La mano negra

by Bonansinga

Lucas Hyde and Sophie Cohen, a tough trucking pair, are driving through the Tennessee night in their rig when they hear an eerie voice on the CB radio wailing for help. A curse as old as evil itself is leaving a trail of corpses. It has found its next victims and will strike with hellish fury if Lucas and Sophie ever stop moving.

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction

396 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid and fun thriller/horror from Bonansinga that reminded me a bit of the film Crank, although The Black Mariah came out back in the early 90s. The title refers to the big rig Lucas Hyde owns/drives. He, along with his partner Sophia, will haul just about anything to make a buck; being an independent trucker during Reaganomics has put them on a fiscal edge to be sure. After getting screwed on their last haul, they are heading back to California from the East Coast dry, and looking to pick up something.

Killing time, Lucas plays on the CB a bit, and picks up a strange caller. The guy keeps going on about a curse and how he cannot stop or even slow down as the pain sets in right away, and we are talking bad pain. After some back and forth, Lucas and Sophia decide the guy is probably bonkers ("a few sandwiches sort of a picnic"). Nonetheless, they are bored, hauling an empty trailer, and the guy keeps telling them he is running out of gas, but if he stops, he will die. So, on a bet, they decide to try to refuel the guy on the highway...

Enough with the basic sitrep. Bonansinga really paced this well and keep the tension racked up to 11 all the way. Thrillers have to thrill and this hit the sweet spot for me. Bonansinga also brought to the party here some surprisingly thoughtful insights into race and class (Lucas is black), which became icing on the cake. The plot quickly devolved into OTT territory, but in the way of the killer horror novels from the 80s; bizarre enough to make your head spin, but just believable enough for a buy in. This would have been a great movie, and my Warner edition from 1994 states that George Romero would be directing it (now that would have been fun!).

My biggest issues concerned some glaring continuity errors that any editor worth his/her salt should had corrected. Driving for one hour and going through half a tank of gas? One minute driving through a corn field, next on the shoulder of a road, then back to a cornfield? A few typos also irked. With a bit more polish, this could have been close to a 5 star, but as it is, a solid 'keep on truck'in' stars!

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books that I've read in some time. Loved everything about this. Great dialogue. Crazy fun characters. A plot so far out there that it makes sense and works. Anyone with the slightest interest in horror, action and or trucking stories will get into this.

Lucas and Sophie are an over the road trucking team returning to the west coast after a haul when they come upon a madman who says he's cursed and has to keep moving or else the pain will kill him. Unfortunately for the two, they get mixed up in the mess and get themselves hexed. They keep moving in all manner of ways to stop the pain.

Excellent action set pieces throughout. Very stylish in every way. This could have gone on for a few hundred more pages and would not of lost any momentum. 5+ stars in my book.

[Kitka Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to meet Jay Bonansinga when he first wrote Black Mariah and came to a bookstore I worked at for a book signing. That was decades ago and I have held on tightly to this book because it was one of the best books I've ever read. Still is one of the best books I've ever read. From that day on, Jay has never ceased to amaze me with his writing and it all started with Black Mariah. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on a copy, read it!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been 30 years since I read The Black Mariah for the first time. I can remember how immersed I became in the story of Lucas Hyde and Sophie Cohen, and the lengths they were willing to go to outrun a curse.
Thirty years later and The Black Mariah is still as enjoyable as it was in 1994. Well, maybe not quite as enjoyable because, unlike the hardcover version of 1994, the kindle edition has quite a few typos.
Typos aside, The Black Mariah is a fun read with some very likeable characters (Angel was my favourite) and one particularly evil old lady. Well, nice little old ladies don't go around hexing people, do they?
If you're looking for a fun Halloween read, you could do worse than read The Black Mariah.

[Breeze · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is a supernatural re-telling of the movie "Speed". Remember "Speed"... with Keanu Reeves and that Sandra Bullock woman? I really liked this book. The main character is an overweight Black guy who listens to Bonnie Raitt... how can I NOT like this book?

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

With some voodoo supernatural shit going on, this had some creepy moments. On my '94 copy, blurb on the cover says, George Romero was going to direct this for the big screen....don't think it made it. But, it would have made a fun movie. Pretty good debut. 3.5 stars

[Chichi · Rating 5 out of 5]

this story gave me the chills!!!

[Sharon Bidwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book as a freebie many years ago thinking I'd get around to reading it 'one day'. That day came, and yet, doing no more than glancing at the cover, the author's name still didn't click. Little was I to know the day I received this book its author would go on to become involved with the hugely successful 'The Walking Dead'. The book was a better read than anticipated with a sense of movement and time running out at the heart of the story. I couldn't help viewing it as a film and there's a mention on the cover it was in development though whether anything came of that, I can't find any evidence of it. At times the story takes a few leaps of suspended belief but it's an eventful read.

[Horror Guy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easily the best trucking horror novel. Not as good or out there as Sick, though.

[Jerry Peace · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fun read, though the diabolitics seem kind of thrown together. I didn't know curses could be spread like the flu and I still can't figure out why the rabbi, but still a fun time.

[Ciscananda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nada extraordinario.