In later novels in the Badge of Honor series, Matt Payne becomes a detective and Peter Wohl's assistant, partly to keep him out of danger (his father as well as his uncle, Captain Moffitt, were killed in the line of duty) — although he still gets shot once and catches, by luck, a major criminal. Peter Wohl remains the most central character in the series, having a brief relationship with Matt's sister in the process. Matt Payne, Peter Wohl, Jesus Martinez and Charley McFadden, and one or two other officers progress through character development and promotion through the existing novels in the series. Other characters, such as Matt's parents and Mother Moffitt, remain largely as they are painted in the first novel. Griffin repeats much of the background information in the subsequent novels, so that a reader new to the series may start with any of...