Blacktop Wasteland – On your marks, get set …

Blacktop Wasteland – S. A. Cosby

Beauregard “Bug” Montage is a man with problems. About to lose his auto repair shop, with a family in dire need, and a mother in a nursing home on the verge of being kicked out if bills aren’t paid, he needs cash—now. So he turns to the one skill that can hopefully do that: drive a souped-up car at a high rate of speed like his father used to do but hopefully avoid the pitfalls that ruined his father. After careful planning (hint: irony ahead) Bug joins in on a jewelry store robbery in the classic trope of “one last job.” No surprise, then, that just like that trope, the robbery goes spectacularly wrong with disastrous consequences that burn rubber for the rest of the book. In a whirlwind plot of car chases and shoot outs, the reader is pulled (or is it driven?) through a blacktop wasteland.

The writing is original and the details authentic—for the most part. I’m not so sure about cars flying off overpasses and other stunts that smack of B movie exploits but Bug’s plight is real and the pace keeps the reader turning pages.

The opening scene is excellent: a classic drag race (with a twist) that introduces the reader to Bug’s world. Even so, Blacktop Wasteland isn’t for everyone. There is a lot of car stuff, a lot of salty language and a lot of male attitudes that will most likely turn some readers off (are you listening, ladies?) and eventually one has to wonder about Bug’s moral choices. The violence can be jarring. One might call this book “Male Adventure” (whatever happened to that dusty genre?) rather than mystery/thriller but Bug is a three-dimensional character and the author knows his world.

Blacktop Wasteland is the perfect book for its audience; high octane thrills, plenty of noirish atmosphere, a unique protagonist, and a spin on a familiar story all make it stand out in a crowded field, like an old muscle car sporting a fresh coat of custom paint.