Blacktop Wasteland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blacktop Wasteland is a noir mystery novel written by S. A. Cosby and published in 2020 by Flatiron Books.[1][2][3][4][5]

Plot[]

2020 image of the book cover

Beauregard “Bug” Montage, the protagonist, is a black auto mechanic and auto shop owner in a small southern town in rural Virginia. He is also exceedingly talented behind the wheel of a car. And it is here, the reader "descends into the Hades of bucolic poverty."[1] Beauregard no longer engages in crime, supporting his wife and two sons on the straight and narrow. But his auto shop is falling deeper into debt. And "...one son needs braces. The other son needs glasses. His embittered mother faces eviction from the nursing home."[1] He decides to do one last heist so he can get back into the black. Perhaps ironically, as Beauregard reenters the unsavory underbelly world of crime figures, "...he realizes that he feels more at home...than he ever did in the straight life."[1] The reader is a witness as that one last heist goes awry and Beauregard gets caught up in the chaos that follows.

Awards[]

In 2021, this book won the Anthony Awards.[6][7] It also won the 2020 Los Angeles Times Book Prize.[8][9] And it was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book[10]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Nieh, Daniel (July 17, 2020). "A Roaring, Full-Throttle Thriller, Crackling With Tension and Charm" – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ "Take A Dangerous Ride Through 'Blacktop Wasteland'". NPR.org.
  3. ^ "Become an FT subscriber to read | Financial Times". www.ft.com.
  4. ^ "The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup". the Guardian. August 22, 2020.
  5. ^ Cogdill, Oline H. "Mystery review: 'Blacktop Wasteland' one of the best of the year". sun-sentinel.com.
  6. ^ "2021 Anthony Award Winners". Novel Suspects. August 31, 2021.
  7. ^ "2021 Anthony Awards Winners". Locus magazine. August 31, 2021.
  8. ^ "Winners of the 2020 L.A. Times Book Prizes announced". Los Angeles Times. April 17, 2021.
  9. ^ Garner, Dwight (September 5, 2021). "S.A. Cosby, a Writer of Violent Noirs, Claims the Rural South as His Own". New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "100 Notable Books of 2020". November 20, 2020 – via NYTimes.com.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""