Customer Reviews

The Investigators: Badge of Honour Series Book 7

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

as a retired deputy sheriff I found the "books" well written and i look forwared for more of the same in my opinion WEBs books are great

Griffin's books always have a good deal of excitement, and so does _The Investigators_. However, this one begins to strain credibility in some ways. Just when we think Matt Payne (supposedly a very, very intelligent man) can't possibly do anything dumber, he does just that. Is the Philadelphia Police Department really so paternalistic that such an officer would remain on the force despite seven bookfuls of bungling? I sure hope not.

The strength of the book, and the series, is some of the characters. The toady Czernich (or however Griffin has elected to spell his name this book; he never spells it the same way twice), the protective Lowenstein, the genteel Savarese, and the fiery Carlucci are always entertaining. Peter Wohl strains credibility a little but is an interesting fellow.

Recommended but could have been better.

It is difficult for lovers of police procedurals to go wrong with The Investigators or indeed with any of the titles in W.E.B. Griffin's fast-paced Badge of Honor series. A college professor friend of the reviewer had not only recommended the series but had given him copies of nearly all of them. They sat unread on his shelf for a few years. One day on a whim he picked one up, started to read, and could not put it down. Once finished, he immediately went on to the next. Within a short time, he had finished the Investigators, the lastest in the series. Now he cannot wait for the next in the lineup to appear in his bookstore! The books are set in the Philadelphia of the 1970s and build on each other. Indeed, the typical book in the series will pick up only weeks or months after its predecessor left off. One weakness in this approach is that a not insignificant portion of each book recounts events in earlier works. This recap is necessary to bring first-time readers of a particular book up to speed; however, it does get repetitive as the same events reappear in book after book. The best approach is to read the series in order. Griffin's characterizations, while not deep, are deft. He seems to favor policemen who do not look like policeman, like Detective Matt Payne and Inspector Peter Wohl. Indeed, the concept of an upper-class WASP (or WASP-like) male working as a policeman is irresistable to Griffin. Griffin's plots are well-constructed; he usually has a number of story lines interwoven in a single book, and many continue on into the next book in the series (another reason for reading them in order). One problem is that Griffin tends to let his plots run on til the end of the book, and then to resolve them abruptly in the last page or two. It's as if he can't decide how to wrap things up and then washes his hands of the matter with an excess of brevity. The series concept is excellent; we enjoy seeing our old friends return in a new book. One problem is that Griffin sometimes has trouble keeping his facts straight. Matt Payne, for example, is sometimes described as a cum laude graduate of Penn; sometimes, he graduated summa cum laude. Chief Inspecter Dennis V. Coughlin, as another example, is usually described as a life-long bachelor who suffers from unrequited love for Matt Payne's mother. In one of the books, however, he announces that "I'll have to check that out with the wife!" These examples, although not overly common, could be multiplied. Griffin, who seems to be a bit of a recluse or at least an intensely private person, could use a fact-checker! These caveats aside, Griffin has put together a fine series which one hopes the 70-year old author will be able to supplement substantially over the years. The reviewer has read all of them twice; they are that compelling. For readers interested in police procedurals, adventure stories, urban grit, and simple narrative excellence, The Investigators (along with the entire Badge of Honor series), is a must read.

As an avid Ed McBain reader I was looking for something to fill the void while waiting for the next installment of the 87th precinct series; in Griffin's Badge Of Honor series I have found it.

The Investigators is the first Griffin book I have read but it will be far from the last. I have since read the Victim and the Murderers and have ordered the rest of the series.

The book is well written and very true to Philadelphia life in the 70's when I was there. The similarity between Jerry Carlucci and Frank Rizzo is uncanny.

I would highly recommend the Badge of Honor series to any fan of police procedurals.

W.E.B. Griffin is certainly a master storyteller if you want to consider the sheer number of words. However, this reviewer wonders if Mr. Griffin has stepped out into society much in the past two decades. The stilted dialogue, 1955ish morals, and almost complete lack of reference to technology makes this novel read like a reprint. Matt Payne is a 25 year old detective in a police force that seems to be made up of the sons of former heroes, many of them connected to Mainline Society in Philadelphia. His improbable romance with a young woman who still calls her parents Mommy and Daddy is enough to make the reader with any sensitivity to the position of women today want to throw up. And the writing, full of parenthetical phrases and asides makes the reading veerryy sloooww. To the author's credit, the story is complex and interesting in spite of the distracting out-of-date references. When was the last time you went to a gas station and there was an "attendant"?! Recommended for those who have nothing else to read but have a lot of patience.

I actually read this book first, grabbed it in the airport, and pretty much read most of it in the plane. Thought it was a great read, an interestingly tale of Philly cops. I didn't, somehow, catch that it was set in the 70s. The earlier books make that much more obvious. Which then gets confusing, as the latest book has time warped to the present day.

These books are not keepers for me...they'll head back to the used book store. But for an entertaining read, one that is difficult to put down at times, these books are good. But they also tend to be much the same thing, and I'm finding that this rehash doesn't sit with me as well as other series, like Spenser, for instance.

Enjoy!

I was wrapped up in this novel the whole way through. I loved the fact that the author was able to bring together different types of storylines and tie it up at the end. I loved this novel!!!!

I differ with those that want to make web griffins work "politically correct" it smacks of "revisionist history". the movies do it so why not? no, never! Having lived thru the 50's 60's and 70's I can see things in these novels that are the way they used to be. To ask that the author revise the story details comments and events to match current mores? and attitudes would be an insult to history. WEB, keep on doing your thing!. occasionally, I see a small technical glitch, a bit of technology out of time context, but this doesn't detract from the fasination I have for his work. Maybe I am grossly predudiced in favor of these years, but whenever i see a "period" detective story from the 30's, 40's or 50's (or even a little later) i either tape it or drop other things and watch it. Everything is too "smooth" today and modern style authors either put in technobabble or skip the details. BUT , WEB Griffin, you always do it right!! Just don't leave me hanging for months or years to find out things. Who killed the young policeman in "the murderers" Does Cletus Frade ever marry his princess? Does the "killer" ever marry his gal?

I was really glad to discover just recently that W.E.B. Griffin had also penned books under the name "Alex Baldwin," as that was how I originally came to know his work (some really fine writing in that series). "The Investigators" allows him to reach out to a different type of reader, and show his stuff. I've now read four of his books and I'd put this one somewhere in the middle (Griffin is a very good writer - he's funny and really seems on spot with all the little details). Griffin's character development in "The Investigators" is a bit uneven, but the story takes some interesting turns, and I found it to generally move right along. Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the series, and eventually most or all of his work. Order the book -- this guy is good!

The Investigators is probably the best WEB Griffin police book in the Badge of Honor series. The action is fast,the characters are more tightly drawn and the ending has a real world flavor about it. Considering the flatness of his last two books, Behind the Lines and Men At War, The Investigators is a very good yarn.