Deadly Genes

The Destroyer #117

by Warren Murphy (Series Creator), Richard Sapir (Series Creator), James Mullaney

Whe a series of gruesome murders occur after the introduction of a new genetically engineered animal meant as a cure for world hunger, Remo and Chiun find themselves matching wits with a mad geneticist and his terrifying creations. Original.

Genres: Mystery

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

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

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not the best and not the worst; it's just decent.

[Colin Hopper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cat People reappear

Remo and Chiun take on a new foe, someone’s eating people, and they get a little too close to Remo. Another tall tale...

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

#117 in the Destroyer series. A mad scientist is creating genetically-altered animals. Much chaos ensues.

[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 motives of Dr. Judith White, genetic engineer at BostonBio, are open to suspect. She has led the team that created the new species of domestic animal, called the BBQ, which could help feed millions around the world. But her actions are strange and CURE is interested. Recommended