Final Justice (Badge of Honor Book 8)

Like most people, I prefer books about areas in which I have personal experience, but my lack of experience with Police work does not prevent me from enjoying this excellent book, Final Justice, in this great Badge of Honor series. The author again shows us that there are as many heroes in the police department as there are in the military. Final Justice again highlights the skills of newly minted Detective Sergeant Matt Payne, using him as one of many examples of the intelligence and dedication of the members of the police department. The author always talks about the good and bad of every organization, revealing the humanity and the problems of someone who is dedicated to public service. Mr. Griffin writes about people he knows, and he tells you marvelous inside stories about what happens behind the scenes. This is another great story with dedication as its base. This author knows people and he knows how to make them come alive. He does it so well that many of my friends forget that his books are fiction, so they expect every fact in the books to be completely accurate.I like fiction that teaches me something, at the same time I get a great story. A friend of mine calls this 'faction'. I get this from Mr. Griffin's books, directly and indirectly. I love his books because Mr. Griffin is a great, natural storyteller, and he forces me to research what is real and what is not. I have purchased 100-200 non-fiction books to check out his characters. His stories always point out how many heroes we really have in America. For me, some of his books are five plus, and some are five, but they are never less than that.You will enjoy this book at least as much as all of the author's other books, because it is a great story about the good guys versus the bad guys. The good guys work very hard, creating a lot of strain and stress on their personal lives. I wish all authors could write stories this good. As a Navy Brat, a draftee and an Army Reservist, I identify more with Mr. Griffin's books about the military, but these police books are equally enjoyable. This author's books are the only ones I reread on a regular basis, and I give them as gifts to others who are doing a great job, or in the hope that they will emulate the good guys.We need more authors writing about the heroes in this world, to continue to encourage people to do these tough jobs, in spite of the personal adversity they face daily.

I totally agree with Mr. McCann's observations but I still found the book quite readable.I am a former Philadelphia Police Department detective who was assigned to the Intelligence Unit back in the early 60s. And, as I also lived on Rittenhouse Square (like the book's hero, Matt Payne) I found the Badge of Honor series particularly interesting. Part of the fun was trying to identify who the characters really were. But this book ruined that part of the fun for me by jumping so far forward in time with no explanation as to why that happened.Notwithstanding the leap forward, I enjoyed reading the book. I just had to pretend it had nothing to do with the previous books in the series. If you are not a dyed-in-the-wool Griffin fan, you will find it well worth reading. It is one of those books that you have a hard time putting down and hate to read because you know you will be finished too soon.The only reason I could not give it 5 stars was the time problem and the dopey little errors that sneaked through and annoyed me. For example, when the man "standing" next to the D.A. in the courtroom stood up when the judge entered.Nonetheless, I am anxiously awaiting Mr. Griffin's next book.

The great part about Final Justice is the feeling of being around old friends again, Denny Coughlin, Jason Washington, Matt Payne, and the rest. I really do love this series. I would keep buying these books just to keep these "old friends" part of my late night reading.Unfortunately, Final Justice is less well-conceived than the previous novels in the series. And, it had a different feel, like it written by a different author. The usually fascinating characters were flat and somehow not completely in character. Coughlin didn't feel like Coughlin. Washington didn't feel like Washington and was uncharacteristically a bit of a blowhard. Matt can be a smartass sometimes, but here, he is uncharacteristically a jerk (distinctly a bastard in the way he treats a female detective colleague for much of the novel). And Micky is now an overblown caricature of himself, but everybody likes him (except his boss). Quaire, a name which previously came up only incidentally in the series, is now Matt's boss and called on to make small decisions that drive small parts of the story. Yet, he remains a cipher.Also, many threads that early-on seem to be headed somewhere end up not going anywhere. The double murder at the restaurant, a plot device that consumed major plot development time, ends up being resolved in the last few pages as a mere mention that had nothing to do with the main characters.And, the story seems to have ended in the middle. Weirdly, Matt ends up in France on an unlikely sabbatical with Micky O'Hara. And as improbable as that seems, while they are there, as luck would have it, a murdering fugitive who escaped the US and now lives in a small town in France is handed over to Matt to bring back to the US. The End.What? Yes. The end. I checked my Kindle a couple of times to see if I had made a mistake tapping the screen.Here I am criticizing the author of possibly my all-time favorite novel series. The accolades I heap on the series are well-justified. But, the criticism of this installment is also justified. I still love the series and will probably read it again.

I've read almost all of WEB's books. He is a great writer, no matter what his subject is. I started with "The Lieutenants" and haven't looked back!!! Still have a few to read 'tho.

Continues to uphold excellence of entire series . Plot .characters and dynamics of the police and their opponents are credible

not up to his earlier standards but an ok read

Os livros do Griffin são previsíveis quanto as histórias, mas muito interessantes quando abordam o dia a dia de corporações militares, polícias,etc.