The Assassin

Badge of Honor #5

by W.E.B. Griffin

A political assasin is ready to make his move. The police department's only clue is a single, perfectly typed bomb threat. And worse yet, the police aren't sure they can trust their own people. In a few short days, the corruption of one cop--and the madness of an assasin--could blow the whole city sky high...

Genres: Fiction, Police, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, War, Military Fiction

453 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

W.E.B. Griffin was one of several pseudonyms for William E. Butterworth III.

From the Authors Website:

W.E.B. Griffin was the #1 best-selling author of more than fifty epic novels in seven series, all of which have made The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and other best-seller lists. More than fifty million of the books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian.
Mr. Griffin grew up in the suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1946. After basic training, he received counterintelligence training at Fort Holabird, Maryland. He was assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany, and ultimately to the staff of then-Major General I.D. White, commander of the U.S. Constabulary.

In 1951, Mr. Griffin was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, interrupting his education at Phillips University, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany. In Korea he earned the Combat Infantry Badge as a combat correspondent and later served as acting X Corps (Group) information officer under Lieutenant General White.

On his release from active duty in 1953, Mr. Griffin was appointed Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Mr. Griffin was a member of the Special Operations Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Army Aviation Association, the Armor Association, and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Society.

He was the 1991 recipient of the Brigadier General Robert L. Dening Memorial Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, and the August 1999 recipient of the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, presented at the 100th National Convention in Kansas City.

He has been vested into the Order of St. George of the U.S. Armor Association, and the Order of St. Andrew of the U.S. Army Aviation Association, and been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees by Norwich University, the nation’s first and oldest private military college, and by Troy State University (Ala.). He was the graduation dinner speaker for the class of 1988 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

He has been awarded honorary membership in the Special Forces Association, the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, the Marine Raiders Association, and the U.S. Army Otter & Caribou Association. In January 2003, he was made a life member of the Police Chiefs Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and the State of Delaware.

He was the co-founder, with historian Colonel Carlo D’Este, of the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs. (Details here and here)

He was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association. And he belongs to the Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Pensacola, Florida, chapters of the Flat Earth Society.

Mr. Griffin’s novels, known for their historical accuracy, have been praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for their “fierce, stop-for-nothing scenes.”

“Nothing honors me more than a serviceman, veteran, or cop telling me he enjoys reading my books,” Mr. Griffin says.

Mr. Griffin divides his time between the Gulf Coast and Buenos Aires.

Notes:
Other Pseudonyms

* Alex Baldwin
* Webb Beech
* Walker E. Blake
* W.E. Butterworth
* James McM. Douglas
* Eden Hughes
* Edmund O. Scholefield
* Patrick J. Williams
* W. E. Butterworth
* John Kevin Dugan
* Jac

Reviews

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of this book was okay, but the execution by Griffin was not very good. First, there is a cast of characters just slightly less than the New York phone book; secondly, the author fills the text with unimportant minutae that just changes a 250-300 page book into a gargantuan 450 pages. He even tells at what temperature the bad guy washes and rinses his sheets. This might make a good movie script if you left out all of the unneeded trivia. The ending is also a real letdown. Read at your own tolerance level.

[Stewart Sternberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my least favorite of the series so far. The problem is the resolution. Rather than craft a true climax, it's hurried and dry. Still, this is a worthwhile procedural with the familiar characters we've come to appreciate.

[Jimboninja · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. This author drones on and on with details of the Philadelphia police department organizational structure, and the payoff is so lame, so tepid.... I'll never understand why this book would rate more than one or two stars for anyone.

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books are getting less racist but remain sexist. And I'm ashamed to admit this is the first book in the series that it occurred to me none of the books pass the Bechtel test.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series, it's always a fun read. I will say that it is definitely a product of the times, there are some moments that would definitely not fly today, but its still a good one. I like the evolution of the relationships between the characters, although I wish there had been more to the resolution. Luckily, they get all of the bad guys. They get the dirty cop, they find the crazy guy before he blows anything up, and it mostly ends well. Just like in real life, things can get complicated. I am definitely curious about how things are going to go with Penny. I will say that Matt definitely gets around, wondering if he will actually settle down with this one and how long it will last. Overall, it was a really good read.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, I really enjoyed the Brotherhood of War series, I've read the set 3-4 times. I like how Griffin lets you see how the characters grow over time. That being said, I've been trying to enjoy his Badge of Honor series just as much. Meh, NOT so much. This, the 5th book in the series, was plodding along just as the first 4 had done, until.....the (anti) climax. The end was just abruptly...there. I'm not sure what his intent was, if any, or he just got tired of this storyline and BAM. I'll read the rest of the series, but at this point, I, like others, are somewhat disappointed in this series.

[Carol Aselton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like W.E.B. Griffin, but not sure on this book. The first 3 quarters of the book dealt with developing who the law enforcement characters were. It was developing the assassin too, but it seemed to me he was secondary. When you got to the last quarter, the plot and the assassin were very quickly figured out and squashed. This was one of his "Badge of Honor" series, I'll have to reach some more of them to decide what I think.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the other Badge Of Honor books, but still enjoyable. The only problem I had with this book is that not enough time was dedicated to the actual assassin in this book, and a great deal of time was spent on a narcotics smuggling plot with a bad cop. There was enough material here for two books, therefore the ending was somewhat rushed.

[Pat Malon]

The 1st book I read by this author was great. This one however; is not. I gave up after 100 pages. There were too many names, departments, organizations etc. I couldn't keep up with who was on 1st and who was at 2nd etc.

[Paul Echols · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a long time to get going and then wrapped up too fast .

[Brad Theado · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these books but I hate how they end. Too quickly, too easily.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in this series, and they just keep getting better! Griffin focuses on characters in his books. If you like good character development and interesting character interaction, you would probably enjoy this series. It is an older police series and it reminds me of TV shows like NYPD Blues. There are six books in the series and I am looking forward to the next one!

[Christopher Armani · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about this author (and this series) is he clearly spent an immense amount of time developing his characters before he wrote a word. The characters in this book, and in this series, are fully-developed characters with their own unique voice. No easy task with a cast as large as in this series.

[Rick Matson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all of his books, it's about the characters and not about the plot. He makes his characters come alive, and that's what makes book after book a great read.

[Judy Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

UNC+

[Bonnie Moe · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting series

[Robert Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt and Penny get together and along with someone trying to bomb the vice president of the United States. along with a dirty cop.

[Bill Yarbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good continuation of the series. Covers some other crimes to make the series cover different issues.

[Stewart Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Series

I continue to love reading this series. There isn't a W.E.B. Griffin book I haven't enjoyed, dating all the way back to the M*A*S*H series!

[Bryan Boswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly one of the greatest series of all time. My father read this and passed it down to me. Great reading.

[Jerry Mundt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one in the series.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters, and dialogue. Interesting story!

[Blue Moon-Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent, as always

But a little bit drawn out in some spots. The series has always been one of my favorites. That’s it.

[William N · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Corps we had McCoy and Pick, here we have Wohl and Payne…

[Melissa Crespy · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review of Men in Blue of this series.

[Keith Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. Still fun character development

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot to 'disintegrate' the Vice President and the Airport bust. A nominally deranged market analyst is called by God to explosively assassinate the US VP when he comes thru Philly, and sets about staging the necessary materials to do so. Simultaneously, the mob plots to enlist an impressionable cop in their drug smuggling operation at the airport. Young Payne finds himself once again at the epicenter of the action after he stops to get some groceries at a store that is about to be robbed but is staked out by the cops, resulting in a bloody mess that frightens his former librarian at UP, whom Matt takes under his wing and ends up in a serious hide the salami pickle with. After Wheatley send the VP a threatening letter, the Secret Service and PPD are frenetically trying to peel the onion and avert public slaughter. While helping his buddies with the airport op, Matt takes Penny Detwieler with him to the Poconos to case out a mob resort/casino, makes his mark and swaps serious body fluids with the former tender rich girl addict. As the noose tightens around Wheatley, Matt makes the takedown with his buddy O'Dowd, but is nearly thwarted when Penny goes postal after running into the librarian at Matt's apartment and nearly kills herself seeking drugs. Payne holds off his personal crisis long enough to assist in the takedown of the dirty airport cop and his mob handlers.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Mr Griffins Badge of Honor series. I started reading them out of order and have enjoyed getting to know the characters. Peter Wohl, who I really liked in the last book seemed like a presumptuous jerk in this book. Amy, Matt's sister has always been one of my least favorite characters. She's always mad and many times jumping to conclusions. I think the people and setting are believable in their time period. Sometimes Mr Griffin gives too much information and I just skip forward until the story starts again. At times I have wished he would just tell the story and dispense with the characters inner thoughts , which many times are different than the conversation they're having. I have a hard time putting the books down. Not my ordinary genre but I'm enjoying them.

[Joel Ungar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good one. Like other W.E.B. Griffin books, I don't read them expecting to be spellbound and unable to put them down. He has great characters (who tend to drink a lot and eat a lot of pastry) that you get to know and enjoy visiting with from time to time.

One thing I thought of while reading The Assassin is another common thread the Badge of Honors series seems to have with the Corps - the Corps started by focusing on Ken "Killer" McCoy, but then seemed to shift focus after several books to Pickering. Badge of Honor started by focusing on Peter Wohl, but especially with this book the focus is on Matthew Payne.

This book kind of goes on with out a lot happening, and then three story lines seem to resolve in the last 10 pages.