Sigrid Brown's Blog - Posts Tagged "thriller"
S.A. Cosby's Blacktop Wasteland
This book was recommended to me by a friend as "new American noir" because he knows I like Raymond Chandler. I think Cosby does, too; I noticed he's fond of colorful metaphors and personification and I like it. For example, on p. 24:
"When he stepped off the porch, he could feel the sun beating down on him like he owed it money."
and, on p. 46:
"He had a gun in every room of his house. They were like good friends who were always down to do bad things."
I enjoyed the book very much and I give it 4 stars. My review:
Cosby makes me believe 100% in his sympathetic main character Beauregard and the pressures that send him back into a world where his specialized skills at driving and souping up machines to do all kinds of crazy things make wild heists and getaways possible; I am a sucker for anyone who can describe work well and Cosby’s descriptions were marvelous and believable (at least to someone like me who doesn’t know much about cars). The narrative has authority on this and other matters but Cosby doesn’t milk it, either; there’s restraint and balance here; he’s as interested in the relationships between the characters and Beauregard’s psychological tension as he is in the action scenes, and as comfortable writing about the bureaucratic machinations in a nursing home as he is about what’s going on behind a tattered shower curtain in a hillbilly sex-and-drug den. The plotting and pacing are also strong. I’m definitely interested in reading more from Cosby.
"When he stepped off the porch, he could feel the sun beating down on him like he owed it money."
and, on p. 46:
"He had a gun in every room of his house. They were like good friends who were always down to do bad things."
I enjoyed the book very much and I give it 4 stars. My review:
Cosby makes me believe 100% in his sympathetic main character Beauregard and the pressures that send him back into a world where his specialized skills at driving and souping up machines to do all kinds of crazy things make wild heists and getaways possible; I am a sucker for anyone who can describe work well and Cosby’s descriptions were marvelous and believable (at least to someone like me who doesn’t know much about cars). The narrative has authority on this and other matters but Cosby doesn’t milk it, either; there’s restraint and balance here; he’s as interested in the relationships between the characters and Beauregard’s psychological tension as he is in the action scenes, and as comfortable writing about the bureaucratic machinations in a nursing home as he is about what’s going on behind a tattered shower curtain in a hillbilly sex-and-drug den. The plotting and pacing are also strong. I’m definitely interested in reading more from Cosby.
We have our winners of a copy of The Girl in Duluth!
Thank you to the over 5400 people who entered the giveaway for my debut novel The Girl in Duluth! I appreciate your interest in my work so much. And congratulations to the 20 winners! We can’t wait to send you a copy this week (and I’m making you a bookmark, too). The Girl in Duluth
