Sometimes a writer announces themselves with such ferocity and brilliance that it’s impossible to ignore. That’s the case with Virginia storyteller S A Cosby, whose second novel Blacktop Wasteland is a snarling triumph. A heist thriller meshed with rural noir that’s in pole position as my Best Novel of 2020. It will take a heck of a lot to beat it.

Beauregard ‘Bug’ Montage is a loving husband and father trying to provide for his family through his dwindling auto shop business. His real talents lie elsewhere though, shelved for the sake of his family. He’s the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi. Drowning in medical bills and the college dreams of his near-estranged daughter, along with the extra hurdles faced by working-class black men in the rural South, his life is red-lining. When a shifty ex-associate dangles a big score, Bug wants no part of him or his diamond heist, except … could the reward be worth the risk? Inevitably, it all goes wrong.

Blacktop Wasteland is a knuckle-whitening tale that hurtles along while offering plenty of layers, character depth, and an immersive sense of place. Shades of Elmore Leonard and Walter Mosley. A crisp and vivid voice dosed with literary flair. Snarling and sumptuous, this is a powerful piece of writing from an author with plenty to say.

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson