*GUARDIAN BEST CRIME AND THRILLERS OF 2020*
*LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER 2020*
‘BLACKTOP WASTELAND may be the book of the year.’ MICHAEL CONNELLY
‘Sensationally good’ LEE CHILD
‘I loved BLACKTOP WASTELAND’ STEPHEN KING
‘Stunning. Can’t remember the last time I read such a powerful crime novel’ MARK BILLINGHAM
“Bug” Montage: honest mechanic, loving family man. He’s no longer the criminal he was – the sharpest wheelman east of the Mississippi.
But when his respectable life crumbles, a shady associate comes calling with a one-time job promising a huge payout. Inexorably drawn to the driver’s seat – and haunted by the ghost of his outlaw father – Bug is yanked back into a savage world of bullets and betrayal.
Like Breaking Bad in a high-speed collision with Drive, this dazzling novel holds up a cracked mirror to the American Dream – and tells the story of one man pushed to his limits by poverty, race and a self-destructive masculinity.
‘Every once in a while a writer comes along with an incredible voice…add S. A. Cosby to that list.’ STEVE CAVANAGH
‘An urgent, timely, pitch-perfect jolt of American noir’ DENNIS LEHANE
‘A superb character study wrapped up in a high-octane heist novel’ Guardian
‘The action sequences are superb, the dialogue wouldn’t shame Elmore Leonard, and Bug’s experiences recall Walter Mosley at his most powerful…fantastic’ Sunday Times
‘Spectacular….a voice as stark and distinctive as Elmore Leonard’s, and a humanity that touches the soul.’ Daily Mail
‘A delicious slice of country gothic wrapped in smart, hard, contemporary neo noir.’ ADRIAN McKINTY
‘The book will leave you breathless, but also desperate to know where Cosby will take us next.’ LAURA LIPPMAN
‘…S. A. Cosby reinvents the American crime novel. Blacktop Wasteland thrums and races – it’s an intoxicating thrill of a ride’. WALTER MOSLEY
*LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER 2020*
‘BLACKTOP WASTELAND may be the book of the year.’ MICHAEL CONNELLY
‘Sensationally good’ LEE CHILD
‘I loved BLACKTOP WASTELAND’ STEPHEN KING
‘Stunning. Can’t remember the last time I read such a powerful crime novel’ MARK BILLINGHAM
“Bug” Montage: honest mechanic, loving family man. He’s no longer the criminal he was – the sharpest wheelman east of the Mississippi.
But when his respectable life crumbles, a shady associate comes calling with a one-time job promising a huge payout. Inexorably drawn to the driver’s seat – and haunted by the ghost of his outlaw father – Bug is yanked back into a savage world of bullets and betrayal.
Like Breaking Bad in a high-speed collision with Drive, this dazzling novel holds up a cracked mirror to the American Dream – and tells the story of one man pushed to his limits by poverty, race and a self-destructive masculinity.
‘Every once in a while a writer comes along with an incredible voice…add S. A. Cosby to that list.’ STEVE CAVANAGH
‘An urgent, timely, pitch-perfect jolt of American noir’ DENNIS LEHANE
‘A superb character study wrapped up in a high-octane heist novel’ Guardian
‘The action sequences are superb, the dialogue wouldn’t shame Elmore Leonard, and Bug’s experiences recall Walter Mosley at his most powerful…fantastic’ Sunday Times
‘Spectacular….a voice as stark and distinctive as Elmore Leonard’s, and a humanity that touches the soul.’ Daily Mail
‘A delicious slice of country gothic wrapped in smart, hard, contemporary neo noir.’ ADRIAN McKINTY
‘The book will leave you breathless, but also desperate to know where Cosby will take us next.’ LAURA LIPPMAN
‘…S. A. Cosby reinvents the American crime novel. Blacktop Wasteland thrums and races – it’s an intoxicating thrill of a ride’. WALTER MOSLEY
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Reviews
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.
Blacktop Wasteland is an urgent, timely, pitch-perfect jolt of American noir. S. A. Cosby is a welcome, refreshing new voice in crime literature.
A delicious slice of country gothic wrapped in smart, hard, contemporary neo noir
A roaring, full-throttle thriller
Diamonds and fast cars, trailer park dreams and late night illegal street racing, S. A. Cosby reinvents the American crime novel...Blacktop Wasteland thrums and races - it's an intoxicating thrill of a ride.
Every now and then, a novelist shows up with a confidence and a swagger that makes it silly to compare him to anyone else. S. A. Cosby, the man behind the wheel of Blacktop Wasteland, writes the way his main character drives - with precision and fearlessness, in complete command of the road ahead. The book will leave you breathless, but also desperate to know where Cosby will take us next
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. Trust me, this guy is gonna be a big name someday.
Fast-paced, thrilling noir with beautifully drawn characters that really live and breathe. A fantastic novel.
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.
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. Cosby is a mesmerizing new voice in crime fiction you won't soon forget. This is literary noir at its finest.
Sensationally good-new, fresh, real, authentic, twisty, with characters and dilemmas that will break your heart. More than recommended.
I loved Blacktop Wasteland.
A complex and moving take on radical tension and self-destructive masculinity, with blistering action sequences and car chases that fairly roar off the page, this is undoubtedly one of the summer's standout reads.
The action sequences are superb, the dialogue wouldn't shame Elmore Leonard, and Bug's experiences recall Walter Mosley at his most powerful...fantastic.
An exciting slice of American noir... Executed with such relentless power and heart.
A spectacular debut.
Hard-boiled crime fiction at its very finest. Propulsive, haunting, and richly imagined.