family man and business owner, living on the up and up, and wants to do right by his family no matter what. Bug is also haunted by memories of his father, who led a similar criminal lifestyle but ultimately abandoned his family rather than stick around and take care of them. Bug is determined not to be like his father.

Life gets complicated for Bug, however, when for reasons beyond his control (unexpected expenses, new competition from a rival shop, etc.), he starts struggling to make ends meet and fears he won’t be able to provide for his family. As he exhausts all of his non-criminal options, his old way of life starts calling to him and when a former associate approaches him about a can’t miss heist, Bug agrees to take part, rationalizing in his mind that he’s doing this one last time and that it’s all for his family. Things unfortunately don’t go according to plan as Bug and his associates realize they’ve stolen from the wrong person and that things are about to go from bad to worse for them.

There’s so much tension and suspense building as Bug finds himself in an increasingly impossible situation. When the heist goes wrong, Bug’s life spirals down a dark and dangerous path that leaves him and his family more vulnerable than ever before and he has to figure out a way to fix it once and for all. And what made Bug such an especially compelling character for me is that no matter how deep he found himself in trouble, he never loses sight of his family. He truly is willing to do absolutely anything to protect them and secure their future, even if it means possibly sacrificing himself. S. A. Cosby does such an incredible job with painting Bug as both morally gray and completely sympathetic that I actually found myself rooting for Bug to do whatever he had to do to take out all threats to his family, even if it involved violence. I was just that invested in Bug and his family.

S. A. Cosby’s writing in Blacktop Wasteland is phenomenal as well. Whether he’s describing the back roads of rural Virginia, muscle cars and action-packed driving scenes that would easily fit into a Fast and Furious script, exploring the landscape of poverty and racism that is ever-present in our society, or laying out an emotional discussion between a husband and wife about the challenges that are facing their family, Cosby’s characters are both authentic and unforgettable, and his imagery is vibrant, powerful, and sure to resonate. This is my first time reading one of S. A. Cosby’s novels and I very much look forward to reading more from him. If you’re in the mood for a fast-paced crime thriller that is raw, gritty and will leave you on the edge of your seat, Blacktop Wasteland is a must-read.

I ADORED this book. Jam-packed from the first page, I could not put it down. I was hooked immediately & became so immersed in the story. Emotionally charged, this one will probably make my top 10 of the year. I highly, highly recommend.

Blacktop Wasteland follows Beauregard as he struggles to protect his family from his past and keep his business open. When he has the opportunity to be the driver for one last job that will solve all of his financial problems, he takes it but could never imagine the consequences that will come.

I was absolutely blown away by this book. I was drawn to it by the cover and the synopsis because I work in the automotive industry, but this book ended up being so incredible. Take the racing/heists from The Fast and the Furious or Baby Driver and turn it up to eleven and you'll have an idea of what Blacktop Wasteland is like. Yes, it's about driving fast cars and pulling off a heists but it's also about so much more. It's about family and who you are vs who you want to be. It's about how family can haunt you and discusses whether violence and ruin can run in a family with no escape. Beauregard struggles to be more than his father was and begins to think maybe he was always destined to be just like his father.

I loved the characters. I loved Beauregard and his struggles. He was generally a good guy but he could also tear someone up and not look back. I loved his wife and their children. There were several things that happened that I did not expect at all and the book did tear out my heart a bit. It did have some graphic violence and language, although the language was absolutely realistic for the automotive industry. This book went beyond all my expectations and totally surprised me.

This is an excellent crime thriller that will stay with you long after you finish it. The author perfectly captured the Bug's dilemma and his road to a new start. I am going to check out the author's other book, as this one was so well written.

Beauregard “Bug” Montage tries to go straight for his beloved wife, sons, and daughter, but his business is failing and the bills keep piling up. His every move seems to drive him deeper into debt, but he refuses to sell his dad’s muscle car. On the verge of losing everything he’s built, he accepts an offer to be the wheelman in a robbery. He hopes one last job will be enough to get his finances back on track, however, the robbery sets off a chain of dominos that threatens his loved ones and his identity as a loving husband and father.

Bug makes a great noir protagonist. He is scarred by the abrupt departure of his dad. He cherishes his family, trying his best to be a good husband and father, while solving many of his problems with a mixture of hard work, intelligence, and violence. Each of the characters in this book are lovingly rendered from Bug’s moody mama, to his wife and kids, family friend Boonie, cousin Kelvin, and the various antagonists. His two boys Javon and Darren, for example, have quite different personalities, making them stand out. Bug hopes Javon’s love of art will give him opportunities that weren’t available to him. Darren’s sweetness and good humor shine through in his dialogue. Ariel, Bug’s daughter from an earlier relationship, has her daddy’s love for fast cars and trouble.

The story is full of tension and conflict, with a driving pace that makes the novel a page turner and exemplifies everything I love about the noir and crime genres. Cosby’s lush writing is packed with beautiful imagery and emotion. Hollywood needs to option this novel stat!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

What a ride!!! Blacktop Wasteland was just what I hoped it would be. Fast paced, edge of your seat, thrill ride. There were many times that I would catch myself leaning forward in my seat, I would get that anxious!! Just when you think you figured out where this story was going, Mr. Cosby would take another direction, much like Bug in his Duster, and take you for another ride!

