I can't remember the last time I read a book that I thought would be destined to hit the big screen more than Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh. I haven't read any of the previous books in the series but after hearing so many readers raving about it I had to give it a try, and I had absolutely no problem at all reading this as a standalone.

Thirteen is a clever, clever story reminiscent of James Patterson's early Alex Cross novels, before they became generically mass produced. I was totally hooked from the compelling and intriguing opening, right through to the breathtaking finish.

Set in New York; Eddie Flynn is a something of a maverick in the legal world. He used to be a con-man, now he's a defence lawyer and uses his past experiences whilst in court. He's taken on a case that no other self-respecting lawyer will take on. A popular young actor is accused of murdering his girlfriend, and all the evidence is pointing towards guilty, however after speaking with him, Eddie is convinced he is innocent.

If you've read the blurb you'll know that the young actor is indeed innocent, and the killer is sitting on the jury! Oh my goodness, what a fabulous hook for a book. I defy anyone to read that line and not be intrigued and just have to dive in and find out just how the hell that happened.

What happens next is so skillfully done. Cavanagh has created two magnificent characters in Eddie, and in our killer jury member. We know the murderer as Kane, and he's perverse and genius and lacking in any feelings, both physically and mentally, and I just loved him. He has thought through every possibility and has an answer for it. A true criminal genius, it is hard not to be in awe of his intelligence.

I'm no court room expert but Cavanagh's depiction of the American trial by jury appears to be very authentic, I kept relating back to the trial of O.J Simpson and the book The Run Of His Life by Jeffrey Toobin and certainly seemed in sync with that, particularly in relation to the jury.

The writing is solid and I sunk easily into the flow that moved along at a moderate pace. The characters were all well-developed and multi-layered, in fact they had so many layers they were like an onion, it took a lot of peeling to get to the mysterious heart of them. Short punchy chapters held my attention and made the storyline engrossing and addictive.

I absolutely devoured Thirteen, it literally kept me up till the wee small hours as I just couldn't put it down.. Fantastic premise and ingenious plotting. I can't wait to read more from this author.

This book was so, so good - I absolutely loved it

I as completely hooked on the story as soon as I started reading it and I devoured every page.

A wickedly brilliant story, so well put together and planned out. It is one of those books that is such a brilliant piece of work that you will compare other books against it for a good while. A highlight for 2018 for me!!

No hesitation in giving it 5 stars - brilliant!!!

A really well written, twisty court room thriller with a serial killer thrown in for good measure. Told in alternating perspectives, we see Eddie Flynn being offered the chance of a life time - to be second chair for the defence of a famous film star accused of murdering his wife and her lover. Contrasting this, we have Joshua Kane, a prolific serial killer who is trying to worm his way on to the jury. It is wonderful to read a crime novel that keeps going to places in the narrative that you don't expect and this book certainly did that. I really enjoyed the perspective shifts and the plotting was tight and well constructed. I will say that I did work out a couple of the twists, but not until the near the end and that is good enough for me! I will definitely be checking out more books by Steve Cavanagh as I really do love a good court room thriller.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the first book I've read by this author, and I loved it! This was a book in the Eddie Flynn series, and now I want to read all the others. I am definitely interested in reading future works by this author. You can't go wrong with this one!

Loved this novel. Fresh, suspense filled that twists and turns when you think you know what’s next. The characters were gripping and I found it hard to put this book down. I hope there are plans to follow Flynn further.

A brilliant and original book. Funny and tense - I enjoyed it so much I went and bought the earlier books to get the Eddie Flynn back story.

What an excellent premise, expertly written with a intriguing narrative. I was hooked from the first page until the nail biting conclusion.

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No words.  Okay, one word. Woah! The word is WOAH!  Thirteen was published last year and it was MASSIVE.  It grabbed my attention then but Mrs-Slow-Reader that I am I've only recently gotten around to reading it.  It's good, really flipping good. I enjoy legal thrillers but they aren't my go-to sub-genre.  However, Thirteen got me in a choke hold and there was no way I was walking away unscathed.  I read an eARC of Thirteen from NetGalley but that has in no way influenced my review.

So this is the fourth book in the Eddie Flynn series.  I know many people don't like to start a series a part way through - me included.  Did I feel I was missing some of the back story? Yes, I did.  But the author provides enough information so it's not a problem.  You don't have to have read the previous books in the series but I think it would help if you had.  Of course, I now have a much better idea about what I'm missing out on and I will be making a point of downloading and reading the previous books in the series.  It's FOMO y' know!

So as soon as I saw the cover of this book I was intrigued.  I love the title (unlucky for some!), I love the tagline (what? how can he be on the jury?!?), the colours are striking and oh boy, that blurb is something else.  Everything about this book is designed to perfection.

Eddie Flynn is about to take on the case of his life.  Hollywood movie start Robert Solomon is accused of murdering his starlet wife and their security guard.  All the evidence makes Bobby Solomon look like a very guilty man.  But Eddie Flynn knows a guilty man when he sees one and he knows that Bobby didn't do it.  But if Bobby Solomon isn't the murderer, then who is?  This is no big spoiler here (you've read the tagline, right?), but step forward Mr Average-Juror.  Or is he....?  Of all the bad guys in all the books I've read over the years (I've read a few) the killer in Thirteen was something else altogether.  He's so evil, so remorseless, so utterly despicable that he made my skin crawl and I loved it!

Would I recommend this book? Definitely. If you haven't read it then you must! It doesn't matter if you've read the other books in the series or not.  YOU. MUST. READ. THIS. BOOK.  It's so good and I will be downloading all of Steve Cavanagh's other books shortly after finishing this review.  It's tense, very gripping, supremely clever, edge-of-your-seat kind of stuff and I devoured it.

Great read! Kept me on the edge of my seat and looked forward to picking it up each day, nice twists thrown in and would totally recommend!

Right well first of all I’m standing up and admitting how silly it’s been that it took me so long to read this book! Let’s just say that when I picked up Thirteen I never imagined how involved I would become in the story because you really are taken on one hell of a rollercoaster ride!

Even though Thirteen is the fourth book in the Eddie Flynn series please don’t let that put you off as this book works perfectly well as a standalone. Steve Cavanagh weaves in Eddie’s backstory so easily and in no time at all I loved his character. In this book Eddie becomes involved in a case where Robert Soloman, a Hollywood actor is charged with murder and what follows can only be described as so very twisted!

I loved all the surprises, shocks and twists with it all coming together to create something not only addictive but also very entertaining. I have to mention the serial killer as his character is chillingly complex and I was especially glued to the parts showing his perspective! Everything works so well in this book from the characters right through to the courtroom scenes. All of the characters bring something to the story and I think this made it even more special. I loved seeing Eddie in action as he digs deeper and begins to unearth plenty of secrets and shocking facts. Now I’m really trying to be as vague as I can when it comes to the plot just because it is one of those books where every reveal is worth discovering for yourself!

Thirteen is clever and twisted with complex characters that will keep you hooked until the very last page!

THE SERIAL KILLER ISN'T ON TRIAL.
HE'S ON THE JURY...

How could I resist?
Famous Actor Bobby Solomon is on trial for the murder of his wife and head of security and there is a mountain of evidence to prove it.
When the flashy law firm hired by the studio bring in disposable ex con man lawyer Eddie Flynn to stir up the case he believes Booby is innocent. To prove Bobby was framed Eddie needs to find out why and by who. The further he digs the less it makes sense and time is running out.

Everytime you think you figured it out, it twists again

A fast-paced American crime novel set within a murder trial, it does still have lots of gruesome descriptions for those that like the murder details. I am not so keen on novels about justice systems (especially American), as I find I got lost in the legal jargon, but this book is so much more. It has great characters, the twists and turns kept me interested and keen to keep those pages turning. It is part of a series and although I have not read the other books in the series and I didn't struggle, it can easily be read as a stand-alone book.

I really enjoyed this book! I was captivated and wanted to know more. Just who was the man in the jury and how did he fit into all this? The last few chapters confused me and frustrated me at all once, how dare we be lead to the wrong man! Very well done and thoroughly good read!

What a great book! Lots of exciting twist and turns, clues and misdirections. A plot that kept me reading into the early hours and a hero, Eddie Flynn, who I have fallen a little bit in love with. Flynn is an ex-conman turned defence lawyer who has a habit of getting involved in cases which get him into trouble. He cannot turn his back on someone who needs him, but his actions have put himself and his family in danger and mean that he is living apart from his adored wife and daughter. When a hotshot lawyer offers him a case which will make his career and a steady job to follow, defending a movie star who Flynn believes in innocent, he finds it impossible to refuse. But this case involves a highly intelligent serial killer who likes to see other people suffer for his crimes. Far from being safe, Flynn is about to get into more danger than ever.

