The bestselling Virginia crime writer on getting his big break, what southern fiction means to him, and setting his next murder mystery right after Trump is elected
Crime writer SA Cosby was the talk of the US literaryscene last year when his novel Blacktop Wasteland, a heist thriller set in his native Virginia, topped Amazon’s mystery and thriller chart. As well as being named a New York Times notable book of the year, it won an LA Times award and is currently being developed for cinema by producer Erik Feig. Cosby’s new book, Razorblade Tears (published, like its predecessor, by Headline), is a revenge thriller that confronts homophobia across various communities in the deep south. Film rights have been bought by Paramount Players.
Were you surprised by the success of Blacktop Wasteland?
Immensely.