What a title and what a read! You can always guarantee a good read with Steve Cavanagh. This takes on the case of the all powerful DAs in the USA who are a small select group who are responsible for sentencing the majority of USA's death row prisoners. Imagine a small group of men having that much power? Then there's the existence of right-wing extremist groups and how they come into play in the sensitive issue of death row. A very powerful and fascinating premise.

When I was accepted as being one of the first 100 to read this, boy did I celebrate!I popped on that kettle and settled down straight away.. Steve C writes such good thrillers that make you question things, they open your eyes to miscarriages of justice and legal issues but are never stuffed with legalese. Gripping and powerful legal thrillers is this man's speciality and this was shockingly timely, thought-provoking and tense! Highly recommended from me!

In my opinion Steve Cavanagh will never fail to entertain with the release of an Eddie Flynn novel! It is my ‘book event’ of the year every year.
No other author manages to enthral me and pound my heart with suspense in the way Steve writes these novels and The Devils Advocate is no different!

You love the good guys and hate the bad guys and the injustices.

This book is perfect for Eddie Flynn fans, as well as new readers finding their next suspense-fully thrilling read.

If I am being 100% honest with myself I liked Thirteen and Fifty Fifty more, although that doesn’t mean this is not a fantastic read as The Devils Advocate definitely is up there in terms of the best Eddie novels.

It is an excellent addition to the series and I hope we see more Eddie for years to come!

Eddie Flynn is back, and this case could be absolute murder for him and his associates.

Randal Korn has the highest execution rate of any District Attorney in the country - which for such a small county appears to be an anomaly. The latest defendant to face him is Andy Dubois - the last person to see his colleague Skylar alive. Everyone believes him to be guilty. Everyone except his lawyer - who has disappeared.

Eddie is called to replace him, but can he get a just verdict when the whole town is against him? And will Eddie and his team survive long enough for the jury to reach a verdict?

This is a brilliant book - I've read previous books in the Eddie Flynn series, so was very excited to read this one and it does not disappoint! All the characters are very well fleshed-out, and as the plot threads begin to come together, you are willing Eddie and his team to find a way out of their predicament. A very easy 5* book for me.

“The Devil’s Advocate” is a new novel in a fantastic Eddie Flynn series by Steve Cavanagh.

The story starts with a young innocent man waiting for the execution on an electric chair. The prosecutor knows that the guy is not guilty. But he doesn’t care. He wants the kid to fry. Because he’s a serial killer.

You read the prolog not believing your eyes, you calm down after the last sentence… then you have another bomb dropped on you in the next chapter. And that’s how it is throughout the book.

Another kid is on a trial for a murder he didn’t commit, his lawyer disappeared, the rich and influential prosecutor is getting ready for another death penalty and there’s only one team that can help…

Eddie is a lawyer but he used to be a con artist. He’s using skills of both professions to defend innocent people in the court. He has an ex judge Harry with him, together with another lawyer Kate and Bloch who is an ex-cop. They make a perfect team and they’re ready to save a life from the hands of the devil. I loved how the story was shown from different perspectives and that Eddie has people helping with cases. It makes everything more interesting!

We have a watertight case with two admissions to guilt, the DNA confirming that it belongs to the defendant and the entire city against him. If that’s not enough, we see a racist county run by white supremacists gaining more power every day. And they can’t wait to blame the black kid for all the evil.

And I’ll leave it here to not share any spoilers!

Looking at the important content of the story - we know that those things are happening in USA. Not only I had this suspicion, but the author’s note confirmed it.
I think that was the most terrifying part, that even though “The Devil’s Advocate” is a fiction, there are 5 prosecutors in USA being responsible for 440 death sentences which makes 15% of all death sentences in the country.

My emotions when reading this book were a rollercoaster. I was excited, curious, angry, upset and happy. I almost cried on the mention of the event that made me cried in “Fifty fifty”.
I believe that a great book releases different emotions and “The Devil’s Advocate” is very intense!

It’s a fantastic and extremely important book. It’s taking Steve’s writing to an entirely new level, it’s not just entertaining but hopefully will open people’s eyes to what’s happening with the radicals.

A definite *must read* which you should pre-order now!

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I can’t express how excited I was when Orion approved my request for an early copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review - I want to say a big thank you!

I am a very lucky girl indeed. Thank you so much to @SSCav, @alexxlayt and @orionbooks for allowing me to be one of the first 100 people to get this ARC in return for an honest review. The Devil’s Advocate is due to be published on 5th August 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Skylar Edwards is found murdered in her home town of Buckstown in Alabama. The last person to see her was her work friend Andy Dubois and the sheriff has already decided upon his guilt. Neither the sheriff, the DA or the local community seem to care that Andy is innocent; the DA especially. He has a track record for sending people to the electric chair for his own sick pleasure.

Eddie Flynn and his team are drafted in to defend Andy in what turns out to be one of the most dangerous cases that Eddie has ever worked on.