Bug, husband and father has trouble leaving his old life behind. He has a struggling business, and decides to do one more job, to help feed his family and keep his business afloat. What happens after that is one of the best stories I have read this year!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Beauregard “Bug” Montage is your average guy: a mechanic, a husband and a father. He's also a retired getaway driver that's known as one of the best drivers on the east coast.

Bug is going through a really rough time when a former associate approaches Bug with the offer to drive for a jewelry store heist. Bug then makes the hard decision to come out of retirement to drive again for one last heist. Will everything go as planned or will something go wrong like it did when Bug's dad was a getaway driver?

This book covered everything: race, family, poverty, and crime. I couldn't stop reading it and it was hard to put down! The writing was amazing, S.A. Cosby really knows how to weave a story together and make you feel all of the emotions. The pacing of the book and the plot were also 100% on point. I'll definitely be reading anything else he writes in the future!

The thing I loved most about this book was how it read like a movie! If you love crime, thrillers, or mysteries or you were a fan of the movie Drive or Ocean's Eleven, you'll really love this book too! You won't want to miss out on reading this one, I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc!

Awesome! Amazing! Bug worked so hard to make a good life for himself and his family only to have it crumble in his hands. Full of everything from drama to suspense it's a must read. Also a little heart breaking. Happy reading!

Book Review
Blacktop Wasteland
By: S.A. Cosby
…

“Listen, when you’re a black man in American you live with the weight of people’s low expectations on your back every day.”
…
Fasten your seatbelts for this fast paced crime thriller with Beauregard “Bug” who is the fastest getaway driver around! 5 ⭐️ ’s. This is a phenomenal read!
…
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband to Kia, and a hard-working dad. For 15 years, everything is going right. Until it’s not. The loan on his mechanic shop is past due, one of his boys need braces, and his mother is going to be kicked out of her nursing home if he doesn’t pay the bill.
…
Kia suggests he sells his vintage custom car “The Duster” that was his father’s. (A father he puts on a pedestal despite the fact he ditched him, but not before getting him involved in crime and a stint in juvie.) Bug has a better idea. He’ll return to his former days of crime for just one more job. Enough money that they’ll be set up and then he’s out.
…
This book has so many thrilling twists and turns and reads like a movie. But it’s more than that. Like the quote I highlighted above, this book feels very deep at times of the struggles of a Black man; Being conflicted between being good and what everyone assumes you are anyway.
…
Heads up . . . This book contains a lot of vulgar language, the use of the “N” word, drugs, and alcohol.
…
Thank you to Flatiron books via netgalley for this eARC for my honest opinion.

Terrific Southern noir crime fiction that I can highly recommend--perfect for these times in which we need to recognize the ways in which racial issues still hold people back in our society:

"Listen, when you're a black man in America you live with the weight of people's low expectations on your back every day. They can crush you right down to the goddamn ground. Think about it like it's a race. Everybody else has a head start and you dragging those low expectations behind you. Choices give you freedom from those expectations. Allows you to cut em loose. Because that's what freedom is. Being able to let things go. And nothing is more important than freedom. Nothing."

Beauregard 'Bug' Montage owns an auto-repair shop in small-town Virginia which has fallen on hard times due to competition from a newer, slicker auto shop in town. He has a wife and two kids who need glasses and braces, a mother dying from cancer in the nursing home, and finds one problem too many piling on his financial woes. So when an old friend contacts him with an opportunity for an easy heist with a big payoff and needs a great get-away driver, he is sorely tempted to fall back into the life of crime he's tried so hard to leave behind.

But there's more to that heist than they could have foreseen and one thing leads to another and gets messier as it goes, threatening everything and everyone Bug holds dear. Is violence an innate part of his family tradition or can Bug turn things around and be the family man he so wants to be?

Lots of violence and action keep this story humming. What a great action movie this would be! Terrific characterizations too--these people really come to life on these pages: the good, the bad, the ugly. So well done. I think this just might be my favorite book of the year so far.

I was offered an arc of this new thriller from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Many thanks!

This plot line rocks - main character, Beauregard, needs money to dam up the burgeoning financial hole in his family and professional life so he returns to his old criminal role as a getaway driver. Along with that decision comes an aggressive number of issues, piled one on top of the other: idiotic partners, a rebellious son, a reluctant wife, and ghosts from the past. This author deals with the issue of generational violence and lack of opportunities for a Black man in American society, giving us a rollercoaster ride of a book.

The BLUE Review 🖊

Brief: Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby is the noir thriller of the summer! Beauregard “Bug” Montage is a man trying to break free of his life as a getaway driver, but his last job proves there is more to a life of crime than the simple act of stealing diamonds.

Likes: Authentic, tough, gutsy characters trying to live a straight life despite poverty and racism.

Utility: It’s where the grey bleeds into black. When life beats you down, what do you do to get back up?

Experience: This book is fast, daring, angry, violent, loud, and all the “bad” things I’ve never before experienced in a novel. I could not put it down! 🦋

{Many thanks to Flatiron Books for the gifted ebook.}

Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby is a gritty, violent, Southern noir mystery novel. It’s set in rural Virginia and North Carolina. The protagonist, Beauregard “Bug” Montage, is an African American man who used to be in the “Life” and is now trying to live a non-criminal life. It’s a fantastic read.

When Beauregard was in the Life he was a wheelman, the guy who drives the getaway car. His reputation is known along the east coast. And — wow — the chase scenes are gripping. I’ve never been excited about reading a chase scene before and don’t particularly care for them in movies, but the initial getaway scene was off the charts exciting. I felt like I was driving along with Beauregard. And there’s this great maneuver that I’m still thinking about weeks after reading the book.

Shepherd’s Corner, VA is a town that was doing well until the recession. The whole county took a hit. Businesses folded and there’s not much economic opportunity. Beauregard is a good mechanic and an honest businessman, but that isn’t enough.

Beauregard now owns his own repair shop and is married to a woman with whom he seems to have a good relationship. They have two young sons. One needs glasses, the other needs braces. Beauregard’s mother is in a nursing home that’s going to kick her out because she owes almost 50K. His daughter from a previous relationship won’t be able to afford college. Another garage opened in town which took some of Beauregard’s business and also won a lucrative county contract both shops were pursuing. Beauregard wants to do the right thing, but he is out of money. Along comes a guy from his past with a job that could set them both up for a long time to come.

The opening scene depicts an evening of illegal drag racing on a deserted road. “In addition to the Chevelle, there was a Maverick, two Impalas, a few Camaros and five or six more examples of the heyday of American muscle.” My heart went pitter-patter. My first car was a 1972 Maverick (well, technically it was my Mom’s car but she let me borrow it a lot. It was not modified in any way other than the big rust hole that developed on the passenger floorboard, but I loved that car even when I had to use a pencil to keep the choke open to get it going. But I digress).

Beauregard is there that night trying to make money to pay some bills. He’s driving his beloved Duster, which isn’t much to look at on the outside but is tricked out on the inside. The car action and dialogue between the men is vivid and alive. When the cops show up to break things up, you get a clear picture of the world Beauregard inhabits.

There’s also Beauregard’s family tradition of violence which is something that pulls at him. His internal conflict that’s been shaped by generations of violence and racism has him cornered. At one point he lectures his older son,

“Listen, when you’re a black man in America you live with the weight of people’s low expectations on your back every day. They can crush you right down to the goddamn ground. Think about it like it’s a race. Everybody else has a head start and you dragging those low expectations behind you. Choices give you freedom from those expectations. Allows you to cut ‘em loose. Because that’s what freedom is. Being able to let things go. And nothing is more important than freedom. Nothing. You hear me boy?”

So Beauregard makes a choice. He knows that just about everyone underestimates him and he uses that to his advantage. Still, there’s “no honor among thieves” and no matter how well you plan, there’s always the unexpected. And the Sword of Damocles.

Which gets me to Cosby’s writing. There are other classical illusions and comparisons throughout the novel. One that comes to mind is when Beauregard and his wife, Kia, are dancing: “She was a caramel-dipped Aphrodite to his chocolate-covered Pan.” There’s a sense of honor when the reader is in Beauregard’s head, as if he’s almost a mythological Greek or Roman warrior. It’s not that blatant, but you feel it.

This is in stark contrast to how other characters are portrayed through their word choice and dialogue. One of Beauregard’s associates uses derogatory terms regarding a lesbian character and another makes fat jokes about a different woman. Here’s an example from the opening scene, spoken by a man who is Beauregard’s rival, “Ain’t none of y’all motherfuckers ready for the legendary Olds! Y’all might as well go on back home to your ugly wives and try and get some Tuesday night pussy.”

Overall, the reality of these characters' lives is depressing. They’re in a world where there aren’t many choices and those that are available ain’t the best. They’re all in survival mode and some aren’t particularly good at thinking through what’s best for their own interests. What kept me turning the pages even in this bleakness is the character of Beauregard and the writing style, which practically crackles with energy.

Some of the lines are real kickers. Here are a few:

“He likes to play dumb, but he as slick as two eels in a bucketful of snot.”
“He so crooked they gonna have to screw him into the ground when he dies.”
“She was wearing a tank top and shorts so tight they would become a thong if she sneezed.”
And my favorite:
“Pockets of rust covered the hood like some oxidizing eczema.”
I’ll never look at an old car in quite the same way.

I’ll also never drive the backroads of Virginia or North Carolina in the same way either.

This is a mystery/thriller in the noir tradition that takes you out of the city and into rural black America, specifically the southeast where blacks and whites might coexist, but slavery and the confederacy still linger. There is some extreme gun violence which I didn’t think was gratuitous. It and the language seemed to fit the time, place, and world that the author created. I highly recommend Blacktop Wasteland and want to read more from Cosby.

I also talked about this book on Episode 106 of the Book Cougars.