Blacktop Wasteland

*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


Genre: Mystery

"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

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

"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." - Rob Hart

"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. This story is an emotional gut punch, and you’ll find yourself rooting for Beauregard while he’s ripping your heart out. Cosby is a mesmerizing new voice in crime fiction you won’t soon forget. This is literary noir at its finest." - Jennifer Hillier

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

"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

"This book shook me in the best way possible. Cosby’s gritty, powerhouse novel evokes some of the modern masters - Mosley, Pelecanos, and Lehane - with a tone and vibe that is wholly unique. Epic but also grounded and painfully relevant, Blacktop Wasteland is a crime novel for today, and Shawn Cosby is a writer we’ll be hearing from for quite some time. I loved this book." - Alex Segura