This was wonderful book, as soon as I started I couldn't stop . The story reminds me of Mickey Haller ( Michael Connelly legal thrillers ). I absolutely love court action stories , but this is another level.
Eddie is called to defend a famous actor that is accused of killing his wife and lover.
The story is original because we looking at the jury (mainly one person !!). I just could see this as movie , quick and have all the action you need to keep you at the edge of your seat.

The good things is you don't need to read the other book in the series because I didn't read the book before this , But I could see Eddie becoming a big series .

The first thing to mention is that I did not realise that this book was part of a series written by Steve Cavanagh. After all of the buzz on twitter and then having it recommend to the audience at a panel by Linwood Barclay, I decided that I simply had to read it – even when I didn’t even know that much about it. That being said, I can firmly state that it is not necessary to read the first books in this series to fall well and truly into this story in the most intense ways. I read this book quickly, finding myself absorbed in the words and unable to stop reading until I knew exactly how it was all going to end – were they going to find the true killer?

The book is filled with twists – some you expect and some that came as a big surprise. Steve Cavanagh truly pulls the reader along with this story. You know who the killer is from the start but you don’t know who the killer is – the kind of plot surprise that could only happen in a book. It is addictive, intense and intriguing throughout the entire read. I was quite literally on the edge of my seat as I read the book – continuously wondering what would happen next and how it would affect the rest of the characters in the book.

And boy does this book have some almighty characters. From the strong Eddie Flynn who refuses to let the case drop, to the serial killer himself. Steve Cavanagh has created strong, vibrant characters that quite literally walk off the page. I can definitely be convinced to return to Cavanagh’s previous books in this series to spend more time with these characters and get to know them better. I think one of the best things about this book is how it is not just about the main case but also about the relationships between the different characters in the book too. How they trust each other, and how they regard each other. It all adds to the atmosphere of this book.

In case you’re not convinced, I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was a truly gripping read that kept me on my toes throughout. It’s the thriller that is perfect for thriller fans. It pulls you in and knots your stomach until the final reveal towards the end of the book. It’s intense, hard-hitting and fascinating. I was absolutely enraptured. Okay, enough with the hyperbole’s! But in honesty, this book deserves them all – and so much more. So, if you’re in to thriller books that will get your heart racing – though be warned there are some gruesome moments to be read – than you should make sure you give this book a read.

WOW!!! I absolutely loved this book, and just couldn't put it down - at times I almost considered not sleeping so that I could finish it quicker!!

So as the book suggests...… The serial killer isn't on trial - HE'S ON THE JURY

This was brilliantly written, the storyline just weaved and flowed easily with the picture of what had really happened building clue by clue. Kane is our criminal who has literally killed to get his seat on the jury, can he see the man convicted though?

Once again the star of the book is Eddie Flynn who ends up getting involved despite him not wanting too, once he realises that the client is innocent he takes matters into his own hands to help try and prove his innocence.

This is truly your worst nightmare- you're on trial for murder and the killer is on the jury deciding your fate. If a chill doesn't run up your spine at that thought then you should consider therapy.

The brutal murder of one half of a Hollywood power couple, the other half on trial, an ex con man defence lawyer and the killer sitting in judgement- makes for an original and intriguing story. You already know by help of the blurb whose innocent and whose guilty- it's more of question of proof.

Events in court raise the suspicion of Eddie Flynn the defence council, and he begins to wonder could the killer be on the jury?

A really interesting hook, well told and paced. Overall i loved this!!!! And I love diamonds like this from NetGalley!

I am currently working on expanding our school library's senior section after years of a dismal and uninspiring selection of books that our older readers never checked out. My job has been to seek out much more diverse, gripping and modern books that will get them into reading by appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible. This really appealed to me because of its fantastic narrative and sense of atmosphere, combined with believable characterisation and its page-turning nature. It's hard to get young people into reading and if the library is not stocking the kind of book that they might grow up to buy as adult readers then we are not really meeting their needs. I can imagine this provoking lots of discussion after finishing it and a long queue of people trying to reserve it as they've heard so much about it. Will definitely be buying a copy and know that it's going to be a very popular choice. An engrossing read that kept me up far too late to finish reading it. It certainly stood out from the other books that I was considering and I will be looking out for more from Steve in the future!

Really enjoyed this unputdownable book. Cleverly plotted with a twist so unexpected that I will have to read it again to see how he managed to pull it off!