As the cover lets you know, "W. B. Murphy" is Warren Murphy, co-author of The Destroyer series. I guess that one didn't occupy all his time, so he came up with another one, and it's a winner. I don't have all the books in hand, so I don't know for sure how many there were. Four, maybe. Too bad, since they're all great reading. The series should have lasted longer.The cover also lets you know that the book's about a black-and-white detective team. The black member is "Tough" Jackson. He "cared about results, he never protected a narcotics peddler, he was never charged with brutality (officially), he considered himself a good cop."
His partner is Ed Razoni, "who shared his bachelor apartment with a maiden cat, whose virginity he protected like his private phone number."
Did you ever see a movie called Lethal Weapon? You might notice a strong resemblance to the Jackson/Razoni series. Except the books are a lot better. Grittier, tough, and just plain fun to read. Grab 'em if you can find 'em.
8 comments:
Those look great. I think Warren Murphy is one of the great under-appreciated authors of our time.
I hope I can find them somewhere.
I'll bet you can find them on the 'net if nowhere else. Well worth the effort.
There were 5 titles that I know of and I have them all:
City in Heat
Dead End Street
Down and Dirty
Lynch Town
One Night Stand
Thanks, Gordon. I have them, but I can't get to them at the moment. Except for the one I scanned for the post.
The books are great and it is a shame Warren didn't write more in the series. You might notice Warren Murphy listed as a screenwriter for Lethal Weapon 2. It was only fair since he knew the characters better than anyone else.
Yeah, they kind of ripped him off with the first one.
As I heard it, they made the first Lethal Weapon movie without giving Warren either money or credit. He got his lawyer on the movie maker's tail and from then on he got a cut and a credit. And you're right about the books, they're great.
A little late but let me add my ditto - they are great. I still remember scenes, like Jackson's little boy seeing Razoni sleeping on the couch and asking his dad, "who's the honky?"
Great stuff.
Jeff
Post a Comment