A fast paced thriller from the start. Eddie Flynn is a lawyer who works alone. He is hired by a major law firm to handle the case of Bobby Solomon accused of killing his wife and bodyguard. Very slick, this is not a light read. We follow both the killer and Eddie with his team as they try to catch the killer. Good story and this is my first but not last in the Eddie Flynn series.

I HATE SUPER-VILLAINS.

I HATE THEM MAGICALLY ALWAYS BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

I HATE THEIR OMNISCIENCE.

IT'S LAZY LAZY WRITING.

BITE ME CAVANAGH. I'M DONE.

Firstly, an admission. This is book four of the Eddie Flynn series and I haven't read 1-3. I've had this book recommended to me so many times and word on the street is that it's a book that I really need to read so I asked those in the know if it would be OK for me to dive right in and the consensus was that I'd be ok. Well, cut story short, I was.
Eddie Flynn is a lawyer with a bit of a dubious past. He is also estranged from his wife due to previous shenanigans but these don't really play too much of a key part in this book so it isn't necessary to dwell on them much more than the offer of a steady job is more than tempting for him. Thing is though, that offer is part of a deal where he takes second chair in what is believed to be the trial of the century. A slam dunk case against Bobby Solomon, an actor who is accused of killing both his wife and his head of security. Sounds like a good deal? Well, not when the offer is from the defence and his late inclusion smells more of tactics than actually needing him per se. But money and a steady job is tempting and the dead is done when Eddie meets Bobby and sees something in his look that convinces him that there is more to the case than the prosecution thinks there is. Jury selection has already been completed so the trial begins with Eddie on board with the defence team. And that's all I am saying about the plot other than it was brilliant. In fact, I could have completed this review in only a few words - read this book, you won't regret it!
You may think that the blurb says too much but the story is so much more than just who is guilty or innocent. There are the whys and wherefores, we see the means and opportunity but we need a motive. We see the evidence presented and the clever way that it is picked apart. There are so many small things that happen throughout the book that you really need to pay attention to. Little innocuous things that don't seem important at the time but which later on prove to have been key to the whole charade. Obviously, ultimately, we also need a who and that is also very cleverly done and included so much more than I expected.
It's pacy, it's gripping, it grabbed me from page one and didn't let up until the very end. It took my life away from me for the hours I was reading it. Time I was more than happy to give, even if some of it was in the wee small hours when I should have been asleep. In fact, even though I hardly ever re-read books, as soon as I had finished I wanted to go again to see what else I had missed along the way. I can't remember the last time I wanted to do that.
And Eddie himself; oh my! I so need to go back and start from book one now. I loved him as a character in this book and now I feel that I have to go back and get to know him properly. Judging by the quality of this book, I don't see this as being too much of a chore. Hopefully I can squeeze them into my bulging tbr soon.
All in all, this was the perfect book for me. It ticked every box I need to make a good book a great read. I really can't recommend this book enough.

Steve Cavanagh writes top notch adrenaline fuelled legal thrillers with his charismatic defence lawyer, ex-con Eddie Flynn, set in New York and this is his best one yet. Eddie has been hoping to get back together with his wife, Christine, and his beloved daughter, Amy, which his defence work in the past has placed in grave danger, leading to their separation. He thinks he has it finally worked out as he plans for a safe and secure legal career with Rudy Carp, where he has been co-opted onto the legal defence team for famous celebrity Hollywood actor, Robert Solomon, on trial for the murder of his actress wife, Ariella Bloom, and his security man. Is it already too late to save his marriage? Flynn has attracted the rage of NYPD cops he has publicly revealed as corrupt. Solomon appears a lost cause, the evidence stacked against him is overwhelming, but Eddie can feel he is an innocent man, and will do all that he can to prove it. However, Eddie is to find himself in the most testing case of his career with no idea of what he is up against.

Eddie's close friend, Judge Harry Ford, takes over the trial after the health issues of the previous judge. The colourful Southern PR savvy prosecuter for hire, Art Pryor, has never lost a case, and with the support of his formidable expertise, confidently believes that Solomon will be convicted. Eddie knows that he has been recruited as the fall guy should he fail to prove that the NYPD has tampered with critical evidence, a dollar bill with the DNA of a convicted killer from the past, Richard Pena, and the DNA of Solomon. Eddie hires ex-FBI Harper to be his investigator, and this leads to an FBI agent, Delaney, who believes there is a serial killer whose MO includes leaving behind a specially marked dollar bill on the victim, but has escaped detection because he ensures someone else is always convicted for the murders. Could this provide a viable route to save Solomon by introducing another suspect? However, Delaney is refusing to testify and Eddie has a problem he could not have imagined, the killer is on the jury, ideally placed to ensure that a guilty verdict prevails.

Cavanagh engineers masterly misdirections and twists in this taut and fast paced thriller that had me reading until I finished. The suspense and tension is palpable in this brilliantly plotted story of a highly intelligent manipulative serial killer with the chameleon like ability to become another person, feel no pain, a true sociopath who knows that he really is special and untouchable with the help he receives from someone close to the case. Eddie is a phenomenal lawyer, displaying his courtroom skills with panache as he illustrates that the art of the cross examination and the art of the con are one and the same thing. This is a terrifically entertaining read and Cavanagh can be counted to have you gripped from the moment you start reading. A fantastic legal thriller that I recommend highly! Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

Once again, I didn't realise that this was part of a well established series. I don't think that made any difference though and I thoroughly enjoyed this as a stand alone.

A very thrilling read that kept me hooked from the very first page.

Having binge read Steve Cavanagh’s previous 2 books in a January because I knew Thirteen was coming out and I can’t read a book out of order in the series I can honestly say WOW.

Thirteen is possibly Mr Cavanagh’s best book to date. Featuring my favourite hotshot lawyer/ex-con man Eddie Flynn Thirteen is one hell of a fast paced, edge of your seat legal thriller.

In this book Eddie finds himself defending a Hollywood superstar who is charged with murdering his wife and bodyguard, but what makes this book so brilliant is that there is a serial killer determined to get on the jury.

With alternative narrators Thirteen is sleek, gripping and also pretty gruesome. I absolutely adore Eddie and discovering more about his personal life brings him to life. His ability to see an opportunity or angle that others don’t see and turn a case on it’s head always entertains.

This book also gives us a glimpse into the mind of a ruthless, brutal serial killer and Boy is it dark and disturbing in there.

If I could give this book Thirteen stars I would.