Contemporary Authors

• The Saboteurs (A Men at War Novel) - 2006 Thorndike Press, Waterville, ME
• The Double Agents (Thorndike Core) - 2007 Thorndike Press, Waterville, ME
• Death and Honor (Honor Bound) - 2008 G. P. Putnam's Son's, New York, NY
• The Honor of Spies (Honor Bound) - 2009 G. P. Putnam's Son's, New York, NY
• The Traffickers - 2009 G. P. Putnam's Son's, New York, NY
• The Vigilantes - 2010 G. P. Putnam's Son's, New York, NY
• The Outlaws: - 2010 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• Covert Warriors - 2011 G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• Victory and Honor (Honor Bound) - 2011 G. P. Putnam's Son's, New York, NY
• Empire and Honor (Honor Bound) - 2012 G. P. Putnam's Son's, New York, NY
• The Spymasters: A Men at War Novel - 2012 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• Hazardous Duty - 2013 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• The Last Witness - 2013 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• Top Secret - 2014 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• The Assassination Option - 2014 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• Deadly Assets - 2015 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• Broken Trust - 2016 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• Curtain of Death - 2016 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY
• Death at Nuremberg - 2017 G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY

• Fantastic Fiction -

  Series
  Men at War (with W E B Griffin)
  5. The Saboteurs (2006)
  6. The Double Agents (2007)
  7. The Spymasters (2012)

   
  Honor Bound (with W E B Griffin)
  4. Death and Honor (2008)
  5. The Honor of Spies (2009)
  6. Victory and Honor (2011)
  7. Empire and Honor (2012)

   
  Badge of Honor (with W E B Griffin)
  9. The Traffickers (2009)
  10. The Vigilantes (2010)
  11. The Last Witness (2013)
  12. Deadly Assets (2015)
  13. Broken Trust (2016)

   
  Presidential Agent (with W E B Griffin)
  6. The Outlaws (2010)
  7. Covert Warriors (2011)
  8. Hazardous Duty (2013)
  Presidential Agent Series Books 7-8 (omnibus) (2017)

   
  Clandestine Operations (with W E B Griffin)
  1. Top Secret (2014)
  2. The Assassination Option (2014)
  3. Curtain of Death (2016)
  4. Death at Nuremberg (2017)
  Clandestine Operations Series Books 1-2 (omnibus) (2017)

• From Publisher -

  William E. Butterworth IV has been an editor and writer for more than 25 years, and has worked closely with his father for over a decade on the editing and writing of the Griffin books. He is coauthor with him of more than a dozen New York Times bestselling novels. He is a member of the Sons of the American Legion, China Post #1 in Exile; the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Society; and a life member of the National Rifle Association and the Texas Rifle Association. He lives in Florida.

• BlackFive - http://www.blackfive.net/main/2013/12/book-review-exclusive-interview-with-web-griffin-and-william-e-butterworth-iv.html

  Book Review - Exclusive Interview with W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV
  Monday, December 30, 2013
  First, I had the honor of receiving an advance copy of Hazardous Duty and thought it was the most different but interesting W.E.B. Griffin book that I've read...and I have read them all...yes, all of them (the first one, The LTs, I bought at the Airborne School shopette at Benning in the mid 80s).  I think two whole shelves of my small library 
  While reading Hazardous Duty, I kept thinking this book was written like an Elmore Leonard or Joseph Heller. Turns out, Griffin wrote the M*A*S*H books in the 70s, and knowing this will help you enjoy his work even more. Fan of Griffin books or not, I believe that you will find the latest note from Elise Cooper very interesting.

  Hazardous Duty by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV is the latest book in the Presidential Agent Series.  Unfortunately for those who enjoyed these adventures this will be the last installment.  The plot is a satirical look on how the US President handles national security from the Mexican Drug Cartels to Somali pirates holding three tankers for ransom.  The President calls upon members of his cabinet, and Lieutenant Colonel Carlos “Charley” G. Castillo to resolve these problems.  The rest of the story is how Castillo and the Secretary of State, Natalie Cohen, deals with a President gone crazy that leaves readers with an amusing storyline. 
  Elise Cooper had the privilege of interviewing Griffin and his son Butterworth IV for Blackfive.net. You can read all of our book reviews by clicking on the Books category on the far right sidebar.
  EC:  Why did you write a satire about US politicians?
  Griffin:  I felt I had to write it as a satire.  I am really outraged how people have changed.  What ever happened to duty and country?  I turned this book into a sort of M*A*S*H type story involving the White House and Langley so readers could possibly forget for a minute or so the mess we have in Washington D.C. I had a lot of fun in writing it and hope that people will see some parts are very funny, especially the parts with the porn queen.  I wrote it because I was at a low point and was disgusted at what was happening here in the US. 
  Butterworth IV:  The reason dad could not write this as a serious book is because of the moral indignation coming out of Washington D.C.  Just look at the outrageous decision to reduce the military retirement as part of the budget.  It is one more thing being jammed down our throat.  Many of the politicians today have never served so they don’t understand what someone in the military has to go through. 
  EC:  So what will you replace this series with?
  Griffin:  A new series about the Cold War and the formation of the OSS, the prelude to the CIA. The first book in the Clandestine Operations series, published next year, will be called Top Secret and the main character will be Second Lieutenant James D. Cronley JR. It is already written and I am currently writing the second novel.  The initial book is about how those in the clandestine service had to fight the FBI, the Russians, and a lot of others.  I think it is interesting because of the details of the people involved like Reinhard Gehlen, who wound up as chief of the West German intelligence in the 1950s. Of course I had to change the names but kept some similarities so people will know what I am talking about. I made sure to put all those “nice charming Russians” in it like Stalin.
  EC:  In Hazardous Duty and in the new book Top Secret you do not hide your feelings about the Russians.  For example in this latest book a character throws darts at Putin’s face.  Please comment.
  Griffin:  I wanted to show how Putin is a very dangerous man.  He is a merciless, tough guy who, in my opinion, is smarter than our President.  He will do whatever is necessary for Russia, which is not in our interests.  In the new book I hope to show how Russia has always been an imperialistic power that wanted to control the world. 
  EC:  You also continue to write about the drug cartels.  What do you want the readers to get out of this type of subject?
  Butterworth IV:  This money is driving corruption to all levels of politicians.  It’s an ongoing job to fight the Cartels.  As in Laredo and El Paso, which we describe in this book, there is a spill over of drug violence from Mexico.  All the major crossroads have it.  For example, I-35 in Dallas is a major stepping off point for the drugs to travel across the country from Miami to Houston.  It’s being distributed like regular commerce and is not a pleasant picture. 
  EC:  At the beginning of the book there was a very nice dedication, “Our nation owes these Patriots a debt beyond payment.”  Please comment
  Griffin:  I did it because I admire these guys and gals.  They are the heavy hitters who have done a lot for our country.  Today I am afraid that those serving in the military and CIA are being taken for granted.  They are not in it for the glory, but for G-d, country, and family.
  EC:  Did you base the characters on anyone in particular?
  Griffin: Not the President whose character was designed to entertain.  Regarding the Secretary of State Natalie Cohen I liked her and made sure she is a good person and an interesting character.  She is very honorable, soft spoken, the voice of reason, and could see into a problem.  I am a great admirer of Condoleezza Rice who I possibly based Natalie on.  Rice is bright as a button and a very delicate lady.
  EC:  What is it like working together?
  Griffin:  We are two strong willed people.  (Jokingly) William never pays the proper respect to me as his father and an old man.  Seriously, Billie is a great editor and a writer. 
  Butterworth IV: Since dad is the master if he says this is a good way to do it I do it.  We know how the other thinks and we attempt to write stuff knowing that the other will not object to it.  There is always a positive to our questioning each other.  We write by Skyping, emailing, and talking to each other. We are able to do it because we can easily go back and forth with emails. 
  EC:  Can you give a heads up about your next book?
  Butterworth IV:  It will be a Matt Payne novel. The plot has Matt being haunted by some of what he did in the past.  He has the bad guys after him and some unfounded accusations from the good guys.  He has to survive both.  It was grounded in that all the various good guys, whether spooks, the military, or cops have to deal with the revenge factor.  Some of the guys who do their job very quietly get thrown under the bus and get burned with no one ever hearing about it.  They are all from the same breed and are the same kind of guy who protects all of us. There is a great cross over between all these groups. 
  THANK YOU!!

• Crimespree - http://crimespreemag.com/william-butterworth-iv-talks-about-broken-trust-and-his-father-w-e-b-griffin/

  William Butterworth IV talks about BROKEN TRUST and his father, W.E.B. Griffin
  Posted by Elise Cooper on Oct 29, 2016 in Interviews

  Broken Trust
  W. E. B. Griffin and William Butterworth IV
  G. P. Putnam
  October 4th, 2016
  Broken Trust by W.E.B. Griffin and his son William E. Butterworth IV has many relevant themes intertwined within an action packed plot. This Badge Of Honor Series offers a lot of insight into the lives and challenges of the police. With officers being threatened all across this country this book is a very welcome read.
  The plot begins when Philadelphia Homicide Sergeant Matt Payne sees a shootout while off duty. Known as “Wyatt Earp of the Main Line,” he becomes actively involved even though he is recuperating from a serious gunshot wound. He finds that there is a link between the shootout and a young socialite, Camilla Rose Morgan. When she supposedly falls to her death Matt’s investigation ratchets up. Did she jump, fall, or was pushed? The more Matt digs, the more complications he discovers including that Camilla suffered from bi-polar disorder. He is determined to find the answers even though the Philadelphia political elite wants to throw him under the bus.
  Recently, I had a chance to talk to William Butterworth IV
  Elise Cooper: How is your dad?
  William Butterworth IV: My dad is doing what he loves best, working. He is a long way through the next book, Curtain Of Death.
  EC: You and your dad write books that give a shout-out to so many who put their lives on the line, those in the clandestine series, the military, and the police?
  WB: All these groups are sworn to protect and serve. I told dad that he was one of the first writers, in the early 1980s, to come out with a positive story on the military after the Vietnam War. I think the Brotherhood Of War series was so successful, because finally people who deserved to be written about bought these books. Likewise when he started the Badge Of Honor series about the police. He even spoke to the Philadelphia police force to tell them how much they are respected. We write about good and decent people doing an honorable job.
  EC: It seems you wanted to give a shout out to the wounded warriors?
  WB: My dad and I visited Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio. We had, Amanda, Matt’s Fiancé, decide to go there for a few months to do an emergency medicine residency program. This is one of the premier places that handle burn and trauma as a result of the wars and the IEDs. My dad and I wanted to write about what we experienced when we went there: the incredible inner strength, determination, and perseverance of the patients. We were taken back by their attitude, ‘the harder it gets; the tougher we get.’ After all they’ve been through they still would do anything to get back to serving with their brothers and sisters in uniform. It is awe-inspiring and humbling.
  EC: There are so many themes in this book, but a major one is Broken Trust, the title of the book?
  WB: We had the Philadelphia mayor under fire because of the corruption in his office. Politicians do not spend the energy trying to solve the critical problems. Broken trust is an aspect of politicians, failing our citizens. Philadelphia has so much crime and poverty. There is no hope in sight. They refer to it as ‘Killadelphia’ for a reason.
  EC: Another aspect of the book is how the police feel no one has their back?
  WB: There is a scene in the book where Mayor Jerry Carlucci wants to railroad Matt for political expediency. We wanted to show how no one has their backs. Look at the real scenario that played out in Chicago. A policewoman was horribly beaten and when asked why she did not shoot the perpetrator her reply, ‘I did not want to be the one in the next Black Lives video.’ They no longer go on instinct but feel they must think through their actions. Unfortunately, I do not see it getting better anytime soon.
  EC: Through Matt’s Fiancé, Amanda Law, you showed how the profession could affect relationships?
  WB: Yes. In this book Amanda writes a fake obituary to show him how she worried about his safety. We also put in how about half of the marriages end in divorce, including the line, ‘It takes a really special woman to put up with us. They exist. God bless ‘em, but they’re really rare.’ As with those in the military, spouses have to handle the stress, long absences, and have them leave and wonder if they will see them again. They are in danger 24/7.
  EC: There is also the fact that the police are sitting targets today?
  WB: The book opens when Matt is off duty, but sees a shootout and goes after the bad guys. Even though they are off duty, the police are always on the job. They are constantly surveying. You don’t stop being that trained person because you are not on the clock. Police are trained to run toward the shots, not away from them, as we saw in Dallas.
  EC: I had a good laugh when I read that scene about an unknown number. Please explain.
  WB: How many of us get a call on our cell phone that says ‘unknown?’ Then that person does not leave a message. My rule is: if I do not recognize a number, I do not answer it. I will only call back if someone leaves a message. If you answer it you set yourself up for possible robo calls. Once, I got an unrecognizable number where a message was actually left saying ‘This is the IRS and you are not in compliance with your taxes. You must call this number.’ I decided to play it out. After I called I got a male with a foreign accent. I asked for proof that they were the IRS. After going back and forth I hung up. So many people would call them and have their credit cards sucked dry. It is important to understand nothing is as it appears anymore. You cannot take anything at face value.
  EC: You also have Camilla suffering from bi-polar disorder. Did you base it on anyone?
  WB: I have Matt’s sister, Dr. Amelia explain the disorder. She said how those with the disease ‘spend their whole lives knowing they’re different. They’re self-conscious about it.” I am very familiar with someone who parallels what Camilla went through. At its best it can be controlled with medication, but at its worst it is a horrible thing.
  EC: Why the Wyatt Earp reference?
  WB: A newspaper reporter gave it to Matt as an accolade, because Wyatt Earp was a very good sheriff. In an alleyway he had a gunfight with some gang members. Matt was fired upon, returned fire, and killed the felon. The following day on the front page was a photo of Matt standing over the gang member with a pistol in his hand. The headline, ‘Officer M. M. Payne, 23, The Wyatt Earp of the Main Line.’ He is a true hero.
  EC: It appears there are many unanswered questions in this book. Why?
  WB: True. Camilla’s death will be addressed down the line. We wanted a realistic scenario because often time homicides go unsolved. I will say there will be a big surprise surrounding her death. Regarding what is in store for Matt that will be tackled in the next book. Will he ride to the rescue by becoming a public servant, remain in the force, or become a lawyer/cop?
  EC: This book seems like it is very realistic?
  WB: I wished we lived in happier times so this could be all fiction. How do you write fiction more tragically captivating than what is happening today?
  THANK YOU!!

Curtain of Death: A Clandestine Operations Novel

263.44 (Oct. 31, 2016): p55.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Curtain of Death: A Clandestine Operations Novel
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV.
Putnam, $29 (480p) ISBN 978-0-399-17673-9 Bestseller Griffin and son Butterworth's odd decision to name a major character Claudette Colbert makes suspending disbelief even more of a challenge in their third Clandestine Operations novel (after 2014's The Assassination Option). Their Claudette Colbert is a WAC technical sergeant stationed in Munich in 1946. When four men, believed to be Polish DPs, attempt to abduct her and a fellow WAC tech sergeant in a stolen ambulance, Claudette pulls a revolver out of her bra and shoots three of her assailants dead and mortally wounds the fourth. That improbable scene paves the way for a formulaic spy story that explores the repercussions of the attempted kidnapping as well as the implications of America's denazification of German scientists after WWII. Authors such as James Michener and Joseph Kanon have explored with more depth the moral ambiguity of the U.S. government's decision to turn a blind eye to war crimes in order to counter the Soviet threat. Agent: Robert Youdelman, Rember & Curtis. (Dec.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"Curtain of Death: A Clandestine Operations Novel." Publishers Weekly, 31 Oct. 2016, p. 55. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA470462516&it=r&asid=28d24da612968cd9034169ee8cbc76cb. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A470462516

Deadly Assets: A Badge of Honor Novel

262.26 (June 29, 2015): p47.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Deadly Assets: A Badge of Honor Novel
W.E.B, Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV.
Putnam, $27.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-399-17117-8
At the start of Griffin's gripping 12th Badge of Honor novel (after 2013's The Last Witness), the fourth to be coauthored with son Butterworth, Sgt. Matt Payne of the Philadelphia PD visits a North Philly diner, the workplace of Daquan Williams, a good kid who's on parole and trying to go straight. Payne hopes Daquan might have information about a recent drive-by shooting, but their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of two armed teenagers, one of whom fires three shots before Payne stops him with a bullet to the chest. Meanwhile, as the end of the year approaches, a series of murders raises the annual death toll on Philadelphia streets to 362. The Rev. Josiah Cross, an ex-con who served time for assault and forgery, is leading protests over the killings in "Killadelphia"; Cross's campaign includes a poster of Payne at a crime scene with the caption Public Enemy #1. Payne and his cohorts face long odds in a gritty police series that provides sociological comment but no easy answers. Agent: Robert Youdelman, Rember & Curtis. (Aug.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"Deadly Assets: A Badge of Honor Novel." Publishers Weekly, 29 June 2015, p. 47. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA420928886&it=r&asid=9ca0f2af2f52123c07ac651ab04e5d1d. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A420928886

Top Secret: A Clandestine Operations Novel

261.23 (June 9, 2014): p42.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Top Secret: A Clandestine Operations Novel
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Putnam, $28.95 (528p) ISBN 978-0-399-17123-9
This mildly diverting first in a new thriller series from bestseller Griffin and son Butterworth charts the birth of the CIA in the fall of 1945. When 2nd Lt. James D. Cronley successfully secures a half ton of uranium oxide carried by a German U-boat that might have been sold to Soviet agents in Argentina, he's promoted to captain by Harry Truman, awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, and given command of Operation Ost, which sneaks Nazis out of Germany into Argentina. Maj. Gen. Reinhard Gehlen, "the German intelligence officer who ran Abwehr Ost," trades all the files and assets of his spy organization in return for protecting his men from the Soviet Union. Those readers expecting action will be disappointed as a host of characters make plans, read secret memos, and engage in interior monologues. Those who are happy with lots of interesting period history, dry humor, and clever scheming will be amply rewarded. Agent: Robert Youdelman, Rember & Curtis. (Aug.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"Top Secret: A Clandestine Operations Novel." Publishers Weekly, 9 June 2014, p. 42. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA371690144&it=r&asid=7ddd6609029188f88e0198e341c38be3. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A371690144

Hazardous Duty

260.40 (Oct. 7, 2013): p30.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Hazardous Duty
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Putnam, $27.95 (416p) ISBN 978-0-399-16067-7
Bestseller Griffin's unusual eighth Presidential Agent novel (after 2011's Covert Warriors), his third with son Butterworth, is sure to catch regular readers off balance. President Joshua Ezekiel Clendennen wants series hero Lt. Col. Carlos "Charley" G. Castillo and his team to resolve the wars against the Mexican drug traffickers and the Somali pirates. Meanwhile, members of the president's cabinet and other top Washington officials, who have long suspected that the president is crazy, agree that this overly ambitious policy decision shows that Clendennen is "absolutely bonkers, as mad as the legendary March hare." Charley, who's about to marry Susanna Barlow (formerly Svetlana "Sweaty" Alekseeva of the Russian secret service), has no inclination to become involved in the president's wild scheme. How he and the other series regulars deal with this thorny problem takes up the rest of the book. If Griffin's many fans wonder what their favorite author is up to with these amusing, sometimes silly, hijinks, he explains all in a short afterword. Agent: Robert Youdelman, Rember & Curtis. (Dec,)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"Hazardous Duty." Publishers Weekly, 7 Oct. 2013, p. 30+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA348452363&it=r&asid=865e02182a24f3d012ed74e38007aca4. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A348452363

The Last Witness

260.25 (June 24, 2013): p144.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Last Witness
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Putnam, $27.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-399-16257-2
Members of the Philadelphia PD tangle with ruthless drug and human sex traffickers in bestseller Griffin's explosive 11th Badge of Honor novel, this one, like 2010's The Vigilantes, coauthored with son Butterworth. Homicide sergeant Matt Payne, dubbed the "Wyatt Earp of the Main Line" for a wild shoot-out in the Florida Keys, is on a mandated vacation when Maggie McCain, chief administrator of Mary's House, a charity aiding abused or neglected children, is forced to go into hiding, carrying with her a possible key to busting the traffickers. Recalled to duty, Payne teams with Sgt. James Byrth of the Texas Rangers, and tries to locate Maggie. Meanwhile, Maggie's risky decision to try to turn the tables on the vicious thugs hunting her has dire consequences. The authors use equally strong primary colors to paint both the bad guys and the heroes such as Payne and Byrth. Agent: Robert Youdelman, Rember & Curtis. (Aug.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Last Witness." Publishers Weekly, 24 June 2013, p. 144+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA335070431&it=r&asid=c133dbbb3ea2238197813a9852dae8c3. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A335070431

Empire and Honor: An Honor Bound Novel

259.48 (Nov. 26, 2012): p33.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Empire and Honor: An Honor Bound Novel
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Putnam, $27.95 (528p) ISBN 978-0-399-16066-0
Bestseller Griffin's seventh Honor Bound book, co-written with son Butterworth like the previous entry, 2011's Victory and Honor, continues the series' tradition of bringing espionage's shadow wars to vivid life. Though WWII is over, the pressure on OSS Lt. Col. Cletus Frade is not, due to Operation Phoenix, a long-festering Nazi contingency plan against wartime defeat that aims to establish South American bases from which to launch the Reich's resurrection. U.S. intelligence becomes concerned that U-boats are bringing weapons-grade uranium to conspirators waiting in Argentina to carry on Hitler's legacy. Frade launches a covert op, which Truman "could not have ordered" (to preserve plausible deniability), to prevent the makings of a nuclear weapon from reaching the wrong hands. The pages fly by as the authors mix action and intrigue with a fascinating look at Juan Peron and the Argentina of 1945. Agent: Robert Youdelman. (Jan.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"Empire and Honor: An Honor Bound Novel." Publishers Weekly, 26 Nov. 2012, p. 33. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA310651407&it=r&asid=aa2333a1dfa50ef66ed3462443c373dd. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A310651407

The Spymasters

259.26 (June 25, 2012): p152.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Spymasters
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV.
Putnam, $26.95 (400p) ISBN 978-0-399-15751-6
Bestseller Griffin's solid seventh Men at War novel (after 2007's The Double Agents), the third in collaboration with son Butterworth, finds top OSS agent Maj. Richard Caniday involved in both a mission to keep Ike's imminent plan to invade Sicily a secret and an attempt to sabotage the Nazi V-1 and V-2 program. Goebbels has broadcast that the "aerial torpedo" attacks will first target London, starting in December 1943.
To make the situation even more ominous, the Germans are planning to load nerve gas into the missiles' warheads, a move guaranteed to sow panic. Eschewing extended battle scenes and individual combat for the most part, the authors focus on spy missions behind enemy lines and recreations of meetings between historical characters. You can almost taste the gin and tonic as FUR and OSS chief William "Wild Bill" Donovan meet on the presidential yacht Sequoia to discuss plans for winning the war. Some readers might wish for more action, but series fans should be satisfied. (Aug.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Spymasters." Publishers Weekly, 25 June 2012, p. 152. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA294898148&it=r&asid=1d096e241b43224ea22e761cf2bee782. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A294898148

The Vigilantes

257.25 (June 28, 2010): p102.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Vigilantes
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Putnam, $26.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-399-15663-2
Griffin's plodding 10th police thriller in his Badge of Honor series (after The Traffickers), co-authored with son Butterworth, adds little that's either new or exciting to a shopworn plot. Despite debilitating chemotherapy for prostate cancer, Will Curtis decides to take justice into his own hands and kill John "JC" Nguyen, the slimy drug dealer who slipped his 24-year-old daughter, Wendy, a "roofy," then raped her. While he's at it, Will also whacks shyster lawyer Daniel Gartner, who got JC acquitted on a technicality at JC's trial. Will's good at his work, so he decides to kill every other sexual criminal he can locate running loose on the streets of Philadelphia. Sgt. Matt Payne tries to figure out who's behind this murder spree while pursuing his ongoing love affair with Dr. Amanda Law, the damsel in distress he rescued in The Traffickers. Unfunny interior dialogue and other suspense-impeding devices slow the predictable action to the point that only series fans will find much to enjoy. (Aug.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Vigilantes." Publishers Weekly, 28 June 2010, p. 102. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA230246283&it=r&asid=853eb56819e3cbbf94ace3fafe23f513. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A230246283

The Honor of Spies

256.45 (Nov. 9, 2009): p31.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Honor of Spies W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Putnam, $26.95 (496p) ISBN 978-0-399-155666
Set in 1943, the tedious fifth entry in bestseller Griffin's sprawling Honor Bound series, coauthored with son Butterworth, picks up where Death and Honor (2008) left off, with Don Cletus Frade, a U.S. Marine Corps major, still trying to expose two Nazi secret missions: Operation Phoenix, which concerns large sums of money being smuggled into Argentina to be used by high-ranking Nazis who plan to flee the Reich if Germany loses the war, and another program that ransoms rich Jews out of Germany. Most of the many characters continue to scheme against one another and endlessly discuss their plots, coups, and assassination attempts. Brief, violent altercations occasionally interrupt the talk. As usual, the plot abruptly stops, presumably scheduled to resume in the next installment. Newcomers are advised to start with the first of the series. Those who prefer action in their WWII fiction should go elsewhere. (Jan.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Honor of Spies." Publishers Weekly, 9 Nov. 2009, p. 31. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA212411375&it=r&asid=3a22805cae0b4e6f20bcc9dab734c503. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A212411375

The Traffickers

256.24 (June 15, 2009): p31.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Traffickers
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV.
Putnam, $26.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-399-15586-4
Dope smuggling, prostitution and murder preoccupy Sgt. Matt Payne of the Philadelphia PD in the uneven ninth Badge of Honor novel from bestseller Griffin and son Butterworth (after Final Justice). Payne, known as the Wyatt Earp of the Main Line because of his involvement in so many shootings, receives a call from an old pal, Chad Nesbitt, who tells him that a mutual friend, Skipper Olde, is somehow involved in a catastrophic fire. Matt doesn't care about Skipper, but Skipper's girlfriend, whom Matt had a crush on in high school, has been badly burned. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Juan Paulo Delgado, "El Gato," is going about his usual business of pimping, beating and beheading undocumented Mexican women. Sophomoric, jokey dialogue and intrusive author lectures will lead many readers to tire of the whole business long before the evildoer receives his just and expected reward. Author tour. (Aug.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Traffickers." Publishers Weekly, 15 June 2009, p. 31. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA202125076&it=r&asid=bbd894f527949484542bff4c7a5c643d. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A202125076

Death and Honor

255.17 (Apr. 28, 2008): p110.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Death and Honor
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Putnam, $26.95 (480p) ISBN 978-0-399-15498-0
The solid fourth Honor Bound thriller from bestseller Griffin and son Butterworth picks up where 2000's Secret Honor left off, with OSS agent Cletus Frade still tangling with high-level Nazis in supposedly neutral Argentina in 1943. Fans of WWII-era military fiction, many of whom will likely know little about the South American theater during this period, will welcome this encyclopedic tome, which leaves no small or large historic fact unturned, including recently discovered information exposing the involvement of future Argentine leader Juan Peron in the Nazi cause. In a story that's more spy-vs.-spy than military action, the authors meticulously recreate place and time. Those seeking an easier entry into Griffin's military novels might be advised to start with one of the better-known series such as Presidential Agents (By Order of the President, etc.) or Men at War (The Last Heroes, etc.). Author tour. (June)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"Death and Honor." Publishers Weekly, 28 Apr. 2008, p. 110. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA178895381&it=r&asid=190e66660e438a467a2faa814fec51b7. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A178895381

Griffin, W.E.B. & William E. Butterworth IV. The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel

Robert Conroy
132.10 (June 1, 2007): p109.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2007 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Griffin, W.E.B. & William E. Butterworth IV. The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel. Putnam. Jun. 2007. c.352p. ISBN 978-0-399-15420-1. $25.95. F
In a disappointing follow-up to The Saboteurs, the father-and-son duet of Griffith and Butterworth return to the early days of World War II in the Mediterranean theater. Canidy and his OSS colleagues have returned, and they have but one simple task--to convince the Germans that the next Allied attack from North Africa will not fall on Sicily. They manage this task while tidying up lingering plot threads from The Saboteurs, i.e., the German threat to use chemical and biological warfare against the Americans. There are lies, deceptions, and treacheries galore as the OSS crew struggles to succeed. However, the plot drags, the characters are shallow, and there are so many characters that it's confusing. Worse, nothing exciting seems to happen. Also, the use of "celebrities" (e.g., David Niven, Ian Fleming, and Peter Ustinov) is distracting and cutesy. Griffin's many fans may like it, but others will wonder why. Recommended for larger collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/07.]--Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Conroy, Robert
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
Conroy, Robert. "Griffin, W.E.B. & William E. Butterworth IV. The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel." Library Journal, 1 June 2007, p. 109. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA165193828&it=r&asid=997ea306e33596c8431703bb0787dab0. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A165193828

The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel

254.18 (Apr. 30, 2007): p140.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2007 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel W.E.B. GRIFFIN AND WILLIAM E. BUTTERWORTH IV. Putnam, $25.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-399-15420-1
Actors David Niven and Peter Ustinov, along with James Bond creator Ian Fleming, all of whom actually served Britain in WWII, help the heroes of Griffin's Men at War series deceive the Germans in this solid sixth installment (after 2006's The Saboteurs) from the bestselling author and his son, Butterworth. In 1943, the OSS's William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan spearheads a disinformation effort to trick the Nazis into believing that the western Allies won't invade the European continent through Sicily. One of Donovan's most accomplished operatives, USAAF Maj. Richard Canidy, devises a clever scheme (albeit one familiar to readers of Ewen Montagu's The Man Who Never Was) to plant phony plans on a corpse, along with love letters drafted by the requisite attractive female spy. Some fans may find the prominent role of the real-life celebrities a distraction, but all will enjoy the suspenseful ride. (June)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel." Publishers Weekly, 30 Apr. 2007, p. 140. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA163264161&it=r&asid=766b8130c8d21e6c04c5d2b5239abb86. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A163264161

Griffin, W.E.B. & William E. Butterworth IV. The Honor of Spies: An Honor Bound Novel

Robert Conroy
(Dec. 25, 2009):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Griffin, W.E.B. & William E. Butterworth IV. The Honor of Spies: An Honor Bound Novel. Putnam. Jan. 2010. c.496p. ISBN 978-0-399-15566-6. $26.95. F
World War II truly encompassed the globe, including Argentina, a military and political backwater. Father-and-son authors Griffin ("The Brotherhood of War" series) and Butterworth have a special affection for the country and have used it as the basis for a number of novels, including this latest collaboration. As always, there are betrayals, plots, and Byzantine relationships as the United States works hard to keep Argentina out of Nazi control, even if it means supporting such despicable characters as Juan Peron. Alongside a horde of other characters from previous books in the "Honor Bound" series, Cletus Frade, half Argentine, half American, and impossibly young for the responsibilities given him, works with the OSS to stop the Nazis.
Verdict Focusing on Argentina may be too parochial to interest general readers. Worse, the authors continue their habit of writing lengthy explanations of who was who from previous books, all of which detracts from the plot and renders the book tedious and confusing. Only die-hard fans of the series will enjoy. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/09.]--Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Conroy, Robert
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
Conroy, Robert. "Griffin, W.E.B. & William E. Butterworth IV. The Honor of Spies: An Honor Bound Novel." Xpress Reviews, 25 Dec. 2009. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA216183160&it=r&asid=9f40067fe84157977b07cd554a80d53d. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A216183160

"Curtain of Death: A Clandestine Operations Novel." Publishers Weekly, 31 Oct. 2016, p. 55. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA470462516&asid=28d24da612968cd9034169ee8cbc76cb. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "Deadly Assets: A Badge of Honor Novel." Publishers Weekly, 29 June 2015, p. 47. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA420928886&asid=9ca0f2af2f52123c07ac651ab04e5d1d. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "Top Secret: A Clandestine Operations Novel." Publishers Weekly, 9 June 2014, p. 42. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA371690144&asid=7ddd6609029188f88e0198e341c38be3. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "Hazardous Duty." Publishers Weekly, 7 Oct. 2013, p. 30+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA348452363&asid=865e02182a24f3d012ed74e38007aca4. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "The Last Witness." Publishers Weekly, 24 June 2013, p. 144+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA335070431&asid=c133dbbb3ea2238197813a9852dae8c3. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "Empire and Honor: An Honor Bound Novel." Publishers Weekly, 26 Nov. 2012, p. 33. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA310651407&asid=aa2333a1dfa50ef66ed3462443c373dd. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "The Spymasters." Publishers Weekly, 25 June 2012, p. 152. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA294898148&asid=1d096e241b43224ea22e761cf2bee782. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "The Vigilantes." Publishers Weekly, 28 June 2010, p. 102. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA230246283&asid=853eb56819e3cbbf94ace3fafe23f513. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "The Honor of Spies." Publishers Weekly, 9 Nov. 2009, p. 31. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA212411375&asid=3a22805cae0b4e6f20bcc9dab734c503. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "The Traffickers." Publishers Weekly, 15 June 2009, p. 31. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA202125076&asid=bbd894f527949484542bff4c7a5c643d. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "Death and Honor." Publishers Weekly, 28 Apr. 2008, p. 110. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA178895381&asid=190e66660e438a467a2faa814fec51b7. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. Conroy, Robert. "Griffin, W.E.B. & William E. Butterworth IV. The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel." Library Journal, 1 June 2007, p. 109. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA165193828&asid=997ea306e33596c8431703bb0787dab0. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. "The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel." Publishers Weekly, 30 Apr. 2007, p. 140. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA163264161&asid=766b8130c8d21e6c04c5d2b5239abb86. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017. Conroy, Robert. "Griffin, W.E.B. & William E. Butterworth IV. The Honor of Spies: An Honor Bound Novel." Xpress Reviews, 25 Dec. 2009. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA216183160&asid=9f40067fe84157977b07cd554a80d53d. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-saboteurs-a-men-at-war-novel
  Word count: 668

  The Saboteurs: A Men at War Novel
  W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  W.E.B. Griffin and his son, William E. Butterworth IV, have
  collaborated on a fast-paced novel about the heroes of World War
  II, a return to the popular Men at War series. "Wild Bill"
  Donovan is the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and
  has the job of networking his agents to the best of their
  abilities. The action moves around the world, in chronological
  order of events, from Sicily, London, New Jersey, Texas, Oklahoma,
  New York and Algiers. Major Richard M. Canidy is the first agent
  Donovan has to reign in from overzealous proceedings in his recent
  past. Canidy went solo on a mission to Hungary and now must face
  the consequences for his rogue actions.
  Timing is important in February 1943. German U-boats have sneaked
  into Atlantic waters, wrecking havoc close to American shores.
  Highly trained, Hitler's SS units have been successful in landing
  agents in the United States to detonate bombs in areas of high
  civilian concentration. These enemy saboteurs will make their
  presence known and instill fear in the public. Canidy, his boyhood
  friend Eric Fulmar, and agent Stan Fine have been called in by
  Donovan to locate and eliminate the suspected saboteurs. Canidy's
  summons, however, carries the undertone of rebuke for his Hungarian
  escapade. Canidy fully expects to be assigned a desk or, worse, to
  be fired. But Donovan has a different agenda for his rogue
  agent.
  The authors profile real personalities of the times, alongside
  their fictional agents, to bring the reader directly into the
  story. The well-documented rivalry between FBI Director J. Edgar
  Hoover and the OSS office is on display in THE SABOTEURS. Hoover
  soft-pedals the explosions on American soil to contain terror in
  the public. Hoover's harassment of citizens with possible
  anti-government sympathies is played against the tactics of the
  OSS, a direct-action approach. An FBI agent suffers embarrassment
  by Fulmar's superior physical ability in one comical scene.
  Canidy's assignment is to invade German-occupied Sicily and to
  evacuate a scientist, Dr. Rossi, whose life is in danger. The
  doctor's colleagues have been infected and murdered with a deadly
  Yellow Fever virus. Before Rossi is deposed likewise, his brilliant
  mind can be used against the Germans; he has knowledge about
  developments in atomic fission.
  Canidy finds himself aboard a vessel owned and navigated by
  mobsters from New Jersey, fishmongers who conceal illegal activity
  by legitimate business on the Atlantic loading docks. These Mafia
  personalities are well-developed characters and do elicit sympathy
  during the read. The mob's heyday is colorfully drawn, with
  historical accuracies about well-known, incarcerated mobster
  leaders. Canidy is at their mercy in order to land successfully on
  Sicilian shores.
  Female characters round out the list of players in the story. Ann
  Chambers is the love interest in Canidy's life, a string constantly
  pulling him to London, her base of journalistic operation; she's
  the missing equation in his quest for happiness. A German actress
  beguiles Fulmar and becomes a target in his hunt for the German
  saboteurs. One of the same Germans being hunted by the OSS himself
  falls for an American, a prostitute abused by her employer.
  THE SABOTEURS is a compelling story based on real tales from World
  War II and is dedicated to their memories. Any reader who relishes
  pages from history will enjoy this return to a successful premier
  series. The one regret is that the book is too short. One thirsts
  for more and hopes that Griffin and Buttterworth will compile and
  release many more.

  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on January 23, 2011

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-double-agents-a-men-at-war-novel
  Word count: 629

  The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel
  W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  In
  April 1943, Spanish sympathizers discover the body of Major William
  Martin of the British Royal Marines in waters off the coast of
  Spain. The remains contain a parcel of letters, both personal and
  top secret. Unknown to the Spaniards who find the body is its
  bizarre history prior to the man's demise. Certifying that the
  Major carried important papers to the German and Italian war
  effort, the information is passed to those directly involved.
  Certain that Allied forces plan a massive attack on Sicilian and
  Italian shores, Hitler's generals concentrate troop strength on the
  Italian front.
  W. E. B. Griffin co-authors with his son, William E. Butterworth
  IV, a sixth Men at War novel, titled THE DOUBLE AGENTS.
  Midway through World War II, the British and American OSS (Office
  of Strategic Services) devise the elaborate ruse to confuse German
  planners. Prior to the body's discovery near Huelva, OSS Major
  Richard "Dick" Canidy, working out of Algiers, carries out a daring
  attack on a German supply boat disguised as a fishing vessel.
  Canidy is the OSS hero from the previous Men at War books.
  He's good-looking, the picture of an American playboy type, but
  hard as rock when called upon by the President for his top-secret
  mission.
  An Italian scientist named Dr. Rossi has proof that the Germans
  have infected prisoners with Yellow fever. In addition, Canidy has
  blown up the boat that contains Tuban, a dangerous nerve gas slated
  for use against the Allies. From Algiers, his mission is to
  determine if the gas has sunk or burned in the fire. If burned, the
  gas can cause savage injury and many deaths.
  Canidy's interaction with those under his command in the mission is
  a fun read. One minute he's the no-nonsense commander, the next
  he's concerned for their safety. Canidy manages a sense of humor
  underneath the serious planning, plotting and commission of his
  orders. He works closely with an Italian Mafia native Sicilian to
  gain access to the Island. Lucky Luciano, from an American prison,
  has linked the OSS with Frank Nola, the local Mafioso. His contacts
  on Palermo help Canidy's plan, but Dick is acutely aware that
  Nola's motives may endanger the entire effort. Tubes, a young
  California surfer, operates the radio equipment necessary to their
  success and survival.
  Meanwhile, Griffin and his son develop numerous chapters about the
  dead Major Martin's identity. Based on the fact that David Niven,
  Peter Ustinov and Ian Fleming served as officers in the British
  military services, the authors write a hilarious scenario whereby
  these famous men, along with OSS Lt. Charity Hoche and others,
  craft a cadaver's identity. The Hollywood personalities, complete
  with alcoholic tendencies, round out a voluminous cast of
  characters in THE DOUBLE AGENTS.
  The story is based on a true event --- the dead body's discovery by
  the enemy. While the majority of Allied troops fought in the
  deserts of Africa, a covert operation is carried out in Sicily. For
  the reader who needs romance, Canidy's missing lover, Ann Chambers,
  is the subject of a dedicated search.
  The history presented in THE DOUBLE AGENTS is a reminder that war
  is horrific theater. Without dedicated agents such as the fictional
  OSS characters depicted on its pages, novels like this one would
  merely entertain.

  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on January 21, 2011

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/death-and-honor-an-honor-bound-novel
  Word count: 771

  Death And Honor: An Honor Bound Novel
  W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  Prolific author W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV
  introduce a fourth book in their Honor Bound spy thriller
  series, their first since 1999.

  DEATH AND HONOR is set in Argentina near the end of World War II.
  U.S. Marine fighter pilot and ace Cletus Frade is recruited as a
  spy for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) for the United
  States government. Son of a wealthy murdered Argentine patriot,
  Frade himself has been targeted by unknown assassins. Newly married
  to an Argentine beauty, Dona Doro tea Mallin de Frade, he has his
  hands full running the family’s Estancia San Pedro y San
  Pablo, in Buenos Aires Province. When a German Feisler Storch
  airplane taxis onto the Estancia’s airstrip to land, Frade is
  not surprised. The pilot is German officer Hans-Peter von
  Wachstein, serving the German embassy in Argentina, which has
  declared its neutrality in the war.

  A circumstantial quirk had brought the two fighter pilots together
  six months before. von Wachstein learned that the third Reich
  intended to have Frade killed, and his aristocratic heritage took
  over. von Wachstein had warned Frade about the assassins, and Frade
  thwarted the attempt. Grateful, he respected the German’s
  honorable decision.

  True to his style, Griffin transports his numerous characters into
  a panorama of settings. In Berlin, Admiral Canaris meets with
  Martin Bormann, an SS officer close to Adolph Hitler. Anticipation
  of an end to the war, with Germany on the losing side, prompts the
  spy network to action. The SS has allowed Jews to purchase freedom
  for relatives being held in concentration camps in order to escape
  a death sentence. They collect money and jewels, and crate the
  bounty and ship by U-boats to Argentina. The Reich hopes to tip a
  neutral Argentina toward the Socialist agenda by war’s end.
  At this point, fugitive SS officers will find monetary reward and
  an easy lifestyle in a post-war friendly country.

  Argentine Colonel Juan Peron is to be courted and assimilated into
  the Nazi plan. But a glitch exists. The SS believes that a member
  of their own embassy’s staff has betrayed them.
  Canaris’s protégé and attaché, Boltitz, is the
  man assigned to sniff out the traitor. Boltitz accompanies von
  Wachstein to the airfield at Frade’s estancia.

  Washington, D.C. is yet another scene used in Griffin’s plot.
  Frade is summoned by OSS officials for a briefing on the Argentine
  situation. At OSS headquarters he is surprised by a meeting with
  the U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who charges him to start
  up an Argentine airline company. He will buy 14 Lodestar planes,
  train the pilot force and begin service. He is to monitor the
  Operation Phoenix problem. He will locate the cargo, discover the
  method it enters Argentina and follow its progress. But he will not
  confiscate the cargo. Roosevelt feels that the importance of Jewish
  prisoner release outweighs taking the ransom. Frade is authorized
  to protect the German traitor to his embassy. He is at liberty to
  keep the man’s identity a secret, if necessary.

  Extensive research is a trademark of the spy thrillers under the
  Griffin pen. DEATH AND HONOR extends knowledge of wartime
  experiences into believable scenarios. Frade, a multinational hero,
  morphs from macho man to a formidable patriot, duty-bound to his
  dual citizenship. Doro tea Frade, the newly pregnant wife, provides
  the softer side to a war story. She is constantly amazed by her
  fortitude and spunky prowess when he unintentionally involves her
  in the intrigue.

  Spiked by history, Griffin and Butterworth collaborate well in
  their interpretation. Colonel Juan Peron is both rogue and friend
  throughout DEATH AND HONOR. The climax satisfies the reader as to
  his true place in Argentine history. Complicated titles, especially
  on the German side, prove the few stumbling blocks to an
  entertaining read. However, detail continues to be a fine trademark
  of a Griffin/Butterworth novel. Devotees of World War II books are
  certain to crave more of Cletus Frade.

     

  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on December 29, 2010

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-traffickers-a-badge-of-honor-novel
  Word count: 872

  The Traffickers: A Badge of Honor Novel
  W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  In less than a year, W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth
  IV have cranked out yet another Badge of Honor thriller
  with THE TRAFFICKERS. Homicide Sergeant Matthew Payne has been
  placed on leave from his street assignments following bizarre
  shootings, which have earned him the reputation of being the
  “Wyatt Earp” of the police department.
  Matt’s natural father, a Philadelphia policeman, has been
  killed in the line of duty. His mother marries a prestigious
  attorney who soon adopts him. Raised in the lap of luxury, Matt is
  expected to follow the legal profession and enter his
  father’s firm. Instead, he passes with flying colors the exam
  to enter the city’s police academy, where he excels in all
  phases. It helps that his godfather is Chief Inspector Dennis V.
  Coughlin.
  While Matt contemplates his future career possibilities,
  he’s drawn into a horrific situation involving an old prep
  school friend. “Soup King” Chad Nesbitt rings
  Matt’s number at 4:40 a.m. with an urgent request: “I
  need your help, Matt. This is bad.”
  Matt agrees to meet Chad at an all-night diner across from a
  second-rate motel called the Philly Inn on Frankford. There, he
  witnesses the aftermath of a devastating explosion at the hotel
  site. Yellow crime-scene tape is being strung outside a portion of
  the building near where a burned-out Mercedes-Benz is worked by
  firefighters with “jaws-of-life” equipment. When he
  recognizes that the nearly destroyed car belongs to Becca Benjamin,
  another old friend, Matt is stunned. What could she have been doing
  outside such a sleazy address? She is the victim being frantically
  removed from the wreck for transport to a hospital.
  The shock increases when they realize that a former friend and
  now business associate of Chad’s, Skipper Olde, has sustained
  life-threatening burns inside the unit where the fire erupted.
  He’s being taken to the Temple Hospital Burn Center, where
  Becca is. From across the street, Matt recognizes an early arrival,
  Homicide Detective Tony Harris, on the scene. Digesting the sketchy
  personal details of the business relationship from Chad, Matt walks
  over to the crime scene, flashes his badge and approaches Tony. A
  web slowly unfolds that stretches far beyond the legitimate
  ownership of a down-and-out hotel. His reluctant superiors allow
  Matt involvement only from a desk position. But he vows to work
  with Tony to answer questions about the fire. Illegal drugs become
  the focus of their investigation, and then it becomes apparent that
  the room in question housed a meth lab, one now blown sky high.
  Trafficking in illegal drugs is but one aspect of the puzzle
  being solved. Illegal immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, Colombia
  and numerous South and Central American locations pay high dollars
  for “coyotes” to smuggle them into the United States.
  >From border states, they are transported to cities such as
  Philadelphia, where they are housed and fed in filthy conditions
  and expected to repay their benefactors for bed and board. Young
  women, mere girls, are drugged and turned into prostitutes, with
  severe physical consequences if they buck the system.
  In Philly, the kingpin of the human traffickers, Juan Pablo
  Delgado (El Gato), raises the fear factor of those who dare to
  oppose him. He’ll maim and decapitate any girl who refuses to
  service the men he commands. One such victim, Rosario, escapes from
  him, seeking shelter with an upstanding Mexican family in the city.
  Her cousin Ana, in full view of the remaining cowering illegal
  girls, becomes the object of his wrath. El Gato beats her into
  lifelessness, binds her body and has it dumped into the river. But
  he delivers her severed head to the Paco Esteban family, who has
  given Rosario shelter.
  A Texas ranger flown to Philly from Houston investigates similar
  beheadings in his district, following the destruction wreaked by
  illegal drug and body trafficking. Now working with Matt, they
  discover a trail that leads to events in Philadelphia. Evidence
  points to a much larger operation than an occasional meth lab and
  illegal prostitutes.
  From two dead Hispanic males found in the charred Philly Inn
  room to Skipper’s possible connections with them,
  Matt’s team scrapes together numerous clues that imply a
  bigger scheme. When an armed intruder eludes both police and
  doctors, Skipper is murdered in his hospital bed. The action is
  intense, with chapters carrying many side stories forward but in
  effect conjoined, and the modern police investigation is drawn with
  pictorial pens. Griffin and Butterworth skillfully keep one’s
  attention riveted until the conclusion of THE TRAFFICKERS, which is
  sure to be another bestseller.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on January 23, 2011

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-honor-of-spies-an-honor-bound-novel
  Word count: 659

  The Honor of Spies: An Honor Bound Novel
  W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  THE HONOR OF SPIES, the fifth book in the Honor Bound series, tells the fascinating story of espionage activities of German military officers in Argentina during World War II. A part-time resident of Argentina, W. E. B. Griffin puts his knowledge of its land, cities and political history to good use, creating a scenario that could well have happened in the latter months of the war.
  Co-authored with his son, William E. Butterworth IV, this new spy novel centers on the personal and professional lives of 24-year-old Cletus Frade, a man with dual citizenship in Argentina and the United States. Frade’s mother, an American, married an Argentine against her father’s wishes. A U.S. Marine Corps major who works in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and is head of their operations in Argentina, Frade discovers a plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler. Using the code name “Valkyrie,” the men involved plan financing through a secondary source: the plight of Jews. Jewish family members pay to secrete their loved ones out of Germany, far from the death camps, and into Argentina. Ransoms collected from them will pay for German officers to bring their own families to South America after war’s end. It gets sticky for Frade when a German prisoner of war, interned in Mississippi, is smuggled into Argentina.
  Lt. Frau Frogger’s parents, former German diplomats, have turned against Hitler and are part of the Valkyrie operation. OSS operatives suspect them of espionage and pursue them, learning of their hideout on a hacienda on Frade’s vast estates. Frade now becomes aware of the Froggers’ involvement and of secret caches of money and jewels coming into Argentina via the Germans. Frogger, who has misgivings about turning into a traitor, becomes hysterical and is forcefully detained.  
  Complications occur when Frade discovers that his godfather, Colonel Juan Peron, is aware of the monetary shipments being smuggled into the country. Known as a Nazi sympathizer, Peron was nonetheless a true friend of Frade’s father. The senior Frade, widely held to be the next president of Argentina, has been assassinated by persons unknown, making the junior Frade heir to vast land holdings. Frade privately feels that the Germans are responsible for his father’s death. Now his wife, Dona Dorotea, will soon give birth to a son of their own.
  Frade’s friends include a feisty Roman Catholic priest, Father Welner, who holds his own with Frade in tasting the fine wines produced on the Frade estates. The secretive priest appears when least expected, especially when local Argentine officials confide about matters of German espionage. The German infiltrators are overwhelmed with distrust in their own ranks. Loyalties to the Third Reich dissolve quickly when individuals plan to save their own skins. A chief instigator is SS-Brigadefuhrer Manfred von Deitzberg, sent via U-boat by OSS officer Himmler to eliminate the Froggers, locate and secure the special funds reserve, and destroy the new Constellation aircraft now owned by Frade and his company, Argentine Airways. Through contacts in the local government, Frade learns of Deitzberg’s deviant activity and must terminate the man and his plans.
  Griffin and Butterworth give us details from actual history, and the novel becomes more important than a simple wartime story. Cletus Frade may well have been a Marine officer living in Argentina. Various references from history give accurate details of both the Valkyrie and Operation Phoenix. But THE HONOR OF SPIES is a fictional panorama that makes for a truly entertaining adventure. It is far more exciting to picture the dashing young Cletus Frade in action than to read didactic facts from a history book. THE HONOR OF SPIES barely introduces Eva Peron; perhaps she’ll factor into future Honor Bound novels.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on January 22, 2011

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-vigilantes-a-badge-of-honor-novel
  Word count: 889

  The Vigilantes: A Badge of Honor Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  THE VIGILANTES is the newest novel in W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV’s Badge of Honor series. Set in Philadelphia, the story centers on a string of brutal killings, with few clues for the elite detective unit to track down. Wealthy philanthropist Francis Franklin Fuller V believes in primitive justice and offers a $10,000 reward to any civilian who helps bring the killer(s) to justice. Fuller’s organization, Lex Talionis, becomes the drop-off point for the mounting number of dead bodies now termed “pop-and-drops” by the police. “Drops” identify dead bodies that accumulate in front of Fuller’s offices, not far from police precinct headquarters. Furthermore, the dastardly events have begun on Halloween.
  The book begins in the mind of 54-year-old Will Curtis, who stalks two people who have wronged his family and gotten away with the rape of his 24-year-old daughter, Wendy. The sleazy lawyer got his client released on a technicality, never to serve the sentence for his crime. Curtis, ill from chemotherapy treatments, waits outside Daniel Garner’s law office, loaded Glock in hand. Curtis plans an elaborate scheme of vengeance for sex crimes against innocent women and children. His first two victims are rolled from his FedEx van onto the doorstep of Talionis.
  But the pop-and-drops continue with additional bodies dropped for police to identify and rewards to claim. Matthew Payne, dubbed in the media as “Wyatt Earp of the Main Line” due to his unique “react first” style, comes off desk duty to lead the task force searching for the vigilante responsible for these dead bodies. Philadelphia’s murder statistics had been dropping until the vigilante killings began. The mayor is furious and demands immediate results from his police force.
  At 27, Payne juggles his time spent on the crimes between love trysts with his romantic interest, Dr. Amanda Law. She has recently recovered from her abduction by a psychopath in front of the hospital where she works. Still traumatized by her near-death experience, she now resides in a residential apartment-hotel known in law enforcement as “the fortress.” Payne is certain that the Hops Haus Tower will shelter her from future harm. But she has visible concerns about her liaison with a cop and writes up his possible obituary as a reminder of their fragile relationship. The written words haunt him during the investigation that may get him killed.
  More than one vigilante group emerges when the hit list grows larger. Two interesting facts emerge from the latest crime scenes: a huge volume of what appears to be human urine is splashed randomly at one site, and copies of police rap sheets are attached to some of the bodies. The sheets seem to be reprinted on the same type of cheap paper. One victim’s murder leads to another when a respected former school principal is found dead in her home, her granddaughter the only witness. Later, the criminal who intimidated the woman’s granddaughter is found brutally murdered, with his lengthy rap sheet close at hand. A problem with his death is that he’s been beaten by a gang of neighborhood youths who seek revenge for the teacher’s murder. As a group, they place his body in the appropriate place to claim the reward.
  Meanwhile, a city councilman with sights on becoming mayor, H. Rapp Badde, becomes involved when land he has manipulated for condemnation is destroyed on a Sunday morning. Badde’s underhanded dealings involve declaring that the poor row houses in the downtrodden neighborhood are unfit for habitation. Armed by a “lands in public domain” ruling, his contractors begin the demolition. A bulldozer crashes into a house and scoops up a lifeless human body. Badde and his surly comrades halt the work. Involved with his beautiful assistant in an incestuous relationship, Badde makes certain that unscrupulous dealings by his campaign workers will not be unearthed. The sidelight problems he encounters make for an interesting secondary plot.
  Payne’s foremost task is to stop the grisly killings, but he’s thwarted when Fuller increases his reward payout to $20,000. Payne and his partner, Harris, circle in on the citizen who has become a vigilante killer by analysis and coordination of the murder sites, physical evidence, if any, past associations of the criminals murdered, and witness memories. What they believe to be the next crime is soon near reach.
  Curtis, though the villain, becomes somewhat likable by his tenacity to rid the city of sexual deviants. The vigilante atmosphere brings out the best and worst in the citizenry. The media highlights every aspect of these cases, including the rewards offered in hopes of helping police do their job. Payne’s dual problems --- keeping Amanda safe and happy, and himself alive --- move the story forward with electricity. Griffin and Butterworth introduce a large number of characters, which makes the reader pay attention the entire time. Together, they write a crime story that chronicles the daily activities of a vital police force. THE VIGILANTES is written testimony to those who put their lives on the line every day for the public they serve.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on August 10, 2010

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-outlaws-a-presidential-agent-novel
  Word count: 735

  The Outlaws: A Presidential Agent Novel
  W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  THE OUTLAWS, W. E. B. Griffin’s latest novel in his Presidential Agent series, carries the activities of retired U.S. Army Colonel Charley Castillo through his on-and-off-again contacts with cabinet members of the current U.S. President, Joshua Clendennen. Castillo, formerly in command of the Office of Operational Analysis and authorized by the President’s now-deceased predecessor, has quietly “disappeared from the face of the earth,” as directed by his commander-in-chief. His group has dispersed as well, but he’s always fully aware of their whereabouts. Castillo remains cloistered at his ranch in Argentina, along with his female companion, former Russian agent Colonel Svetlana Alekseeva.
  Two incidents occur that draw Castillo back into the radar scope of the present U.S. government. A large package is sent to the U.S. biohazard laboratory, from Florida to Fort Detrick, Maryland, to Colonel Hamilton, chief analytical officer for biohazardous material. He earlier identified material seized by Castillo’s group from a raid on a so-called “fish farm” and labeled the agent as Congo-X. The operation had been a clandestine affair, the entire amount of Congo-X thought to have been destroyed. Now it’s believed that the Russians have made a statement to the U.S. with this package.
  Nearly at the same time, a beer barrel container has been located just across the U.S.-Mexican border, labeled identical to the shipment received in Maryland. A simultaneous mail delivery from the Russian Embassy reveals a request from Vladimir Putin. Two Russian SVR agents, Svetlana and her brother, are believed to be in company with Castillo, who reportedly had kidnapped them before they could defect to a disgruntled U.S. under-secretary. Putin now wants his agents returned, to be decorated in their homeland. The lethal Congo-X containers look to be bargaining tools. Incidentally, Putin would like Castillo delivered to him as well.
  President Clendennen, miffed by the lack of advisement by his predecessor, is all too willing to give up the two Russians and Castillo. The only problem is, they cannot be found. Clendennen sends Ambassador Montvale, a man he considers far beneath himself in intelligence, to locate the retired officer. Meanwhile, two American journalists lust after the big headline they believe will give them notoriety. Getting wind of the activity at Fort Detrick, Roscoe Danton becomes curious and digs further. When he’s contacted by Eleanor Dillworth, who had been demoted after the Russian defector affair, he heads south to ferret out the truth. It appears as if Castillo has an entire army looking for him.
  Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV have cranked out another speedy addition to the Presidential Agent series. Keeping their readers satisfied and hungry for more, they have delivered yet again. For those of us who have kept up with the Charley Castillo adventures, the number of pages devoted to backstory is laborious. But, in fairness to new Griffin/Butterworth devotees, the table needed to be set for the delicious dinner of espionage. The usual large number of personalities involved --- from the White House to the Cabinet, to CIA, FBI and ambassadorial underlings --- though cumbersome, does acquaint the reader with sufficient knowledge to follow the action.
  Extensive research in the field of aviation is a trademark of the authors. Castillo can pilot aircraft ranging from a Gulfstream jet to a Blackhawk helicopter to a gigantic Russian super-liner. The proper strategies can be located to land all of the above aircraft, the means to which are cleverly introduced into the story.
  Congo-X is a lethal biohazard agent, resistant to destruction by means yet discovered. Hamilton’s role in THE OUTLAWS becomes of urgent importance the deeper into the story we read. If the deadly agent can be destroyed, future risks may be curtailed. However, the retired Castillo may have to re-emerge to determine that no more Congo-X exists.
  The action crosses the globe --- from Budapest to Washington, Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina. Castillo makes his presence known in all locations, and his well-connected personal history becomes an important factor throughout the book. What can possibly come next for a retired ex-officer who has been ordered by his President to “disappear to the ends of the earth?”
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on March 28, 2011

