Book Review: Final Justice

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Final Justice     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
W. E. B. Griffin
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Badge of Honor # 8
Putnam, Jan 2003, $26.95, 416 pp.

Instead of going to law school and becoming an attorney in the prestigious family firm, Matt Payne joins the Philadelphia police force. At first, everyone connected to Matt, on the job and off, thinks this is something he has to get out of his system before returning to the "proper" fold. Matt however solves some high profile cases and eventually becomes a respected detective. When he passes his sergeant’s exam with the highest score, he obtains his wish a transfer to homicide.

From the day he arrives there, he gets in the middle of the action, helping his superiors on a robbery that ends up with a woman and police officer dead. He’s also assigned to work the case of a rape murderer who has to be caught before he strikes again. In the middle of all this, he is assigned to baby sit a movie star in town to raise funds for charity. Matt Payne may be an excellent police officer but he also has to learn that he is not a superhero before he implodes.

Fans of police procedurals have a treat in store for them when they read FINAL JUSTICE as readers observe a day-to-day look into the workings of a police department and the toll it takes on an individual officer. W.E.B. Griffin humanizes the police officers he writes about so his audience feels sympathetic towards them and hope they are not killed in the line of duty. The final call on this novel is a winner for the audience.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner