The Last Witness

By: W. E. B. Griffin

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

The dramatic new novel in the Philadelphia police saga by the number-one New York Times best-selling author.

For Philadelphia homicide detective Matt Payne, investigating a young woman’s murder in a Society Hill home invasion uncovers an ugly underworld - that of Mexican drug cartels and the Russian mob.

Foreign girls are being smuggled in to work in the sex trade, and now some of them are dying or just disappearing. The trail leads right to Philadelphia - and Payne learns that’s not all. Teenage American girls lured from local foster homes have vanished. And the lone living witness has gone into hiding. He knows it’s got to be connected - but how? And it doesn’t help that his gut says it somehow involves that high-rolling politician last seen near the Caribbean in a casino’s airplane.

For Payne, finding that last witness is absolutely critical - before the Russians, the cartels, or anyone else gets to her first.

Filled with authentic color and detail, this is a riveting novel of the men and women who put their lives on the line, from the cop on the beat to the commissioner himself. It’s a story of fears and dangers, courage and loyalty, genuine heroism and love - storytelling at its absolute best.

©2013 William E. Butterworth (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Even Scott Brick could not save this turkey!

W.E.B Griffin is the pen name of William E. Butterworth III. Butterworth III has been writing military/war thrillers for more than 55 years under several pen names and his own name. He is 86 years old and has started cowriting military thrillers using the Griffin pen name with his son William E. Butterworth (IV).

Griffin/Butterworth III is the master of the military/war thriller genre. He has written many, possibly more than 100, such books. I have listened to or read approximately 20 of his books and have never been disappointed until he started coauthoring with his son. The quality of the books dropped when his son joined him. This is not the first of the books Griffin coauthored with his son I have listened to, but it will be the last.

Most of Griffin's audiobooks are read by superb narrators such as Eric Dove, Dick Hill and Scott Brick. I highly recommend the books with Griffin being the sole author.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

A Dis-Honor to the Badge of Honor Series

What disappointed you about The Last Witness?

A disjointed story with an after thought ending

Would you ever listen to anything by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth again?

Very unlikely if this is the product they are turning out now

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favorite?

Lt. Jason Washington

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

unfortunately no!

Any additional comments?

I have been a W.E.B Griffin fan since the Corps series and I have read and listened to every title of every series available. I have even purchased CD's of titles not available on audible.

As a lifelong Philadelphian I am particularily drawn to the Badge of Honor Series. I have tolerated the painting of Philadelphia as a less than desirable place to live, but such is the nature of any city in these United States. I have overlooked the less than accurate descriptions of landmarks, roads, streets, addresses and intersections as literary license because the WEB Griffin product of story and character development was far more interesting that these small annoyances. I have come to love this series until now.

This much anticipated book is a deep disappointment. The book is suddenly set in the 21st century, where did that come from? Badge of honor is now the Matt Payne show? No Peter Wohl, No Matt Lowenstein, No Highway Patrol, nothing and Matt is now just referred to a Marshall. How trite! Several character lines are started and as a Griffin reader I am naturally inclined to try and see where things will lead. As the story progressed, I saw by the playing time remaining that it was not going to conclude satisfactorily. A prime example is Sgts Payne and Birth are heading towards a bar in Fishtown to investigate something and suddenly they are in a shootout on the waterfront after a phone tip from a missing person? No further details and the book just ended with Payne sailing in Florida without tying up anything. I know this review is somewhat disjointed but such is my frustration with this effort.

Scott Brick did an admirable job with the poor material he was given. I will be returning this book for credit.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

drug cartels

This book has more violence, or maybe gross dead bodies is more appropriate term, than the majority of Griffin books. The book is also well padded with excerpts from past books in this series which removed would make this plot line a very short story. Matt Payne and team are after a Russian and Porto Rican drug cartel selling drugs and women in Philly. They kill off any woman that tries to quit or anyone that gets in their way. What saves the book is the narration by Scott Brick, he made it pleasant to listen to. I have followed W.E.B. Griffin for years and hate to see the decline in story telling compared to his older books. But I will keep on listening to his books as he produces them, even at his worse he is better than a lot of other writers.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Classic WEB Griffin,Scott Brick performs as always

This is classic WEB Griffin, suspenseful, witty, and thoroughly detailed. Griffin is one of my favorite authors, and I have read all of his series. The characters are realistic, interesting, and colorful. The story is compelling, timeless, educational, and just plain fun listening. I find that listening to audiobooks is way better than many TV offerings, especially series like this one, and others by Griffin.

When I find my wish list getting low, and need a new author to explore, I check to see what books have been performed by Scott Brick. Brick is one of the Greats.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

This series is dead - please bury asap

What disappointed you about The Last Witness?

The majority of the Agent cast characters are gone, whose unique personalities were the heart & soul of this series. The humorous dialogue & relationships between characters has been replaced by blood, guts & gore. The entire appeal of reading a series is following "people I like", not reading about heartless criminals.

Would you ever listen to anything by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth again?

No

Which scene was your favorite?

*****

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Last Witness?

99%

Any additional comments?

Stick to the original cast or don't write a so-called series.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

worst book of the series.

I can't believe I paid for this book. it does not move the story forward.

This Review Needs A Title...So, I Gave it One

This was intended to be a revealing look in to the evil and moral bankruptcy of the drug and slave trade.Matt Payne, the main protagonist, just seems to be more of a background character here.Typical Griffin and Butterworth story. Over 200 pages of developing a complex story and 3 pages to resolve it This book has more violence, or maybe gross dead bodies are more appropriate term, than the majority of Griffin books. The book ended abruptly and with too many plots unresolved. Whether I'll go on to #12 in the series is in doubt.

Abrupt Finish

Seems like they just got tired of the story and wrapped it up without closing all of the story lines.

Not up to WEB Griffin Standards

Would you try another book from W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth and/or Scott Brick?

Yes

What was most disappointing about W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth ’s story?

The story was disjointed and ended on a disjointed note. It relied heavily on past books to "fill pages". The book failed to tie the story up and fully develop all the parts. Poor plot and poor story development. It seemed the author was rushing to finish. I got the impression this book was playing second fiddle to other projects or some one was sampling too many adult refreshments.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Scott Brick provides exceptional narration

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really, I am so use to exceptional WEB Griffin stories that this one left me flat

Any additional comments?

If this book had been the first book in the series, I would have skipped the whole series as subpar.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Interesting But Predictable

The Badge of Honor series has always been driven by the character of Matt Payne. The previous books bring that character out in very unique and fun ways. This book, though, does nothing to add to Matt's character. He has become predictable and boring. There is very little drama and a very predictable ending. That pattern was very disappointing. While it was a fun read, I was expecting more.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful