Reviews with content warning for Death - Blacktop Wasteland

Had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Couldn’t decide whether I was on Beauregard’s team or not. Great read. Would make such a good movie! The author did such a good job placing you in the setting, I could see those roads and feel the summer heat.

Content Warnings

horizonous's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

locdbooktician's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I loved the southern setting of this book. This book explores facing difficult decisions and idealizing people in the past. This book has many content warnings such as gang violence, racism, violence, childhood abandonment, loss of a parent, child gun violence. The MC is grappled with two parts of himself. He views himself as two different men because he spends so much time separating the different parts of himself, trouble has no choice but to follow him. I often had to stop reading this book because I bracing myself for unspeakable violence. I found the pace of this book to slow and wish it was a bit faster.

Overall, I like this book. I have many thoughts on how Kia, the MC wife felt about his dealings and the trauma he put on her family. It felt familiar and I felt anger because of it.

Content Warnings

joreadsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Listened to the audiobook
Content warning: gun violence, gore, drug abuse, arson, domestic abuse (mentioned, child neglect (mentioned)

Beauregard "Bug" Montage is a family man who has fallen on dire financial straits. A diamond heist comes his way and it seems like the answer to most of this problems. But it goes horribly wrong, and Cosby leads us on a fast-paced journey with complex characters and an earnest depiction of one life in a southern American town.

This book had so many layers, I am definitely down for a reread to see what I missed. Not only is this work a deep character study, but there is so much context. Cosby covers gentrification, generational violence, the poverty cycle, and so much more. Each piece fit together and added onto the other one with careful intricacy. The world of that small town seems so lived in, and with a rich history that did not distract from the intensity of the heist.

The edition of the audiobook which I had featured a an interview with the author. Cosby mentions having in-depth backstories for each character. And wow, does it show. Every member of the cast is multi-dimensional in ways that I haven't really seen in crime fiction. Even Ronnie, who's a secondary antagonist, had a depth to him that worked really way in context and in contrast with the other characters.

Fast-paced, exhilarating, and so deeply human in this thriller about a former getaway driver going back for one more job to set himself straight.

Content Warnings

poursandpages's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Blacktop Wasteland starts off drag racing in rural Virginia, & Beauregard Montage never takes his foot off the gas throughout the entire book. He owns an auto repair shop, but his past life comes back to haunt him. This is the story of how he tries to move forward & stop looking back.

Blacktop Wasteland is marketed as a thriller, but when I think of thriller, I think of something I need to solve or figure out. There was none of that here (for the most part), but it definitely had its fast-paced & action-packed moments. The book started pretty slow for me (but take that with a grain of salt, because I’m in the VAST minority here), but picked up for me about halfway through.

The parts that I enjoyed the most had to do with Beauregard’s family life. You watch his struggle and can feel his emotions & love for his wife & kids so deeply, it was impossible not to connect with that human aspect, especially as you learn about his past with his own father. I am also not much of a “car” person, but I think if you are, you would absolutely love all of those details. Think Fast & Furious in written form. It’s practically SCREAMING to be made into a movie!

People are RAVING about this book, so definitely look into it if a crime noir + cars novel seems like it’s up your alley!

Content Warnings

More...