Blacktop Wasteland Audiobook By S. A. Cosby cover art

Blacktop Wasteland

A Novel

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Blacktop Wasteland

By: S. A. Cosby
Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
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2020 LA Times Book Prize - Winner
2021 Anthony Awards - Nominee
2020 Amazon.com Best Books of the Year
2020 Library Journal Best Books of the Year
2020 NPR Best Book of the Year
2020 New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year
2020 LA Times Book Prize - Finalist

"Narrator Adam Lazarre-White's voice exudes confidence and depth; his performance is an example of how the best audiobooks deliver pure storytelling." (AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner)

A husband, a father, a son, a business owner...and the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.

This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.

Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hardworking dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: Known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast. He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets.

When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.

Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.

Like Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

“Sensationally good - new, fresh, real, authentic, twisty, with characters and dilemmas that will break your heart. More than recommended.” (Lee Child)

"A fast-paced, fresh take on noir that tears through the underbelly of Virginia." (New York Times)

“Blacktop Wasteland is a guaranteed thriller-of-the-year with muscle and heart and characters who will linger long after the last page is read. S.A. Cosby writes with grit and grace. Do not miss this one.” (Michael Koryta, best-selling author of Those Who Wish Me Dead)

©2020 Shawn A. Cosby (P)2020 Macmillan Audio African American Anthony Award Crime Crime Thrillers Fiction Los Angeles Times Book Prize Mystery Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Haunted Marriage Exciting Heartfelt

Critic reviews

"Narrator Adam Lazarre-White's voice exudes confidence and depth; his performance is an example of how the best audiobooks deliver pure storytelling." (AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner)

Featured Article: Outstanding Black Authors Across Various Genres and Styles


Stories have the power not only to transport us, but to allow us to connect, understand, and feel represented. The work of phenomenal Black authors—like those featured in this list—has expanded the ambition, scope, and perspective of storytelling. These must-hear titles from some of the best Black authors of all time are also indisputably some of the most remarkable works of literature in both the contemporary and historical canon.

Featured Article Outstanding Black Authors Across Various Genres and Styles
Gripping Plot • Complex Characters • Thrilling Action • Southern Noir Atmosphere • Unexpected Twists

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I won't even write a narrator review, simply because Adam Lazare-White perfectly fit this role, and he was absolutely incredible!

I don't know if it's accurate to call BLACKTOP WASTELAND S.A. Cosby's a debut, but if so, this is one of the best debut novels I've ever read. I haven't enjoyed a new author like this since I read Jack Carr's THE TERMINAL LIST.

Beauregard "Bug" is an amazing character. He's not only incredibly dynamic, but it feels like you literally see the character develop right before your eyes. This book felt like a biography or memoir, and it was so real.

This novel kept the petal to the floor - figuratively and literally. I steered through this book in one day. It flew by just like the asphalt underneath Bug. This book has accelerated to then top of my 2020 Reading List as one of my favorites, and it will be one of those books I plan to revisit again and again. It was captivating and was a non-stop thrill ride. Okay, enough with the puns.

Fantastic novel! Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers!

Fantastic All Around

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The story and characters are fine -- not fantastic but certainly not lacking. However, the writing is really strained. I was tired of the terrible similes about 5 minutes in (seriously, in the first few pages parts of the car are described as being like a cat, like an eagle, like a lion, like a dragon... etc.) and they never seem to end, seemingly minute after minute like waves breaking on the shore -- but they don't break, they just lap because none are dynamic -- they're either strained or they're flat; completely uninspired. I literally rolled my eyes at "like zealots..." in chapter 14.

That said, I do think the book is worth a listen and hope my review doesn't scare anyone away, but I really hope Cosby's editor has a thicker blue pencil next time around. One outstanding simile in a book is far better than 300 bad ones.

Decent crime novel

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Great performance. Good story. Good dialog. Strained descriptive sentences. Fewer words tells the same story.

Great Performance

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I got the Kindle and Audible version it was a quick read/listen. The actor performed/read very well. The only technical issue is that the Audible Version of the chapter is one chapter off, which means if you are on Chapter 22, it is actually 23. The problem goes away if you do the Read and Listen function from your Kindle App.

Great thriller story with a tehnical glitch.

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I read the review for Cosby's second book in the NYTIMES and was drawn in but wanted to start with his first. so I overlooked many of those first time errors in judgement regarding descriptive phrases. overall very enjoyable and entertaining.

good first effort

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