The Witness

I have been enjoying Griffin's Badge of Honour series. This is the fourth book in the series, and I'm starting to feel like I know Peter Wohl and his group of Special Forces cops. This was a page-turner for me. I thought the story moved along quickly, and it certainly held my interest right from the opening pages where a robbery occurs at a family-run furniture store. I love the interplay between the characters in these books, especially between the Special Forces crew and the administration which includes the mayor of Philedelphia and the Police Commissioner. Griffin captivates with characters, and that just makes me want to read more. I can't wait to read the next one.

Not my favorite W.E.B Griffin book. This one just dragged on and on. But, I kept reading because I enjoy his writing. I did see some repeats from the Army and USMC series, including the annoying habit of re-summarizing events that happened in previous books as a new character is introduced, multiple reference to food and inane discussions of police work without any particular conclusion. The characters are becoming familiar and are mildly intriguing, some are good cops and some are bad cops...just like real people. The "ending" was merely a transition to the next book...no particular climax. I'll be surprised if I get though book number five without chucking the entire series.

The same characters are getting better. What is amazing about this book is the concept of an "Islamic Liberation Army" was attempted in a book with a copyright of 1992. Griffin has the characters act with mystification over a possible violent organization. Thirty years later, Philadelphia is crime infested in a way Frank Rizzo would never have dreamed. Whatever. The indestructible Payne finds himself actually hit by a bullet and a lawsuit.

Continues this wonderful series with another solid entry. Matt Payne almost seems like a real-life Harry Potter in that he is continually screwing up on the Philadelphia P.D. and receiving accolade after accolade. Great characters in this series.....

This is the fourth book, of 10 books, in the series, The Badge of Honour, and was published, Jan 1992. The series is about the City of Philadelphia police force, including the Philadelphia Highway Patrol, from the cop on the beat, right up to the Commissioner.
A group of African-American males, claiming to be the Islamic Liberation Army, robbed Goldblatt & Sons, Credit Furniture & Appliances, Inc. The place was shot up as evidenced by the police finding twenty-six bullets. In the process, they killed the maintenance man who walked in on it. Only one employee has agreed to identify the perpetrators and testify against them. The other employees are too afraid to get involved. The witness must be protected at all cost.
I really enjoy show more reading W.E.B Griffin books but I have one pet peeve. He does this with all his books. You get a lot of background, on characters, that have already been explained, in previous books. It just fills pages and doesn't add to the current story. show less

good book