Failing Marks

Warren Murphy (1933–2015) once worked on a pig farm, then as a movie usher, a sequin polisher, a public relations man for a brothel, a newspaper editor and a Democratic politician in Jersey City, New Jersey. "And then I went bad," he said, "and became a novelist." Murphy is best known for the Destroyer series, which he created with the Richard Sapir. With over 150 books and worldwide sales of over 50 million copies, the series is one of the longest-running and bestselling series of all time. Murphy's books won ten national awards, including a pair of Edgars® from the Mystery Writers of America, two Shamus winners from the Private Eye Writers of America, and countless nominations. In Hollywood, he wrote The Eiger Sanction, starring Clint Eastwood, as well as Lethal Weapon II. His Trace books inspired the TV show "Murphy's Law," starring George Segal and Maggie Han. 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.

Richard Ben Sapir (1936–1987) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and he graduated from Columbia University. He worked as a journalist for the Associated Press before becoming a fiction writer.