By S.A. Cosby
When praise for your novel comes from Lee Child and Stephen King, when The New York Times Book Review showers praise, and those at the world's super bookstore award you with an "Editors' Pick," you ought to be feeling pretty good. Such was the case with Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby.
I listened to this book. It was a visceral experience. If I evaluate these pages through the lens of the rhetorical triangle: Logos (logic and reason), Ethos (credibility and ethics), and Pathos (emotions and feelings); it is the emotional wrenching I still feel when I reflect on this novel I read five months ago.
Often times, I fail to remember the plot of the books I read, but with Blacktop Wasteland I cannot shake the feeling. Cosby's story is exciting and gut-wrenching. Adam Lazarre-White's narration was spectacular. His voice and that story were made for each other.
The Sun Sentinel rated Blacktop Wasteland #1 among The Best Mystery Books of 2020. Their summary:
“The noir story brilliantly looks at race, responsibility, parenthood and identity via pin-perfect characters with realistic motives.”
Cosby does that, he "looks at" at multiple issues; and occasionally through his characters he "comments on" the same. But no one will accuse Cosby or Blacktop Wasteland of providing neatly wrapped solutions to the multiple challenges he reveals.
At the core is Beauregard, a person like all of us, struggling to come to grips with who he is, not just who he portrays.
My recommendation: Read Blacktop Wasteland on your own and at your leisure if you simply want to enjoy it. But if you going to do any justice to the "injustice" his characters reveal, you have to read and discuss it with a group who understand Beauregard's struggle as every person's struggle.