4/5/22

In Mafia Fix, President Nixon (confirmed with a random football reference) tasks Harold Smith of the secret agency Cure to track down a historic fifty-ton drug shipment, after a botched sting operation failed to intercept the four trucks transporting the $50,000,000 in 98 percent pure heroin. All that is known is that the heroin is still somewhere in Hudson, New Jersey, and Remo's strategy for discovering the secret location is doing what he does best; annoy everyone until the bad guys try to kill him.

Four books into the Destroyer series, and we can see the framework for the series' narrative structure coming into shape. In the first chapter, we are introduced to the villain's backstory, usually involving the cruel death of several innocents. In the second chapter, we are introduced to Remo ("His name was Remo...") either in training, completing a mission, or in this case, both.

Nixon is still president, and the author still treats him with kid gloves, portraying him as a sincerely concerned and somewhat competent, a far cry from the openly derisive lampooning he would treat Jimmy Carter in later novels. Revisiting these novels nearly forty years later, I don't recall how warren Murphy handles Nixon's disgraced resignation - if he does at all - but I'm looking forward to finding out.

The plot is straightforward, with the typical "Secret Crime Boss" hook with a somewhat unsurprising reveal in the third act. Murphy plays the criminal and political in-fighting for comic effect quite well, and keeps the colorful supporting characters flowing. Special attention should be paid by the last-minute cameo of three other men's adventure novel series characters, a nod to the fact that The Destroyer is now a part of the genre, and literally more effective than the three of them put together.

HIS NAME WAS REMO: "His name was Remo. He tried very hard not to be bored, as if the threat were very real." Almost there.

THE BAD GUY: MAFIA! That's right, the Italian Mob, the gold standard for organized crime, is behind the massive heroin shipment that Remo is tasked with exposing. Crime Boss Dominic Verillio is the crime boss in question this go-round, with other mafioso types such as Pietro Scubisci, Francisco Salvatore, and Filemeno Palmucci, along with colorful middlemen like the perpetually ill Willie the Plumber, and the doily-knitting behemoth of a hitman Gaetano Gasso. Organized crime is an easy target for this kind of secret agent crime fighter series, but Murphy keeps the plot moving and the humorous asides frequent enough to prevent the book from descending into a lame Godfather rip-off.

REMO & CURE: Harold smith meets with Remo in the field again, and while the animosity between the two is still strong, but this book's focus on heroin distribution provides them both with something in common: an unflinching desire to protect the innocent. Remo is still a cop at heart with a strong sense of good and evil, and the reader is secretly informed that Harold Smith has a daughter who is currently undergoing rehab on a farm in Vermont. For both men, this mission is intensely personal.

REMO & CHIUN: Chiun's appearance in mafia Fix is kept down to a minimum, with him only showing up in the second chapter for some training exposition, and then a few times later as comic relief involving his beloved soap operas and Remo's attempts at babysitting and cleaning up after the elderly Sinanju master. Remo's supposed reincarnation as Shiva the Destroyer comes up several times, but only in passing, as if the author just wants to remind the readers that it is still a relevant subplot.

REMO’S LADIES: Remo is still a one-gal-guy in Mafia Fix, and still the hopeless romantic at heart despite his rapey approach to seduction, which in at least two scenes involves him tackling the woman from across the room. The woman in this case is the intelligent and voluptuous Cynthia Hansen, daughter of and assistant to Hudson, New Jersey Mayor Craig Hansen. As usual, Remo's hormones and emotions cause more trouble than good for him, as his newfound love interest becomes more involved with his mission than intended. They also have sex. A lot.

BODY COUNT: The body count is a tad lower than in the previous novel with only nine kills, six by Remo and three by Chiun. When, oh when, will the bad guys learn not to interrupt Chiun's soap operas? ( )

Classic Remo Williams book. It starts with a mission and some training. He investigates, finds a lady, saves the US of A ( )

Fourth in the Destroyer series. This was a really enjoyable one. The mob has smuggled in an *enormous* quantity of drugs -- something like a decades' long supply at current consumption rates -- and plans to reduce prices, drive out all their competitors, and corner the market. (Kind of like WalMart and Starbucks, I guess.) Just one problem for them: the drugs are in a warehouse in New Jersey and Remo Williams stands between them and smuggling the drugs out of their hiding place. Of course, Remo has a cuple problems of his own: he has no idea where the drugs are being stored, and the only person who knows where they are is the mafia mastermind. And Remo doesn't know who that is.

Great scheme, great villains, great dialogue, great sex, and great action. This is one of the best Destroyers yet. Highly recommended.

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers ( )