Stuff I Read: Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

A former wheelman, now living as a mechanic, is trying to do right for his family, running a legitimate business during challenging economic times.  But when a shady figure from his criminal past shows up with a hard-to-refuse opportunity, he reluctantly agrees, under the condition they be careful.  Everything goes fine until it doesn’t in S.A. Cosby’s 2020 noir thriller, Blacktop Wasteland.

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

Set in the American South, Blacktop Wasteland follows Beauregard “Bug” Montague: husband, father, mechanic, and business owner in rural West Virginia.  Before he was all that, though, he was the smoothest getaway driver in the Southeast.  Due to escalating responsibilities and bad memories of his own father abandoning him, Bug distances himself from that life, choosing instead to be a family man and pillar of the small Black community.  So, when someone he knew from the old days shows up on his doorstep, uninvited and unannounced, with a job offer and the promise of a hefty payday, Bug nearly shoots him dead.  But in the face of the shop’s steadily declining business, Bug quickly realizes he has no choice.  He agrees to the job, provided they be professional and adhere to some very specific rules.  The rules, however, get broken, and Bug finds himself in the crosshairs of another, more dangerous breed of gangster.

Blacktop Wasteland is both a great character study and an impeccable noir thriller.  There’s a cinematic quality to the writing that illustrates moments motion with incredible clarity, especially in the flashbacks to moments in Bug’s childhood that highlight why certain things in his adult life matter.  While putting together a badass caper and its twisty aftermath, Cosby weaves a tale that asks questions about nature and nurture: was Bug born a criminal or was he made one?  While dealing with that, he also delves into generational curses.  Bug’s dad was a crook, Bug himself is a little bent, what does that mean for his children?  Fortunately, the answers to those questions are not provided, leaving it to the reader to figure out instead of turning the story into an Afterschool Special.  But Bug commits so completely to whatever he’s doing that it’s hard to argue one side against the other.

I would normally try to use this part of a review to harp on something I didn’t like, however small it may be, or some addition or subtraction that could have made the book better.  Honestly, however, this time I got nothing.  I mean, there are elements that I imagine would work better if the reader were a car enthusiast (I most certainly am not), but that foreknowledge is completely unnecessary.

Blacktop Wasteland weaves a slick caper story with a nature vs. nurture narrative without picking a side.  The only question you should leave this review with is “Am I reading this book next?”

Pros: Great characters, immersive world, solid caper, philosophical underpinnings.  Fantastic Crime story.

Cons:  Ummmm…

Rating: 5 of 5 stars.