The Head Men

The Destroyer #31

by Warren Murphy, Richard Sapir

Fiction, Men s Adventure, Action, Destroyer

Washington Menu

When an honored and respected business executive is blown up into liver pâté as a warning to the president, will the head man become the main course?

The president thinks he's safe. With the White House electronic devices, the secret service, and the most elaborate security system that money can buy, he is--isn't he?

The opinion of the men from CURE, Remo and Chiun: The president is "Dead meat."

With assassins lurking behind every corner and the secret service servicing their own secrets only Remo and Chiun stand between the killers getting their just desserts and a young president become a grisly leftover...ready to be swept into a plastic bag.

Genres: Thriller, Action, Pulp, Adventure

197 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

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

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Remo and Chiun are called on by CURE to do something different - instead of killing, they're asked to protect the President.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jimmy Carter is in the White House, has discovered CURE, knows what they can do, and is so confident in their abilities that he refuses to worry about a very credible assassination threat. Indeed, he’s so confident in Remo and Chiun’s skills that he decides to stops payments that have been made by several presidents now as a prevent measure to stay the unknown assassin’s hand. The problem is that Remo cannot defend the president from a threat that he doesn’t know about.

This is a much better story than the series has been producing of late. The problem is credible and the solution—hinted at by Sinanju legend—was well thought out. There’s a lot of muddling around in the middle that really wasn’t that fun, but when Remo finally figures out what’s going on things start moving well again.

Perhaps the best element of the story was the way in which Murphy and Sapir took a centuries-old Sinanju teaching fable and showed how it directly applied to modern day problems. The Masters of Sinanju are not the best solely because of their extraordinary physical abilities. They have been in the assassination trade for thousands of years and have learned just about everything there is to know about killing people. It was very clever of the authors to show how relevant that ancient knowledge can be today.

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

[John Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may have been the first novel to cover the Carter Administration. Murphy & Sapir seem sympathetic to Carter but clearly despise Vice President Walter Mondale. Maybe that was the vibe of the time. Plot is of the locked room mystery variety that Warren Murphy favored in a few novels like the standalone Leonardo's Law. A fun entry in the Destroyer series.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

#31 in the Destroyer series. Remo & Chiun are summoned when the President faces an assassination threat. Much chaos ensues.

[Bryan457 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ex Secret Service agent is killed while under maximum protection as a warning to the president. The president thinks he's safe with the White House electronic devices, the secret service, and the most elaborate security system that money can buy. The opinion of Remo and Chiun, "The president is Dead meat." Remo and Chiun are sent to protect him whether he wants them to or not.

Edge of your seat thriller. Probably the best of the ones where they protect someone.

Favorite tidbits:
"So the President's going to be killed. So what?" Remo said.
"Have you seen the Vice President?" Smith said.
"We've got to save the President," Remo said.

Warning, sex and graphic gory violence.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the Destroyer books are fun.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more amusing entries in the series.

[Marko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Remo adventure. Unlike the previous entry, the author keeps it light and fun and does not let his own political views show through too much.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these comics way back when I was a kid. The Defenders are an iconic comic team. Great read and an important part of the Marvel comics mythos. Very recommended

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to kill people if you're not an assassin.

Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir offering. Suitable for teens and adults. An innocent aide dies. Chiun saves the day. Remo is confused.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of these are just good fun.