Bottom Line

The Destroyer #37

by Warren Murphy

The president is calling. Dr. Harold W. Smith, head of the secret agency known as CURE, took the phone from the bottom left drawer of his desk and answered with a sigh, "Yes, sir." The President of the United States could not directly assign CURE to do anything, he could only suggest. The one and only order any president could give CURE would be for its immediate dissolution. And five presidents now hadn't quite done that. Though all five were often tempted. "What do you know about the Lippincott case?" the Southern voice asked. Smith regurgitated a two-page, single-spaced capsule of hard information. "Uh, huh. Well, I hear there's a plot to kill all the Lippincotts, and it has something to do with animals. Weird experiments, like," "I see," Smith gagged. "Yeah, and I think it involves my having the Lippincotts use their clout to open up new trading markets in China." The hint was clear. The White House would like the Destroyer to take a look at the situation. "You'll be using those two, I suppose?" Smith rolled his eyes upward, "I imagine so." "Whatever you say," he drawled, "just, er, um, tell them to keep the deaths down.

Genres: Adventure, Thriller, Action

157 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Warren Murphy was an American author, most famous as the co-creator of The Destroyer series, the basis for the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. He worked as a reporter and editor and after service during the Korean War, he drifted into politics.

Murphy also wrote the screenplay for Lethal Weapon 2. He is the author of the Trace and Digger series. With Molly Cochran, he completed two books of a planned trilogy revolving around the character The Grandmaster, The Grandmaster (1984) and High Priest (1989). Murphy also shares writing credits with Cochran on The Forever King and several novels under the name Dev Stryker. The first Grandmaster book earned Murphy and Cochran a 1985 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, and Murphy's Pigs Get Fat took the same honor the following year.

His solo novels include Jericho Day, The Red Moon, The Ceiling of Hell, The Sure Thing and Honor Among Thieves. Over his career, Murphy sold over 60 million books.

He started his own publishing house, Ballybunion, to have a vehicle to start The Destroyer spin-off books. Ballybunion has reprinted The Assassin's Handbook, as well as the original works Assassin's Handbook 2, The Movie That Never Was (a screenplay he and Richard Sapir wrote for a Destroyer movie that was never optioned), The Way of the Assassin (the wisdom of Chiun), and New Blood, a collection of short stories written by fans of the series.

He served on the board of the Mystery Writers of America, and was a member of the Private Eye Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, the American Crime Writers League and the Screenwriters Guild.

Reviews

[Bryan457 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wealthy industrialist, Elmer Lippencott, is working, with the President's blessing, to open trade markets with Red China. When someone targets him and kills one of his sons, the President asks CURE to look into the matter, and keep Lippencott alive. Remo and Ruby are sent out to try and find out what is going on.

Another in the overused, “protect someone” plot that Warren Murphy did not seem to know how to deviate from when he was writing these by himself. No threats to Remo, instead he has to be a detective and figure out what is going on. Ruby didn't really do or add much to this book.

Favorite tidbits: Remo and Chiun destroy part of the Dallas Cowboys football team.

Warning, sex and graphic gory violence.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating between 2.5 and 3

only way to describe this novel in the on-going series is 'meh!'
the story feels very flat and not worthy of the CURE team. there are a couple of good bits between Remo and Chiun but otherwise even they are very humdrum.
I don't see what the character of Ruby brings to the series or was supposed to bring?
Despite reading these when they were first published and re-reading the series in sequence as a 'commute book' , i still don't see what her character is for.
Occasionally there is some good interplay between her and one of the main trio but if she is absent from the story I cannot say that I notice at all.
Overall missing the zing that the better novels bring to the table.
One to read for completeness sake but otherwise can safely skip if you want.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Bottom Line, Remo and Chiun are once again given the task of protecting people rather than killing them. In this case it is a wealthy and influential American family whose youngest members seem to be going crazy before killing themselves. They, of course, don’t seem to think there is anything to fear. The plot was completely transparent to everyone (including the reader) except Remo. That being said, it was still a quick and enjoyable read.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#37 in the Destroyer series. Someone is killing off members of the powerful Lippingcott family. Remo & Chiun are called in to prevent destabilization of the dollar. Much chaos ensues.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

great nostalgia
one i had not read
yay happiness

guilty faves

anyway i enjoyed it

[WonderGoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bottom Line," the 37th book in The Destroyer series by Warren Murphy is a short, if good, read. It follows the story of the Lippincotts, a wealthy American business family who's influence helps the American economy flourish or wilt is under attack. CURE sends Remo Williams and Chiun to protect them and, in the usual Destroyer style, hilarity and a huge body count, ensue.

If you enjoy Remo Williams books, this one is sure to please.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the big men's adventure series from the 70's than ran an impressive 145 books. The series while an adventure/action story is also full of satire toward much of the mainstream fads and icons of the time. An interesting main character and the sarcastic mentor makes this a funny action/adventure read. The CURE team must protect a family that is working to increase the US and China's trade. Recommended

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like I say, consistently decent.

[Ian Dixon]

I love this series, action with humour, what more could you ask for. I would recommend these books to everyone ...and I do