Black Mad Wheel

Black Mad Wheel
Josh Malerman

Black Mad Wheel plunges us into the depths of psychological horror, where you can’t always believe everything you hear.THE DANES, the band once known as the ‘Darlings of Detroit’, are washed up and desperate to have another number one hit.When an agent from the US Army approaches them with an unusual offer, they believe it could be the answer to their inspiration drought. So, under the guidance of their front man, Philip Tonka, the Danes decide to embark on a harrowing journey through scorching African desert to track down the source of a strange and debilitating sound.In a Midwestern hospital, a nurse named Ellen tends to a patient recovering from a near-fatal accident. The circumstances that led to his injuries are mysterious, and his broken body heals at a remarkable rate. Ellen will do the impossible for this enigmatic patient as he reveals more about his accident with each passing day.BLACK MAD WHEEL plunges us into the depths of psychological horror, where you can’t always believe everything you hear.

Copyright (#ulink_1c211633-1c1a-5c36-bed4-c32671265665)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2017

Copyright © Josh Malerman 2017

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017

Josh Malerman asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007530090

Ebook Edition © July 2017 ISBN: 9780007530083

Version: 2017-04-03

Dedication (#ulink_36379824-1c4b-5046-a467-598dc382be7e)

IN MAY OF 2012 the High Strung had just played the record release show for our album ¿Posible ó Imposible?, I’d just set the microphone back upon the stand, and Derek (drums) and I were stumbling out of the bar. From the bar’s shadows, an imp came, a gorgeous pair of bright green eyes and legs so long she must have been standing in the cellar. She spoke, too. “Do you have any more of that face paint?” Before the show I’d used a Sharpie on myself. Easy designs. “Yes,” I told her, reaching into the pocket of my jacket. But the imp had hands and she took hold of my face and rubbed it against her own.

Voilà. A painted face. And the beginning of something, too.

This book is for Allison Laakko, who got Black Mad Wheel piecemeal, spark by spark, as every night I relived for her the day’s excited writing. For that, there will always be a path, tracks, made by a wheel, perhaps, leading from her to me, then to the book and back to us again.

I like that.

We’ll forever know which way the wheels rolled.

I love you, Allison.

Contents

Cover (#u39a9ca29-6562-57ec-89f4-f2637c175688)

Title Page (#u2993ca33-cbbe-597f-84aa-5928e44cb413)

Copyright (#u97ceb624-585f-59d9-9880-cc6394c5d2f9)

Dedication (#uceced74b-d068-589b-9b1f-b9d45a79095d)

Part 1: F 1, 2, 3, 4 … (#u80d32b52-3398-5829-bf46-8a317e58f565)

Chapter 1 (#ue0763c64-7c2e-53b1-beab-cb0f936ccf80)

Chapter 2 (#u739ebe87-0be3-50d2-9a96-21ced38765f9)

Chapter 3 (#u51b4196d-6025-568c-bbac-3fe5caf9aae4)

Chapter 4 (#ua70dbe61-367d-5ea1-8716-05fd5ee87e21)

Chapter 5 (#ucddcc068-d409-560c-b5ee-f47a459d3984)

Chapter 6 (#u2190a822-be06-589f-a211-61cac1908f0c)

Chapter 7 (#u502b2495-6b99-53d5-989e-dde5dd9094d3)

Chapter 8 (#u5aebcc78-ceff-5d39-b0e2-ff0a2bd71e29)

Chapter 9 (#u12f146d8-4149-5cb7-8532-d23cb5b8bc05)

Chapter 10 (#u5968ef40-54cd-5797-8b60-cbf9837da72a)

Chapter 11 (#uad7cdb8a-23f7-5732-ab6b-e9c817d4574f)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)