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/victory-and-honor-an-honor-bound-novel
  Word count: 833

  Victory and Honor: An Honor Bound Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  In the final days of World War II, with Germany’s surrender on the horizon, the European director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) meets with Lieutenant Colonel Cletus Frade to discuss options for the OSS. Following the death of FDR, who had supported them fully, the future with President Truman is uncertain. Scrambling between other military and civilian organizations to assume its command appears imminent, or the agency ceases to exist.
  "Young, debonair, cocky, handsome and highly skilled, Clete Frade is the embodiment of a reader’s ideal wartime hero."
  Frade and his immediate group have been involved in two important undercover operations in recent days. As executive officer and majority owner of South American Airways in Argentina, he has flown numerous German military officers and their families to safe haven for the duration of the war in Europe. Another contingent of Nazi military men has taken refuge in Argentina, with the intention of setting up a new socialist government when the war ends. It is believed that they have hoarded money and jewels, ransomed from wealthy German Jews, to finance their future utopia. These latter Germans are the criminal element that Dulles, Frade and the OSS hope to return for trial as war criminals.
  Yet a third group is remnants of a conspiracy of Hitler’s own officers that attempted his assassination. These men will be given safe haven, but many have been killed by Hitler when the attempt failed. Frade has, in his keeping, two German officers --- the sons of two men in the conspiracy against Hitler. Both are invaluable to him for their knowledge of the German elite corps and of the threat now posed by members of the Russian Soviet system.
  Hans-Peter Baron von Wachstein, whose father was brutally murdered for his part in the Hitler plot, is capable of piloting the most advanced aircraft. His past history includes many strikes against Allied forces. Karl Boltitz is the second, a naval officer in the German service. Both men are held at Fort Hunt, in Alexandria, VA, on charges of conspiring against the U.S. Frade plays an elaborate ruse to its tiniest detail when he fetches them out of the military prison. The role they will play in exposing dubious plans by the Soviets becomes of paramount importance to the OSS. Peter is adept in learning to pilot the Constellations that SAA now owns. Karl is a skilled radio operations officer, with capabilities that prove of top-secret usage. Frade promises to help both men find out the truth about their fathers.
  The usual grayed pages of text, common in W.E.B. Griffin’s Honor Bound novels, are present here. Most are communications techniques designed to pass on information via confidential notations from the higher command to its employees. In Frade’s case, his orders from Allen Dulles arrive in this manner. Spanish is employed as yet another means Griffin uses to distinguish the times when Frade returns to Argentina. Spanish place names denote his family land holdings, airways, and the names of his loyal employees. Holding dual citizenship in Argentina and the United States is a bonus that Frade uses to his full advantage.
  Frade’s past heroics, though illustrious, have dubbed him “the loose cannon” member of the OSS. Often under reprimand for harebrained near-escapes, he manages to succeed where others might fail. Underlying the intrigue associated with the missing Nazi officers is the knowledge of a top-secret plan called the “Manhattan Project,” the development of an aircraft to carry an atomic bomb. OSS holds this secret, unknown to other high-level government agencies. Whether or not it has leaked, or if Hitler’s scientists have secured the same secret weapon, all play in the ultimate success or demise of the OSS.
  Young, debonair, cocky, handsome and highly skilled, Clete Frade is the embodiment of a reader’s ideal wartime hero. He appears perfect, but his flaws crop up when he attempts the daring prison rescue of the two Germans. He has lied, shown false credentials, and faces court-martial himself, but pursues his plan with zeal. A slim doubt creeps upon him when the plan is about to backfire. His confidence is restored when he turns yet a different corner to succeed. His compassion for those under his command is steadfast. When he confronts his godfather, Juan Peron, his political leaning far from the socialist agenda is stated.
  W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV have added a new tale to a series that inks a part of recent history not to be forgotten in today’s fast world. The part Argentina played at the end of World War II is written in VICTORY AND HONOR, and will educate and amuse those who turn its pages.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on June 28, 2011

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/covert-warriors-a-presidential-agent-novel
  Word count: 716

  Covert Warriors: A Presidential Agent Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  In April 2007, a highway murder and kidnapping north of Acapulco, Mexico, threatens the relations between the United States and its southern neighbor, and may have much broader implications. A couple of DEA agents accompany two Special Forces U.S. Army officers en route to a meeting in Acapulco to advise local officials in the drug wars with Mexican cartels. They are detained at a roadblock and are forced to exit the diplomatically licensed car.  The driver and two DEA agents are shot without warning, and Lt. Col. James Ferris is knocked out, cuffed, blindfolded and thrown into the back of a Suburban. Lt. General Bruce McNab, Special Ops Commander, receives word of the abduction at his office at Ft. Bragg, N.C. from Secretary of State Natalie Cohen.
  "W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV again give us an action/adventure story, filled with espionage, unusual personalities, patriotic zeal and a conclusion with enough questions to make the reader ask for more."
  Meanwhile, a meeting of power players in two private corporations takes place in Las Vegas. Retired Lt. Col. Carlos "Charley" Castillo and his LCBF corporation meet with a group known as "Those People" made up of venture-capital-sponsored former government FBI and CIA types. They will collaborate when clandestine special operations outside the government's realm are called for. Castillo's previous operation called for his resignation as an active Army officer. Señorita Susanna Barlow and her brother, Thomas, rescued from a return to Russian Secret Services by Castillo, join him in the discussions. The groups plan to combine financial and physical resources if called to action.
  When Castillo hears of his friend's kidnapping, he adds up the details and discovers more unanswered questions. At the same time, General McNab sends a special envoy to Mexico to identify the bodies, enlists Roscoe Danton from the Washington Times-Post to control publicity and decides to ask Castillo for help, if needed.
  To further complicate matters, President Clendennen plunges forward to resolve the situation with diplomacy. The man trusts no one in his inner circle, firing his Press Secretary, Porky Parker, over a minor mistake. The President believes there’s a conspiracy to remove him from office. He wants to pull the strings to release Ferris from his captors. Their request for his freedom is to swap him for a Mexican national serving in a U.S. prison. McNab and Secretary Cohen believe that much more is at stake than dealings with drug cartels. It's time to call in Castillo's group for clandestine action.
  Meanwhile, both Parker and Clanton are brought into the Castillo inner circle to maintain press security. Gen. McNab's job would be on the line if the president discovered the sanctioned behind-the-scenes activity. Castillo annoys the President further by attending the funeral of his former Special Ops friend at Arlington, along with his entire "Outlaw" group. The widow had requested her husband's burial in Texas, but Clendennen had insisted on a very public interment, complete with full ceremony and press.
  There is also the matter of a Mexican police Black Hawk helicopter, thought to have been destroyed in Castillo's earlier operation. Castillo bought it with corporate money and has it stored at Ft. Bragg until further needed. Now appears to be the time. With information supplied by reliable informants, he believes that Russian influence is behind the killings and that the plan is to draw his men into a trap recapturing former SVR agents Sweaty Barlow and her brother, Tom. Castillo smells the odor of revenge in the obtuse deal.
  Although Castillo seems mature beyond his years, we are reminded that he is retired by 30 and independently wealthy. W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV again give us an action/adventure story, filled with espionage, unusual personalities, patriotic zeal and a conclusion with enough questions to make the reader ask for more. Hopefully the father and son team will continue to resurrect Charley Castillo and his merry band of Outlaws. In fact, Sweaty does provide a romantic interest for our hero that could blossom in future episodes.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on January 20, 2012

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-spymasters-a-men-at-war-novel
  Word count: 636

  The Spymasters: A Men at War Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  Taking place during the latter years of World War II, THE SPYMASTERS --- W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV’s latest Men at War novel --- follows the sometimes unorthodox OSS officer Dick Canidy in a mission to rescue two of his missing operatives. Readers have followed him behind enemy lines to Sicily, where he was successful in destroying canisters of a lethal toxic chemical that Germany tried to produce for use in its weaponry. In retaliation, the SS had strung up two Sicilian fishermen, chosen at random in a message to locals that helping the Americans will have deadly consequences. A radio operator and assistant remain behind, to intercept communications between the Germans and Italian allies. When intelligence from Canidy’s men seems odd, the OSS fears the mission has been compromised and the men captured. 
  "Griffin and Butterworth fill their series with numerous characters, use block wording for passing intelligence messages, and draw heavily on the 'rogue' attitude of their protagonist."
  Against orders from General Eisenhower, Canidy pushes his immediate boss, Captain Fine, to allow him and one man to enter Sicily, to determine what has happened to his radio oprerator, and either rescue him or shut down the Mercury Station. Ike’s emphasis is on the forthcoming Allied landing in France. He will not fund intelligence activity whose complications may compromise the greater mission, the Normandy invasion. 
  However, Canidy’s group, through information from Allen Dulles, brings to light an even greater threat. Dulles keeps in close contact with a former college friend, German industrialist Wolfgang Kappler, and they meet in Switzerland, safe territory for both.  Kappler’s steel factories have been nationalized by the Hitler regime and re-tooled for weapons manufacture. He owns seven plants, five of which have been taken. Intelligence relays that massive dams in the Ruhr Valley have been bombed, the river flooding the entire countryside, meaning that Kappler’s investment will be destroyed. It is believed that his factories will produce warheads that will carry a new form of nerve gas, more potent than those canisters that Canidy destroyed. The new warhead will be capable of reaching the British coast, information that Dulles convinces Kappler to verify.
  OSS will extract Kappler’s family to safety in South America, though Kappler’s son, a German army officer, may be unwilling to turn traitor to his country. A complicated series of covert activities get underway to locate Oscar and determine his loyalty.
  Canidy forces himself to team up with the Sicilian Mafia , in the person of Jimmy Palasota (or Skinny Jimmy in Mafia ranks). Palosota’s ties link around the globe to New York City and include American mobsters, jailed and otherwise. His present locale is the Hotel Michangelo in Sicily, where he operates a lucrative prostitution business. Now, with the town swarming with arrogant German SS officers, his girls keep the coffers full. But Jimmy and friends hold no love for the German occupiers; he will take his profit from them without a second thought. 
  Canidy’s mission soon becomes two-fold: to locate and extract his own men, and to either kill or rescue Oscar.
  Griffin and Butterworth fill their series with numerous characters, use block wording for passing intelligence messages, and draw heavily on the “rogue” attitude of their protagonist. The Men at War series exposes a side of U.S. intelligence used in World War II, actions that are probable but not heretofore glorified. A glimpse of the generals associated with the bigger picture of combat is informative. Although the conclusion seems a bit rushed, THE SPYMASTERS satisfies.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on November 2, 2012

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/top-secret-a-clandestine-operations-novel
  Word count: 886

  Top Secret: A Clandestine Operations Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  TOP SECRET signals the start of a brand new series for W.E.B. Griffin and his son, William E. Butterworth IV. Appropriate for today’s national concern over tensions with Russia, the first Clandestine Operations novel is set at the end of World War II when both sides occupy Germany.
  The story, though fiction, broadens our understanding of the tensions existing there. Argentina, a sympathizer to both sides, has become the focus for relocating former German officers, higher-ups in Hitler’s command. Monies have already been transferred there by the Nazis themselves. For the Americans, it becomes imperative to keep military secrets from the reach of Soviet spies and the KGB. Unlike J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, newly sworn-in President Harry Truman believes that Russia’s aspirations involve advancement into Europe. A new unit, the OSS, is formed to deal with delicate secret matters in an attempt to circumvent Hoover’s agency. 
  "Griffin and Butterworth blend their talents in a seamless military adventure that could well have happened at the beginning of the Cold War with Russia. TOP SECRET is a big book but an easy read, and pages cry out to be turned for the next thrilling chapter."
  Emerging is a new hero, Second Lt. James D. Cronley, Jr., who proves to live on the edges of military propriety just as his Texas relative, U.S. Marine Major Cletus Frade, did from previous Griffin novels. At war’s end, Cronley’s bravado in keeping secret cargo confiscated from a U-boat heading for Argentina earns him an audience with the President. His romance with Marjorie Howell, the granddaughter of Texas oil and aviation tycoon Cletus Marcus Howell, leads to an elopement before the now-Major Cronley heads to Germany. While he flies overseas, his wife is killed in a head-on crash outside of Washington.
  Under the command of Col. Robert Mattingly, Cronley will oversee operations at Kloster Grunau, a former Vatican-owned monastery in the American Zone of Occupation in Bavaria.  His newly formed unit is placed under the direction of a new Cabinet agency, led by General Souers, to be known in the future as the CIA. Cronley’s job will be to work with former high-ranking German military officers who are now civilians. His unit is to care for them, guard military secrets they have shared, and ultimately arrange new identities and lives for them and their families in Argentina. Meanwhile, these secrets are to be kept from the Soviet KGB and the FBI.
  General Reinhard Gehlen and Oberst Ludwig Mannberg confer with Cronley about his celebrated action on the U-boat. The discussion leads to the discovery that an occupant in the compound had been caught in an escape attempt. He carries a nearly complete roster of all German prisoners/detainees who had made it out of the Russian Zone, which includes most of Gehlen’s people. Gehlen had run German intelligence during the war, and believes the culprit to be an NKGB agent who may have turned on some of his own people to spy for the Soviets.
  In ensuing chapters, Cronley’s youth and inexperience meet test after test against older, higher-ranking military minds. Where the Germans’ method is to “disorientate” the Russians, Cronley prefers a subtle, more humane approach. 
  Barely having time to grieve over Marjorie, Cronley meets with Mattingly and officers close to General Eisenhower to refine strategies they will implement for the mission. He sees Mattingly as one who will delegate unpleasant duties to keep his hands clean. The spy situation fits the pattern, with Cronley the designated fall guy. Cronley meets Col. Shumman and his wife, Rachel, with ASA and CIC officers, and finds his youth and good looks severely tested. Rachel unapologetically flirts, cajoles and seduces him. Guilt sweep across him, but primal urges win out. Often, the two are thrown together in formal military events, and he cannot shake himself loose from her seduction. Each tryst makes him more uneasy. 
  Griffin brings in the familiar Major Cletus Frade, from his earlier series about Argentinian involvement during WWII, as both a mentor and relative to Cronley. Together, they fly many miles in German Storch aircraft, U.S.-made constellations and miscellaneous other planes to carry out the orders given them by President Truman. Like the young Frade before him, Cronley pulls blunder after blunder, rising for scant breaths of reality. His impetuous nature often creates success, but leaves unanswered questions asked by his superiors, primarily Mattingly. When Cronley realizes that the Russian spy may have higher motives for lack of cooperation, the youthful officer offers sanctuary to the man far beyond the scope of his authority. Hiding an internal clandestine operation from his superior officer with hopes of gaining valuable information takes both him and Frade on a wild aerial sortie. 
  Griffin and Butterworth blend their talents in a seamless military adventure that could well have happened at the beginning of the Cold War with Russia. TOP SECRET is a big book but an easy read, and pages cry out to be turned for the next thrilling chapter.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on August 22, 2014

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/empire-and-honor-an-honor-bound-novel
  Word count: 535

  Empire and Honor: An Honor Bound Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  EMPIRE AND HONOR, a compelling addition to W. E. B. Griffin’s Honor Bound series, begins in October 1945, shortly after the formal ceremony aboard the USS Missouri that officially ends World War II. 
  Like the preceding books in the series, the setting is primarily in Argentina, with the now-defunct OSS operating in clandestine form. German U-boats have penetrated the Argentine coast in the San Marin Gulf, unloading a cache of money, jewelry, and German citizens, many of whom are former SS officers now wanted by international tribunals for trial as war criminals. Two such boats land in the gulf loaded with heavy wooden crates. Captain von Dattenberg of the U-405 has been ordered to scuttle his boat, but surrenders his craft and crew after off-loading the cargo to Heinrich Himmler’s SS guard.
  "EMPIRE AND HONOR contains more personal anecdotes that link characters through their past histories than the previous books in the Honor Bound series, as well as more sexual intimacies --- the prose is slightly racy but not pornographic."
  In the meantime, Clete Frade, a decorated American Marine Officer, is the Argentine commander of the formally defunct OSS operation. Clete’s mission is to relocate certain former German officers to give up information about Germany’s war secrets. These defectors will cooperate with the Americans to keep information from the Russian occupiers of Germany. The United States and Russia have entered the period later to be known as the Cold War.
  Jimmy Conley, Clete’s boyhood compatriot who speaks fluent German, is seen both as a young Army Lieutenant and as a 14-year-old Texas youngster ready to follow his older friend regardless of personal cost. He matures within the pages, establishing his worth in the complicated scheme of events. Clete’s entire group works under the radar to separate the “good” former SS military men from their “bad” officers, who desire to remain undercover long enough to stir up support for a new Socialist order in South America. In the mix is Juan Peron, Labor Minister and Vice-President of Argentina, who has long sympathized with the Hitler regime. Peron is Clete’s godfather, but the two have a tenuous relationship.
  The meat of the plot revolves around Heinrich Himmler’s former SS officers unloading weapons-grade uranium powder from their U-boats on Argentine shores. Knowledge that a Russian contact is willing to purchase the powder gives Clete’s group impetus to locate and confiscate the cache. As a bona fide American military officer, Jimmy has the status to act for them without compromising activities with the “good” Germans. 
  Griffin and co-author William E. Butterworth IV weave the large cast of characters skillfully throughout the novel. EMPIRE AND HONOR contains more personal anecdotes that link characters through their past histories than the previous books in the Honor Bound series, as well as more sexual intimacies --- the prose is slightly racy but not pornographic. And the tidbits about Juan Peron enhance its historical value. I highly recommend this action-packed book.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on January 4, 2013

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-last-witness-a-badge-of-honor-novel
  Word count: 589

  The Last Witness: A Badge of Honor Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  I can’t think of an author who is more reliable, quantitatively or qualitatively, than W.E.B. Griffin. He has written (or, more recently, co-written with William E. Butterworth IV) over 50 novels, spread across six different series and dealing extensively with everything from infantry and espionage during World War II to Vietnam, modern-day counterterrorism, and the day-to-day battles fought without fanfare on the streets by the Philadelphia Police Department.
  You can pretty much take anything Griffin has written, hand it to someone who wants to be initiated into the joys of thriller fiction, and say “try this” to make a fan and a friend for life. One can sense from their writing that both Griffin and Butterworth are solidly grounded, possessed with a dead-on, clear-eyed and clear-headed knowledge of the world and its workings (those who seek unicorns to inhabit their worldview might be happier elsewhere), and their protagonists are filled with the same, right stuff.
  "THE LAST WITNESS is equal parts thriller and crime novel, but it is a cautionary tale as well. Ignore it at your peril --- or read, enjoy and learn."
  THE LAST WITNESS is the 11th installment in their Badge of Honor series, dealing with the men and women of the Philadelphia Police Department, specifically with homicide detective Matt Payne. The plot, as happens with many of Griffin and Butterworth’s novels, is complex but straightforward. Payne is vacationing in Florida with his fiancee, Amanda Law, when a home invasion in the fashionable Society Hill area of Philadelphia results in the fiery death of a young woman and sends the sole witness --- Margaret “Maggie” McCain, the homeowner --- hurriedly into hiding. It turns out that Maggie and Amanda are friends, both know people in high places, and Payne finds himself assigned to the investigation.
  What develops is the makings of a world-beating police procedural, moving from Philadelphia to Florida, Texas, the Virgin Islands and beyond. The reason for this is the presence of international baddies. The home invasion is tied to the Mexican cartel, which in turn is using Philadelphia as a staging area for illicit traffic of drugs and women. The Russian mob is in the mix as well. What Payne needs to do to unravel the threads and bring the doers to justice while shutting down their operations --- at least for a while --- is to find Maggie, the “last witness” of the piece, before the bad guys with the long reaches do. Payne is not without resources, but his biggest problem is finding someone who, out of self-preservation, simply does not want to be found. A hard target in the classical sense, indeed.
  The Griffin/Butterworth team tells it like it is. The presence of Russians in organized crime is at an epidemic level in the United States, with involvement in everything from strip clubs and the women who perform in them to pawn shops and construction. As for the Mexican drug cartels, they have been operating with impunity on this side of the border for the past five years, and in areas as close to the Canadian border as to our southern one. THE LAST WITNESS is equal parts thriller and crime novel, but it is a cautionary tale as well. Ignore it at your peril --- or read, enjoy and learn.
  Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub on August 9, 2013

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/hazardous-duty-a-presidential-agent-novel
  Word count: 702

  Hazardous Duty: A Presidential Agent Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  There comes a point when an author of a series must ask if that series is broken and needs to be fixed or is rolling along just fine, if somewhat predictably. This issue was seemingly broached by W.E.B. Griffin and co-author William E. Butterworth IV with respect to the Presidential Agent series, with the apparent conclusion that a change, however temporary, was necessary.
  Griffin himself indicates in the Afterword to HAZARDOUS DUTY, the eighth and latest installment in the Charley Castillo canon, that he intended this book to be a “M*A*S*H Goes to the White House and Langley” of sorts. And yes, he and Butterworth succeed in that regard, to a certain extent. However, it is somewhat doubtful that most readers will be inclined to make the journey with him, at least on this trip.
  There is no doubt that HAZARDOUS DUTY is funny. The elements are all there. The President of the United States, Joshua Ezekiel Clendennen, is erratic to the point of being deranged, and everyone around him knows it. The usual practice of the President’s cabinet and advisors is to listen to what he wants done and then circumvent his wishes in a manner that still results in a satisfactory conclusion. Clendennen faces problems on two fronts: Mexican cartels and Somali pirates. His solution is to recruit Charley Castillo, a Colonel who ran a special ops team. There’s only one problem: Clendennen fired Castillo and his team. Castillo has gone to ground in parts unknown (well, unknown to Clendennen, anyway), and his team has been scattered. Clendennen is convinced that he can tempt Castillo back, but the history of the two men is such that it is going to take some indirect persuasion from elsewhere if there is even a snowball’s chance of this happening.
  "There is no doubt that HAZARDOUS DUTY is funny. The elements are all there.... Is HAZARDOUS DUTY entertaining? Yes. But it requires a bit of an effort to get through it (which Griffin, to his credit, seems to acknowledge tacitly in his Afterword)."
  The great difficulty with HAZARDOUS DUTY is that the narrative spends an inordinate amount of time chronicling the attempts of various individuals, official and otherwise, trying to recruit the more than reluctant Castillo back into the fold. Part of the reason for this is that the story jumps the track several times, with a character being introduced and then a backstory being interjected for anywhere from several paragraphs to a few pages. Some of these backstories are extremely interesting, and all are amusing to some degree or another. But they do little or nothing to advance the main plot, which seems to be resolved almost as an afterthought.
  I appreciate the difficulties that Team Griffin faces with trying to bring new readers up to snuff with what has gone before, particularly in a series like this with its complex storylines and multiplicity of characters. Unfortunately, those who have been on the ride from the beginning may find themselves bored with some of the recounting as they wait for the plot to move along. Newcomers, on the other hand, may well be confounded by the characters and bloodlines and the like thrown at them from page to page. Furthermore, those who have come to expect their thrillers from Griffin to be served up with explosions, karate and high doses of political intrigue with occasional helpings of humor may be disappointed to find the proportions reversed here.
  Is HAZARDOUS DUTY entertaining? Yes. But it requires a bit of an effort to get through it (which Griffin, to his credit, seems to acknowledge tacitly in his Afterword). I certainly would not give up on the Griffin/Butterworth team just yet --- consider the balance of their work, which far outweighs the rare disappointment --- and will keep giving their books a look for the foreseeable future. Still, their latest will probably be of primary interest only to completists and diehard Griffin fans.
  Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub on January 8, 2014

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-assassination-option-a-clandestine-operations-novel
  Word count: 817

  The Assassination Option: A Clandestine Operations Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV introduce their second novel in the Clandestine Operations series with a robust beginning. The action takes place at the end of World War II in the American zone of Occupied Germany. True to Griffin’s style, an italicized prologue identifies the climate and staging on which the story will commence.
  General Patton has recently died in a smash-up, considered suspicious by some in the military but concluded to be a freak accident. Before his death, he had been privy to knowledge that Russian NKVD agents had taken captured Polish officers to the Katyn Forest, executed them and buried them in a mass grave. The German Major General Reinhard Gehlen, chief intelligence officer then working with the Russians, had proof of the massacre. Allen Dulles, the American station chief of the OSS in Switzerland, made a deal with Gehlen, who would turn over his assets and his agents in the Kremlin for the OSS’s protection from the Red Army. 
  Gehlen and his subordinates conveniently disappear prior to the Nuremberg trials. In the United States, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover now seeks to uncover any and all operations not sanctioned by his authority, including OSS activities. The OSS is dismantled, but President Truman believes in the need for an agency to handle international covert operations, thus the CIA. The new agency head will answer only to the President. In the matter of the missing German Major, a delicate problem exists. One of his agent’s families is detained by the Russians and must be reunited with him in Argentina. If a covert operation does not succeed, the new CID-Europe will be thrown to the wolves, disgraced by a zealous Hoover and company.
  "THE ASSASSINATION OPTION remains true to its title to the end. It reads well and reminds us of the difficulty posed in intelligence work, especially at the beginning of the Cold War with Russia."
  Two pages of tribute precede the story in honor of the real military and CIA personnel who entered harm’s way in clandestine activities for their country. Different names and faces play out the series of events in THE ASSASSINATION OPTION, but their patriotism is real. In style, the authors utilize characteristic grayed and blocked writings to denote top secret presidential communications to and from the agency and the White House.
  Rear Admiral Sidney W. Souers, USN, visits Major Maxwell Ashton III, Cavalry, in a military  hospital to inform him that Lt. James Cronley and Sgt. “Tiny” Dunwiddie have been promoted to the rank of Captain. Both serve with distinction in the discovery and elimination of a husband/wife traitor duo. Cronley is appointed Chief, DCI-Europe, with Dunwiddie as his second in command. They assemble a trusted group of officers, including at the Kloster Grünau compound in the American zone of Bavaria. The complex, tight with security and now called the South German Industrial Development Compound, houses Gehlen and his men, former German intelligence officers. The officers wear civilian clothing but assume military colors when necessary.
  Cronley becomes well aware of his tenuous leadership capacity when confronted by a jealous American, Col. Mattingly, who hopes he will fail. American military politics and procedures often thwart Cronley’s daring plans more than aid them. Therefore, he acts slightly outside usual protocols. He realizes that things could backfire and sink his commission at any time; he could be the whipping boy for the entire DCI-Europe project. 
  Along with Gehlen and his operatives, Cronley’s chief task is to make contact with a “turned” Russian agent K-7, extract a German officer’s wife and two sons from the Russian zone in Germany, and transport them to Argentina to reunite with the officer. To keep his activity secret becomes his greatest challenge. Cronley finds that he will need all the help he can get from “friendly” faces in the military, including Tiny’s godfather, General White. 
  Cronley plunges forward to his goal, heedless of the personal cost. He questions himself about the source of numerous plans he puts forward to his group. If and when these ideas produce results remains the suspenseful moments of the story. A recent widower, explained by references to his prior life, Cronley does develop a liaison with a female operative, to keep readers interested in his private life. He must answer to Major Ashton and General Souers, and manages to accommodate them all while keeping distance from Col. Mattingly.
  THE ASSASSINATION OPTION remains true to its title to the end. It reads well and reminds us of the difficulty posed in intelligence work, especially at the beginning of the Cold War with Russia.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on February 6, 2015

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/deadly-assets-a-badge-of-honor-novel
  Word count: 527

  Deadly Assets: A Badge of Honor Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, is full of anything but love this year the week before Christmas. Now nicknamed “Killadelphia” by the media, the city is besieged by murder after murder, all of which are seemingly unrelated to one another. Homicide Sergeant Matt Payne must find threads, if any, that will possibly link these random deaths.
  Public outrage over the killings stains community and police relations, especially when Payne is put in charge of the investigations. The Mayor’s Citizens Oversight Committee, led by social activist Reverend Josiah Cross, blames the police, specifically Payne, for the unrest. Payne has been cleared of any wrongdoing in three previous shootings, but Cross labels the 27-year-old officer as ”Public Enemy Number One” and encourages his followers to treat violence with violence.
  "Griffin and Butterworth once again deliver an action-packed drama that could be picked from any newspaper’s pages in today’s busy world."
  Recent brutalities include the stabbing death of a young female college student, the kidnapping of a child outside Santa’s Village, a shooting spree in a casino, and the gruesome hacking death of a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and his wife. W. E. B. Griffin and his son, William E. Butterworth IV, fill the pages of DEADLY ASSETS with a vast array of characters. As the story unfolds, each person’s importance is whittled down to where he or she can be of most service to Payne and his team. 
  Meanwhile, Payne finds out that Cross plans a protest rally later that afternoon at his church site. The Reverend’s grandiose plan includes appearances by a popular rap artist and his mentor in public service, City Councilman H. Rapp Badde Jr., who appointed him to the Citizens Police Oversight Committee for a five-year term. 
  One positive for Payne comes in the person of Daquan Williams. Rumor has it that King-Two-One-Five knows who is responsible for the latest drive-by shooting or who ordered it done. Talking in the Daily Grind, the coffee shop where Williams busses tables, they are interrupted by a hail of gunfire, and both are injured in the aftermath.
  When Mayor Jerome H. Carlucci tries to work with police to stave off more killing sprees, he is reminded by associates that Philadelphia could find itself in the same shameful situation as bankrupt Detroit. The criminal element moves in to harvest its share of the political and financial pie. But Carlucci believes in his law enforcement cadre, convinced that they are up to the task. 
  Philadelphia appears to be a hornet’s nest of unanswered crime, under-the-table business dealings in city property, drug cartels’ influence and general lawlessness. A wide swath of criminal influence must be curbed, and although numerous players move in and out of the story, the necessary ones play to the finale. 
  Griffin and Butterworth once again deliver an action-packed drama that could be picked from any newspaper’s pages in today’s busy world.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on September 11, 2015

• Bookreporter
  https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/curtain-of-death-a-clandestine-operations-novel
  Word count: 774

  Curtain of Death: A Clandestine Operations Novel
  by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

  CURTAIN OF DEATH, W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV’s latest Clandestine Operations thriller, is built on the premise of deep mistrust. In 1946, the occupation of Germany by the Allied Forces (Russia, Great Britain and the United States) is a precarious one at best. President Truman has commissioned a special unit, DCI-Europe, to collaborate with former German officers to establish in their ranks those who would work with the Americans in the peace process. Some turncoats receive passage to South America for their families.
  A “still wet-behind-the-ears” young second lieutenant from Midland, Texas catches Truman’s attention because of his heroism earlier in the war. James D. Cronley, Jr. is named Chief of DCI-Europe and is promoted to the rank of Captain. In theory, Cronley operates under Rear Admiral Sidney Souers, an official backup for his DCI. Intelligence is the dangerous game that Cronley plays, alongside former German officers, against the Soviet NKGB, the brutal and secret Russian intelligence arm of government.
  The action begins in the American Occupied Zone of Munich, Germany at the site of a WAC non-commissioned officers club. Two army nurses walk across the parking lot toward two parked ambulances in the corner. The 35-year-old nurse climbs into the driver’s seat of the 711th MKRC vehicle. The younger woman, her only insignia a triangle shape on her sleeve, steps up to slide into the passenger seat when she is grabbed violently from behind. A second man pulls her friend from the driver’s seat; both are threatened with knives to their throats. They are hauled into the second ambulance, where a knife is held against the nurse’s neck while her passenger is forced, stomach down, onto the cot in the middle of the back compartment.
  "The father-and-son writing team of Griffin and Butterworth develops their story boldly. For fans of both authors, CURTAIN OF DEATH entertains, providing diplomacy, intrigue and adventure."
  The ambulance rolls forward and then speeds up. Lying on the cot, Claudette Colbert slyly reaches into her bodice, feeling the cold metal of a pistol stuck inside her brassiere. In a swift movement, she rolls aside, shooting while she turns and killing both men. When the driver and his male counterpart in the passenger seat peek through the curtain at the commotion, Claudette fires her last two bullets, not certain if either reached a target. The ambulance careens from the road, crashing into a solid object.
  The scene shifts to a hotel where Army MP Augie Ziegler is confronted by a German-speaking uniformed officer from the CIC. Ziegler says, “Sorry to bother you at this hour, Sir.  Does the name Claudette Colbert mean anything to you?” He investigates the shooting, following Hessinger to an office where the man contacts his boss, the aforementioned James Cronley. Many questions later, Cronley makes Ziegler a part of his team.
  Both women recover in the army base hospital. Florence, the nurse, is shaken up and is treated for hysterics, but Claudette recovers from surface scratches and coolly recounts her story. Four dead Russian KGB agents are the spoils of her effort. Claudette is a civilian employee of the DCI unit, a counterintelligence officer. Cronley must determine responsibility for the attempted kidnappings. He holds a card to play with the Russians. The Russian sitting next to the driver has been wounded but not killed. He’s taken to a cell where DCI operates, in a former monastery, heavily walled and guarded.
  Jealousy runs rampant within the military ranks about Cronley’s rapid rise to his high leadership position. He makes quick decisions, most of which are challenged and questioned by seasoned regular officers. When the President had decommissioned the OSS and replaced it with DCI-Europe, he opened a can of proverbial worms in military hierarchy. At times, Cronley questions his own integrity and ability. But he plows ahead, with the aid of a former SS German officer who has background intelligence necessary to their mission.
  Cronley’s ultimate test of authority comes when the Russians kidnap and hold Colonel Mattingly, Cronley’s most ardent detractor. Tasked to secure his release, Cronley faces both a moral and military quandary. His future is in constant turmoil. Ultimately, it boils down to military protocol vs. ingenuity entanglement.
  The father-and-son writing team of Griffin and Butterworth develops their story boldly. For fans of both authors, CURTAIN OF DEATH entertains, providing diplomacy, intrigue and adventure.
  Reviewed by Judy Gigstad on January 13, 2017

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