Blacktop Wasteland
the acclaimed and award-winning crime hit of the year
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Blacktop Wasteland
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Narrated by:
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Adam Lazarre-White
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By:
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S. A. Cosby
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 LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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)
What listeners say about Blacktop Wasteland
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon customer
- 26-01-24
Brilliant
a brilliant story which was a slow burner with the characters imprinted in my mind forever
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adamnan
- 23-07-20
Brilliant, nailbiting Southern Noir
Loved this book from beginning to end. S.A Cosby brings this slice of southern life vividly to life with characters you will believe in. One of the best books I have read this year and the narration is first class. I highly recommend it.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- B.B.
- 07-08-21
Great crime thriller set in southern States
So much of the best crime writing comes from the US. This heist tale is excellent, combining action, violence and criminality with real life moral dilemmas.
The characters are drawn vividly, are cliche free and the dialogue sizzles. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wynne Kelly
- 18-09-20
A terrific read.....
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Domino
- 19-11-20
Excellent story, excellent narration
<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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Elaine Brien
- 20-01-22
Wonderful book once again
Brilliantly imaginative author who can't help but write masterpieces, highly recommended to anyone who's a fan of the genre. A novel worth savouring
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Peter Odukwe
- 04-09-20
Brilliant book
Best book I have listened to for a while. Wonderful twisting story superbly narrated. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Just_A_Dad
- 09-09-20
Hard boiled deep southern gearhead noir.
I loved this. The Narration is excellent. This is quite a dialogue heavy book and Adam Lazarre-White really brings the characters to life with his intonation and believable cadence.
Along with the top notch naration I very much enjoyed the style of the writing. The matter of fact decriptions of the action and violence owe a debt to Ramond Chandler or William Gibson. The plot moves along at a cracking pace as the tension mounts. An excellent thriller.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- MISS D.
- 02-11-21
Wonderful
I did try to read the book but somehow it didn’t work for me but the audio book really did, great characters, story with the narrator bringing it all to life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- ClaireBear
- 11-02-21
Don’t do heists with HillBillys!!
Great southern noir!!! Great characters in this perfect little heist story! Narrated perfectly. Good story of a man being pulled back into a life of crime he thought he’d left behind him.
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