Margins
The Penetrator book cover 1
The Penetrator book cover 2
The Penetrator book cover 3
The Penetrator
Series · 33
books · 1974-2003

Books in series

The Target H book cover
#1

The Target H

2000

Introducing Mark Hardin, "The Penetrator," at war against the L.A. heroin trade. Mark Hardin... He'd learned how in Vietnam: Infiltrate the enemy's position, determine the plan of action and then strike swiftly, taking out as many key men as possible, wreaking destruction, leaving chaos in your wake. He is a new breed of warrior, without uniform, without rank - dedicated to the American way of life, and pledged to fight anyone who seeks to destroy it. On either side of the law. That's why he's in Los Angeles. Just the beginning of a long and lonely series of brush fire wars.
Blood on the Strip book cover
#2

Blood on the Strip

1982

Evil brings The Penetrator to Las Vegas. A town given life by coruption and nourished by greed. A town where all that glitters is not gold but perhaps the flash of a knife blade destined for The Penetrators heart. In Las Vegas he seeks an elusive enemy, but for Hardin even one faint clue is enough.
Capitol Hell book cover
#3

Capitol Hell

1974

Washington, D.C., explodes with violence when Mark Hardin, the Penetrator, discovers a plot to kill the President!
Hijacking Manhattan book cover
#4

Hijacking Manhattan

2003

Mark Hardin (a.k.a. The Penetrator) is prepared for trouble in New York City, but he hoped to arrive in time to prevent it. The first subway station blew up while he was still en route from his Stronghold in California, piloting a sleek new twin-engine plane. It was fast, but not fast enough to get him there in time to stop the 72nd Street IRT station from caving in, carrying a large section of Broadway with it. New York City is now under siege and being held for ransom. Millions of dollars are being demanded and millions of lives are at stake. Mark Hardin must find those responsible, and fast. There are forty-two subway stations in New York City, and time is running out. With 5 million copies in print, The Penetrator novel series has thrilled readers around the world for years. The series features the action and adventures of Mark Hardin as he wages a continuing war against crime, corruption, and evil organizations from around the world in order to protect the innocent.
Mardi Gras Massacre book cover
#5

Mardi Gras Massacre

1974

Against the colorful backdrop of New Orleans' Mardi Gras, the Penetrator joins the festivities with a bang -literally -as he blows up an 80-thousand-ton cannery ship belonging to Marcel Bouchet. It seems that Marcel Bouchet is the powerful head of the Gulfland Fisherman's Co-Op. Bouchet and his henchmen are terrorizing the independent Gulf Coast fisherman into joining his organization so that he can corner the seafood market. But that is only a small part of his plan, for he intends to undermine the entire United States economy with a massive counterfeiting ring...with Cuba's help. With little to go on expect a couple of counterfeit bills that pass every legitimate test that was sent to him by a dead fisherman, the Penetrator must be at his best in order to take on the criminals in the Bayou. With 5 million copies in print, The Penetrator novel series has thrilled readers around the world for years. The series features the action and adventures of Mark Hardin as he wages a continuing war against crime, corruption, and evil organizations from around the world in order to protect the innocent.
Baja Bandidos book cover
#7

Baja Bandidos

1974

In hot, sunny Mexico, Mark Hardin, the Penetrator, finds himself pitted against the power-mad Latin known as El Baron. And mad is the word for him...he's concocted a plot to kidnap important citizens of various countries and hold them hostage. The an entire Mexican territory.As El Baron's plan goes into action, important people begin to disappear. One of them is a friend of Mark's mentor, Professor Haskins, and the Penetrator decides to move in. The only way to find out about El Baron's secret operations is to become a victim himself. It's a penetrating action at its trickiest, and the lives of El Baron's terrified hostages depend on Mark's making all the right moves.
Northwest Contract book cover
#8

Northwest Contract

2000

Seattle is sinking in Syndicate crime until Mark Hardin breaks the back of the mob! Mark steps in when he finds that a Vietnam war buddy-now a co-has been shot to death in a robbery. But who was robbing whom?
Dodge City Bombers book cover
#9

Dodge City Bombers

1975

It was always a tactical advantage to know the enemy's intended route of march, in addition to his identity. The Penetrator knew the Shadowmen were moving their operations into the Dodge City area. After the pasting they had taken near Liberal, the Penetrator was certain they wouldn't make any further attacks until they had regrouped. But who were the Shadowmen? Those who had seen them described them younger Hell's Angels without the bike, unsavory clothing, and bizarre rituals. But they were every bit as violent - and ambitious for anything that could make money. The big question was who was behind their vicious swath of destruction, and why? Only the Penetrator had the guts and cunning to get to the heart of the terrorist gang and ruthlessly wrench it out.
The Hellbomb Flight book cover
#10

