11 Sep / Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby [in Booklist]
*STARRED REVIEW
S.A. Cosby and Blacktop Wasteland were featured in Booklist’s 2020 Spotlight on Crime Fiction, and his editorial proved to be thought-provoking and memorable. For readers seeking further Cosby-talk, choose the audiobook, because, while actor Adam Lazarre-White is absolutely convincing, the recording’s highlight just might be Cosby’s 10-minute interview at novel’s end.
Cosby reveals he’s an audiobook aficionado, enabled by a day job that requires substantial driving. He enthusiastically plans to “make people listen to it that drive with me.” Reacting to Lazarre-White’s performance, Cosby “felt like he was listening to my thoughts,” so accurate were the aural portrayals.
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is juggling two lives: the devoted husband and father who runs a car-repair shop, and the man trying to avoid the temptations of easy money as a getaway driver, just like (deadbeat) dear-old-dad. With mounting debts, Bug agrees to one final driveaway which, inevitably, gets him trapped for yet one more job.
As Bug’s responsibilities multiply, Lazarre-White smoothly embodies the growing cast of family, friends, thugs, gangsters, and saviors. While Cosby’s florid sentences might elicit an occasional eyeroll, the high-octane listen never loses its heart-thumping speed.
Review: “Media,” Booklist Online, August 28, 2020
Readers: Adult
Published: 2020