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Blacktop Wasteland

the acclaimed and award-winning crime hit of the year

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Blacktop Wasteland

By: S. A. Cosby
Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
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About this listen

It's a crime that history repeats itself.

Beauregard 'Bug' Montage: honest mechanic, loving husband, devoted parent. He's no longer the criminal he once was - the sharpest wheelman on the east coast, infamous from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida.

But when his respectable life begins to crumble, a shady associate comes calling with a clean, one-time job: a diamond heist promising a get-rich 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, which soon endangers all he holds dear. 

Like Breaking Bad in a high-speed collision with Drive, this stunning debut holds up a cracked mirror to the woozy ideals of the American dream - a dazzling, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race and a scarred, self-destructive masculinity.

The perfect gripping listen for fans of acclaimed writers such as Don Winslow, Attica Locke, Bill Beverley and Thomas Mullen. 

©2020 Shawn A. Cosby (P)2020 Headline Publishing Group Ltd Crime Crime Fiction Crime Thrillers Social Sciences Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Thriller Haunted Exciting

Critic reviews

"Sensationally good - new, fresh, real, authentic, twisty, with characters and dilemmas that will break your heart." (Lee Child)

"Every once in a while a writer comes along with an incredible voice. Think Elmore Leonard, or Chester Himes...add S. A. Cosby to that list." (Steve Cavanagh)

"Blacktop Wasteland is an urgent, timely, pitch-perfect jolt of American noir." (Dennis Lehane)

All stars
Most relevant
<i>"You start down a road like this and before you know it you can't find your way back. You lose yourself."</i>

BLACKTOP WASTELAND is simply stunning, a dark, fast-moving, thrill-ride; funny and heart-breaking. At its centre is Beauregard 'Bug' Montage, a road racer, a mechanic, a former getaway driver, a tragic anti-hero of Shakespearian proportions, a black man whose struggle to provide for the family he clearly loves draws him back for one last big score. S.A. Cosby has delivered a story that echoes classic 1970s movies, The Driver and The Friends of Eddie Coyle spring to mind, as well as Elmore Leonard and Charles Willeford, and more recently, Jordan Harper and Bill Beverly.

The book is full of deeply flawed and well-rounded characters, dialogue that rings true, and the best written car chases I have ever read, you can hear the engines screaming and smell the rubber burning. One of the best novels I have read this year and destined to be a classic.

The narration is excellent and really brings the characters to life.

Excellent story, excellent narration

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So exciting and a real page turner. An original and fresh voice. Enjoyed every minute, a movie in the making.

Fantastic!

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Great narration and great story, another book that got me out walking and listening. Can’t wait for the next one.

Loved it

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Beauregard “Bug” Montage is known in some circles as the best getaway driver for miles around. He is now retired and leading a good life and trying to provide for his family. But events beyond his control have caused him some serious financial losses.

Just “one last job” would see him right. A jewellery store is ripe for the picking and all Bug has to do is drive the car. So the gang sets off, they hold up the store and take the diamonds. Everything goes to plan and they escape without a hitch. So Bug is able to pay off his debts and return to an honest living. NO!! Of course, this is not what happened. Bug carried out his part of the deal but greed and stupidity gets in the way of his companions. The repercussions are enormous and threaten the very people he has hoped to protect.

This was a compelling story – fast and furious – and one of m best crime thrillers of the year. The plot device of “one last heist” is far from new but Cosby writes with urgency and originality and we are cheering Bug along until the end. A terrific read.

This worked well as an audiobook - although I thought the reader was a little ponderous and slow.

A terrific read.....

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I listened to this book and can’t recommend the book enough. The narrator did an amazing job of brining all the characters to life, switching seamlessly between characters. The combination of the plot and narration draw you into the story of Beauregard and his struggle to be the family man his father was not. In his other life as Bug is a get away driver whose love of cars and his father means he can’t separate himself from the Duster car that represents that part of his life. In an attempt to make a fresh start Bug agreed to one last heist and opens a Pandora’s box which cannot be closed. You won’t regret listening to this book. Hang on at the end for the question and answer session with the author.

Ultimate heist with amazing narration

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