The Hellbomb Flight

2003

Deep in the bowels of an abandoned mountain mineshaft, smack in the middle of the harsh Nevada desert, Dr. Orlando Fitzmueller has installed his computer base. The idea had first come to him when he was second in command at NASA. Then it as an impossible dream. But now, through careful planning, and sheer brilliance, it will become a reality. And he will win. Then in a few precious hours, he will be the single most powerful man the universe has ever known. He will hold life and death over 150 million people! For Mark Hardin (a.k.a. The Penetrator), it begins slowly. Just check into a scientist who is an expert in satellite tracking. All the Penetrator's instincts tells him there is much more to it than a routine gumshoe job. He's right. Suddenly, he's up to his armpits in Mafia thugs and hot on the trail of the most bizarre hijacking caper ever. Time is running out. If the terms aren't met, the result will a nuclear nightmare.
Terror in Taos book cover
#11

Terror in Taos

1975

Mark Hardin parachutes into an Indian uprising that looms deadlier than Wounded Knee...and a multimillion-dollar heist by the mafia!
Bloody Boston book cover
#12

Bloody Boston

1976

Mark Hardin tears into the underbelly of Boston's drug racket...and the all-powerful Rossi Family, deadliest in the Mafia syndicate.
Dixie Death Squad book cover
#13

Dixie Death Squad

2000

A 727 and 5 million in cash...or a TVA dam will be blown! Mark Hardin, in Atlanta, vs the dangerous and beautiful Colonel Linda Kink!
Mankill Sport book cover
#14

Mankill Sport

1976

The Penetrator was hunting for Johnny Utah, but the tables turned and Utah was offering him a sporting chance. The rules were simple: Mark Hardin was to be given an hour's head start in the Canadian wilderness. He will be naked, unarmed and without rations. His hunters, among them Johnny Utah and a German sharpshooter, will have M-16 rifles, pistols, hunting knives, and bows with wide-tipped hunting arrows...and a dozen other hunters! If Mark loses, he dies - but if he wins will they let him live?
The Quebec Connection book cover
#15

The Quebec Connection

1976

Mark Hardin in French Canada, fighting drugs, attacking profiteers and pursuing terrorist! Join the Penetrator, the one man strike force, in a journey that takes him from New York to Marseille. Those who play Russian roulette with the battle cry "Vive Quebec Libre!" are about to get a new croupier.
Deep Sea Shootout book cover
#16

Deep Sea Shootout

1976

Jaminson D. Hutch, archaeology professor, is "somewhere" in the Bahamas. He is in search of the fabled Spanish treasure on board the Nuestra Senora de la Concepion, which was sunk in 1641. It is believed there is a gold horde of more than 40 tons below the deck - worth 35 million dollars! Join the Penetrator as he combs the Caribbean - on land and sea - fighting modern day pirates - in order to rescue the professor and the buried treasure. If you think Mark Hardin is indestructible on dry ground - he's even more ferocious underwater - and he comes up with more than gold doubloons and pieces of eight.
Demented Empire book cover
#17

Demented Empire

2000

Five senior citizens are dead. They were conned out of their life's savings on phony land deals and made trouble complaining. The mob is also distributing wholesale weaponry, ammunition, and drugs to any thief or psycho with money. Tony Rossi of La Costra Nostra asks his old friend, Mark Hardin, to smash the Florida operation. And Mark is forced to help the Mafia against their non-Sicilian opponents because of their threat to innocent people....
The Supergun Mission book cover
#21

The Supergun Mission

1977

It started with the smuggling of Mexican "wetbacks" for slave labor in the U.S. They were brought to an island in Lake Texoma, north of Dallas, to work on a top-secret operation directed by H. H. Christiansen...and were forbidden to leave. But it wasn't until 25 Mexicans died in a mysterious tank truck fire that the Penetrator was called in. That's when this simple smuggling assignment turned into a national security threat.
High Disaster book cover
#22

High Disaster

1977

Oregon Revenge! Arlene Day, Capitol Sex Bonus Girl, has blown the whistle on Senator Harland H. Harrington of Oregon. She has told the world about her secretarial sex life while on the Washington payroll. As a result, the Senator is being forced to retire. Suddenly, Oregon is under attack. Six hundred acres of land are burned to the ground. An entire lake is poisoned, killing all the fish and surrounding wildlife. A clue is left that the destruction of the dams will be the next and final blow. The same person is claiming credit for all the disasters. But who is he and why is he out to destroy the entire state? Will The Penetrator be able to stop the saboteur before the state of Oregon is wiped off the map?
Cryogenic Nightmare book cover
#24

