Résumé
Résumé
Just as with his remarkable military novels, millions of readers have been captured by the rich characters and vivid realism of W. E. B. Griffin's police dramas. "Griffin has the knack," writes The Philadelphia Inquirer . He "sets his novel before you in short, fierce, stop-for-nothing scenes. Before you know it, you've gobbled it up."
Now, in Final Justice , Detective Matt Payne of the Philadelphia police department--newly promoted to sergeant and assigned to Homicide--finds himself in the middle of three major assignments. The first case, a fatal shooting at a fast-food restaurant, seems simple, but rapidly becomes complicated. The second, a rape that tumbled into murder, begins complicated and only gets more so, as it becomes apparent that the crime may be part of a disturbing, and escalating, pattern. The third is the most bizarre, as Payne becomes involved with a local figure who long ago fled the country, leaving behind the mummified body of his girlfriend in a trunk. Ever since, the murderer has been sending taunting postcards from his safe haven--but all that may be about to change.
Weaving in and around this already hectic schedule are the visit to Philadelphia of the self-absorbed star of a series of improbable police movies, who wants Payne to show him "the real stuff," and the appearance in Payne's life of two very different women. Either one of them alone would be enough to set his head spinning, but together . . . this might be the most complicating thing of all.
Filled with color and detail and plots as real as the headlines, this is a riveting novel of the men and women who put their lives on the line, from the cop on the beat to the commissioner himself. It's a story of fears, dangers, courage, loyalty, and genuine heroism: storytelling at its best.
Critiques (4)
Critique du Publishers Weekly
If God is truly in the details, then Griffin must be the pope of police procedurals. Want to know what paragraph of the Pennsylvania Criminal Code you violate if you use a flashing blue light attached to your car to get through traffic? Or what the chances are of a patrolman or detective passing the Philadelphia Police Department's exam for promotion to sergeant? Or what happens to the badge worn on the chest of an officer killed in action, after the funeral? All of this-and much, much more-is revealed in the eighth data-heavy entry in Griffin's Badge of Honor series (The Murderers, The Investigators, etc.). What's even more amazing is that all these factoids don't slow down the story's considerable momentum for a minute. Nor do they keep Griffin's gritty cops from convincing us of their individuality. Matt Payne, a detective with the Philadelphia police force, has just been promoted and transferred to Homicide. The cases he gets during his first few days at the post are a rich mix of mayhem entangling all strata of Philadelphia society: an apparently simple shooting in a fast food outlet that turns out to be almost unsolvable; a savage rape and murder with some serious anti-cop political overtones; an extradition case involving a fugitive murderer from France; and, for comic relief, the supervision of a visiting movie star who wants to make his police pictures more authentic. What holds it all together is Griffin's infectious respect for and fascination with police work. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Critique de Kirkus
The eighth in the Badge of Honor series about the Philadelphia police department (The Investigators, 1998, etc.) continues to follow the amazing career of Special Operations detective Matt Payne. Now promoted to sergeant and assigned to Homicide, Matt is a little dazed by his new rank and station. He's a recent University of Pennsylvania grad and the top-scoring entrant in the biannual department exams, but he hasn't spent enough time in uniform on a beat to be as savvy as the department thinks he should be. Matt has bereavement problems as well: he's still throwing up and going into cold sweats six months after the shooting death of his beloved Susan Reynolds. Meanwhile, he's mired in departmental politics and stuck with an assignment to a Dignitaries Protection event meant to keep the public at a distance from visiting film star Stanley Colt. (Stanley, who while playing detectives has been known to fire 47 rounds from his seven-round .45 without reloading, wants to know how real cops work.) Plus, Matt's got three big cases going down at once, The first turns on a shooting in a Roy Rogers diner during which two black perps killed a waitress and a lone cop who had not waited for backup before entering the diner. The second is a serial rape and murder whose implications are far from simple. The third involves Fort Festung, who 20 years ago murdered his girlfriend and left her body mummified in a trunk, then took off for France (no extradition); from his Paris jail cell he sends snide postcards to the Philadelphia PD. Matt is dizzily attracted to Terry Davis, who handles the Colt visit for Global Artists Management, but soon finds himself bedding Detective Olivia Lassiter. After reading this hugely fact-crammed procedural, you too can pass the Philadelphia police exam. Speed-dial plotting, lively entertainment.
Critique de Booklist
In Griffin's eighth novel in his popular Badge of Honor series involving the Philadelphia police force, Detective Sergeant Matthew Payne is working on three cases. In the first, a kitchen supervisor and a cop are murdered at a fast-food restaurant. The second is a case of rape and murder, and the third concerns a suspect who has fled the country, leaving behind a trunk containing the mummified body of his girlfriend. This case is particularly provocative, since the fugitive sends back mocking postcards from his hiding place. The storyline also takes readers down interesting byways that deal with Payne's involvement with two women, all of which, of course, adds a bit of spice to the narrative. As in many of his other novels--32 in total and counting--Griffin's description of police procedure rings with authenticity. He lets his readers come close to experiencing the real thing without having to duck bullets. This author has a considerable following, so librarians should order a copy as quickly as possible. --George Cohen
Critique du Library Journal
Pity poor Detective Matt Payne. In this latest in Griffin's series on the Philadelphia Police Department, Matt is dealing with a fatal shootout, a vanished guru who has apparently mummified his girlfriend, and the star of a bunch of police movies who thinks he's the real thing. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.