At the start of bestseller Griffin and son Butterworth's predictable 13th Badge of Honor novel (after 2013's The Last Witness), Sgt. Matthew Paine of the Philadelphia PD, known as the Wyatt Earp of the Main Line in honor of all the bad guys he's shot over the years, witnesses a drive-by shooting at West Rittenhouse Square and gives chase. After losing the suspects, he returns to the scene of the crime, where he meets beautiful philanthropist Camilla Rose Morgan, who has something to tell him. Matt accompanies her to her condo building, but he pauses to take a phone call in the lobby while she rides the elevator to her high-floor apartment. Soon after, Matt learns that Camilla Rose has taken a fatal header off her balcony. The question is, was she pushed, did she jump, or did she fall? The formulaic plot revolves around a start-up company, shady stock market deals, corrupt political officials, good cops, bad cops, and assorted thugs. Series fans who want more of the same will like this one. Agent: Robert Youdelman, Rember & Curtis. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Matt Payne, a young homicide detective, has a habit of getting into trouble. In the most recent installment of the Badge of Honor series, he just happens to be on the scene when the passengers in a couple of vehicles start shooting at each other. A young woman, Camilla Rose Morgan, is also there, and her interest in some of the victims puzzles Matt: What would this socialite whom Matt knew years earlier, when they were teenagers, be doing with killers? Not long after, Camilla appears to kill herself, and Matt determines to find out the truth about her death. The Badge of Honor series means well, but, in the context of the authors' numerous other series, it's a bit subpar. It lacks the realism and authenticity of the authors' military fiction, and it relies too heavily on cop-novel clichés and stereotypes (we've met Matt many, many times before). A typical entry in what is an atypically pedestrian series from two accomplished military and adventure writers.--Pitt, David Copyright 2016 Booklist