Cryogenic Nightmare

1978

Frozen assets: Preacher Mann is too much for the FBI and the CIA. He has dual citizenship and friends in diplomatic circles, and he's too powerful for the regular legal channels. He's come a long way: from a pimp in Harlem, he's worked his way to the top - of the rackets. He's into international dope, espionage - and now, in his orgy palace off the Florida coast, he's onto a new wrinkle! The most beautiful women in the country are systematically vanishing. And Preacher Mann is holding them on ice - literally. He's freezing them until needed - to be shipped to the highest bidder. Only one man can defrost the situation: the Penetrator. He must succeed where others have failed. He's one man on a mission that's too cool to handle!
Mexican Brown book cover
#26

Mexican Brown

1978

Dirty Dope. It happens all the time. Deaths from overdoses of heroin. Now it was more than that. Narcotics agents muttered that the Mexican Brown heroin coming in across the border was some strange mix dirty...and deadly. Mark Hardin has a line on the hot horse, but he has to move fast and find a way to beat the smugglers to the border before they can sneak the stuff into the country. If he fails, he'll be in one helluva fix!
The Skyhigh Betrayers book cover
#28

The Skyhigh Betrayers

1978

"Find Brunt Maxwell!" The urgent message flashes across the country as a scientist is reported missing from a California think tank where a new atomic shielding is being developed. The project is on the brink of success and will revolutionize travel, but no one has yet put the whole thing together into a practical unit. Then the head man of the top secret project is murdered, and his assistant and number two genius, Brunt Maxwell, disappears... along with all of the plans. It's a near-panic situation... national security is at stake... and time is running out—even for the Penetrator!
Computer Kill book cover
#30

Computer Kill

1979

Electronics wizard Hector Lattimer has at last figured out a fool-proof way to beat the system. Using his ingeniously designed portable computer terminal, Lattimer can tap into any programmed bank and authorize payment to his account. Then, in a flash of a diode, all data is wiped out—with no one the wiser . . . and Lattimer the richer. Even the Penetrator is baffled—until he learns that the engineer is an embittered ex-employee of an electronics firm; a madman whose attempts at extortion have failed, who is now planning to destroy the entire works by automating a deadly device that will trigger an explosion. It's a touchy situation, and Mark Hardin's number may be up—unless he can stop the bomb before it blows!
Showbiz Wipeout book cover
#32

Showbiz Wipeout

1979

Death Ray Terror book cover
#34

Death Ray Terror

1979

Book by Derrick, Lionel
Deadly Silence book cover
#36

Deadly Silence

1980

Mark Hardin—The Penetrator—races against the clock to intercept sabotage of the Country's communications system.
Hawaiian Trackdown book cover
#38

Hawaiian Trackdown

1980

Mike Hardin battles an international syndicate of porno kings.
Cruise into Chaos book cover
#39

Cruise into Chaos

1980

Book by Derrick, Lionel
Assassination Factor book cover
#40

Assassination Factor

1980

Book by Derrick, Lionel
Inca Gold Hijack book cover
#42

Inca Gold Hijack

1981

Deep Cover Blast Off book cover
#44

Deep Cover Blast Off

1981

Book by Derrick, Lionel
Quaking Terror book cover
#45

Quaking Terror

1982

Book by Derrick, Lionel
Terrorist Torment book cover
#46

Terrorist Torment

1982

186 pages
Brotherhood of Blood book cover
#52

Brotherhood of Blood

1983

Book by Derrick, Lionel

Authors

Chet Cunningham
Chet Cunningham
Author · 84 books

aka Jess Cody, Cathy Cunningham, Lionel Derrick (with Mark Roberts 2), Keith Douglass (with William H Keith), J.D. Bondie, Chad Calhoun, G.A. Carrington, Kit Dalton, Dirk Fletcher, Don Pendleton Since his first novel was published in 1968 Chet Cunningham has written and had published nearly 300 works of fiction and 15 non fiction books. He is equally adept on horseback, in the techno-thriller arena, or recounting military history. His output includes 125 westerns and 50 men's action/adventure novels.

Lionel Derrick
Author · 30 books
Lionel Derrick is the house name, or pseudonym, for Mark K. Roberts and Chet Cummingham while writing the Penetrator series for Pinnacle Books. Roberts wrote the odd books and Cummingham the even ones.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved