The Investigators

From Library JournalBook 7 of Griffin's "Badge of Honor" series continues the saga of the Philadelphia Police Department, focusing once again on the Special Operations unit. Detective Matt Payne is sent to Harrisburg to gather evidence against a narcotics unit that is suspected of stealing from the very people whom they have arrested. Payne is also working with the FBI in its attempt to locate several terrorists who, in 1968, blew up a scientific laboratory, killing 11 people. While walking in the footsteps of law-enforcement officers, Griffin gives a clear picture of what it is like to be a police officer, how police officers think, how politicians bring pressure to bear on their actions, and how the justice system works. Everything Griffin writes immediately goes on the best sellers lists, mainly because he tells such richly detailed stories using a huge, engaging cast of characters who by this time will have become old friends to many readers?and this book is no exception.?Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., OhioCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus ReviewsThe latest installment--and first hardcover--in the prodigious Griffin's Badge of Honor series on detectives in the Philadelphia police force. As in his several successful series on soldiers (including The Last Heroes, Vol. I of Men in War, 1997, and Line of Fire, Book V of The Corps, 1992), Griffin is particularly deft at catching the hierarchies of all-male societies, and the ways in which men school themselves for action. His protagonist here, Special Operations detective Matt Payne, shares with Griffin's other heroes an appetite for testing himself, a knack for getting into very dangerous situations, and a willingness to meet violence with violence. In this case, Payne is up against both a group of corrupt and lethal cops and a cabal of urban terrorists. Don't expect George V. Higgins, or even Christopher Newman here--while Griffin endows his Philadelphia setting with a terse authenticity, and his characters are distinct, if not remarkable, you won't find realistic chat, deep plumbings of character, or a detailed portrait of police politics. What you will find is a shrewdly paced plot, sharp, vivid action, and a rather mordant view of human nature. Not deep, but lively. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.