Wednesday, January 7, 2026

The Penetrator #04 - Hijacking Manhattan

It was Chet Cunningham's turn to write the next Penetrator novel, Hijacking Manhattan, using the house name Lionel Derrick. In this vigilante series, Cunningham writes the even-numbered installments and Mark Roberts the odd. 

Mark Hardin receives some intel on a black militant group calling themselves Black Gold. It's a splintered faction from the Black Panthers, but with a deadly alliance formed with Chinese terrorists. This hybrid of black and red is a wrecking crew, working in prostitution, heroin distribution, racketeering, and general criminal tomfoolery. However, their newest endeavor has brought New York City to its knees.

Led by Abdul Daley, an ex-Vietnam Vet and career criminal, the group has undertaken a series of extortion involving the police and city officials. It begins with detonating a portion of the city's subway system. Abdul then makes a call to the police and demands millions in used $20 bills to avoid it happening again. The city pays up in a bungled attempt to tail the money grabber, and the whole thing recycles again with another planned bombing and payment. Thankfully, one man can stop the deadly game.

Hardin uses a tanning cream to make himself appear to be a nonchalant black guy in Harlem. He practices “acting black” in his hotel room to get the dialect and mannerisms down. He then infiltrates various cells, taking information by force and kicking balls along the way. The narrative's most interesting bit is an uneasy alliance with the book's eye candy, a secretive counter-intelligence woman who wants to nail a weapons distributor providing explosives to Black Gold. There's also a small sidestep with a female detective captured by the gang and then raped.

These books are violent pulpy fun, and both authors that contribute to the series never take it too seriously. Cunningham is a great storyteller and invests enough of the page count in providing character development on the faction's unique leader, as well as planting enough mystery behind Hardin's female counterpart in the book. Of the Executioner rip-offs, Penetrator continues to be one step ahead. Recommended. 

Get the book HERE.

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