--- description: Find out why 'Blacktop Wasteland' by S.A. Cosby made the list. title: Blacktop Wasteland: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa2922e2dae1d4e8/698a407486f68e6a776f2c72/BlacktopWasteland.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 03, 2023 # Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Bug Montage lives a straight life in the rural South. Formerly a getaway driver, the mechanic is now a dedicated father and husband who is worlds away from his criminal past. But when the bills won’t stop piling up and his mother faces eviction, Bug decides he’ll sign on for one last job with a payday big enough to solve all his problems. Rife with racial tension, _Blacktop Wasteland_ explores the psychological side of crime and how generational trauma can keep a man trapped in its violent grip. Within his 2020 breakout novel, Cosby examines the internal war that Bug is fighting while offering a critique of [toxic masculinity](https://time.com/4273865/donald-trump-toxic-masculinity/ "undefined"). His ability to tackle the sinister history of the American South is what sets him apart. A Los Angeles _Times_ Book Prize winner, _Blacktop W_ _asteland_ takes readers along for a nonstop, action-packed, full-throttle ride from its very first pages. —_Meg Zukin_ **Buy Now:** _Blacktop Wasteland_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781250252692 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3srrLbH "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309250/blacktop-wasteland/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309250/blacktop-wasteland/"},"headline":"Blacktop Wasteland","datePublished":"2023-10-03T11:50:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:20:30.794Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309250/blacktop-wasteland/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa2922e2dae1d4e8/698a407486f68e6a776f2c72/BlacktopWasteland.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa2922e2dae1d4e8/698a407486f68e6a776f2c72/BlacktopWasteland.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309250/blacktop-wasteland/","name":"Blacktop Wasteland"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How We Chose the 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time","description":"Here's how TIME created its 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books list. There are books from 15 different countries, and no author appears on the list more than once.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bNzuDcsg/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-10-02T16:54:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bNzuDcsg.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309250/blacktop-wasteland/","duration":"PT1M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309250/blacktop-wasteland/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```