General Thoughts 🤔

Ah, I was so #ReadyforEddie as the Twitters-phere was saying. This is up there as my favourite series so whenever a new book is published I get very giddy with excitement. This sixth book in the series is absolutely amazing and I’d go as far to say it’s my favourite so far. I loved that Eddie and the gang were out of New York and out of their comfort zone in Alabama. This case seemed to be the closest to impossible to win as all of the odds were stacked against them. Looking at their problems in isolation seemed manageable but when piled on top of each other, I could understand why the team weren’t feeling very confident.

What I especially liked about The Devil’s Advocate was it’s relevance to recent times regarding racism, white supremacy and death penalty cases in America. It brought out more emotions in me than I expected from this book and there were often times when I felt pure rage about what I was reading. This wasn’t only rage on behalf of Andy or Eddie or any of the characters, but rage for real life people that could and have ended up in Andy’s position.

Characters 👭👫👬

Eddie is a legend and I love him. I’m not sure there’s much more I can say on that subject. His intelligence and somewhat unorthodox tactics will never cease to amaze me and I love that he has become a character I feel like I know personally.

The last book was when Eddie, Kate, Bloch and Harry formed as a team and I enjoyed seeing that team grow stronger together in this story. They were a fully established, well oiled machine where everyone had their roles and their strong suites that they could play to. The bonds within the team had grown stronger and I particularly liked seeing a more sensitive and very protective side of Bloch.

I had some pretty strong feelings about some of the other characters, namely; Andy, Patricia and Francis. I’m walking on a bit of a tight rope here though as I really don’t want to give any spoilers. At one point or another I had feelings of sympathy, empathy, anger and pity towards all of them.

Writing Style ✍️

Steve Cavanagh did it again. He blindsided me and had my mind whirling trying to work out what on earth was going on, who I could trust and where the story was going to go. The man is an absolute genius at weaving complicated and twisty stories that are so fast paced, my brain can’t keep up with my eyes. I had my breath held for about 85% of the time whilst reading and had a pretty constant “on edge” feeling.

Having read the authors note, I imagine a tonne of research went into this book in order to make it as relevant as it was. I think it is this that sparked a light in me that the majority of books in this genre that I read do not. I truly admire that the author was able to keep the excitement and thrill that is expected from an Eddie Flynn book whilst addressing real life issues.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I am an absolute sucker for this series and I continue to be after reading this sixth instalment. I need everyone I know who reads, to read this book, even if they don’t read the others. I loved it and I feel so lucky to have been chosen to receive a copy of this pre-publication. My favourite series, one of my ultimate favourite authors and I’m still buzzing this morning after finishing the book last night. A-MAY-ZING.

I will drop any (and every) book for a new Steve Cavanagh. I will read until my eyes are hanging out of my head and I will love every minute of it! So you can imagine my reaction on being chosen as one of the first 100 reviewers to be granted access to the new Eddie Flynn via NetGalley. It went a bit like this 😲😁👏🏻🙌🏻💃🏻🎉

But did the book rise to meet my expectations, and the extraordinarily high bar set by Cavanagh himself? Of course it did! "The Devil's Advocate" takes us to the deep South where the Alabama heat shimmers from every page. Eddie has assembled a crack team around him and this is their time to shine. As for the great man himself, I love his sheer balls-out boldness and enviably brilliant brain. In terms of the supporting cast, District Attorney Randal Korn is one creepy dude. Like a big, lanky Frank Sidebottom, but villainous.

"The Devil's Advocate" is topical and sickeningly plausible. I enjoyed the inclusion of an Author's Note which provides clarification and context to some of the elements within.

Once again, Cavanagh proves himself to be a master plotter and supreme builder of tension. My nerves were jangling (and I'm sure I had adrenal fatigue) by the end of the book. And so begins the unbearable wait for the next instalment…

Possible spoilers

4. 5 starsThe stakes start high in this one,an innocent man on trial for murder,which will result in the death penalty.

Those stakes just seem to climb higher and higher,a small town pumped up on racism, corrupt officials,and the most interesting serial killer to date.

Thank goodness for the fast thinking,brave,foolish,heroic and brilliant Eddie Flynn and team.
Another sure fire winner.

These books just get better and better.

#TheDevilsAdvocate #NetGalley
Impossible to put down.
Randal Korn has sent more men to their deaths than any district attorney in the history of the United States.
A TWISTED RITUALISTIC KILLING
When a young woman, Skylar Edwards, is found murdered in Buckstown, Alabama, a corrupt sheriff arrests the last person to see her alive, Andy Dubois. It doesn't seem to matter to anyone that Andy is innocent.
A SMALL TOWN BOILING WITH RAGE Everyone in Buckstown believes Andy is guilty. He has no hope of a fair trial. And the local defense attorney assigned to represent him has disappeared. A FORMER CON-ARTIST Hot shot New York lawyer Eddie Flynn travels south to fight fire with fire. He plans to destroy the prosecutors case, find the real killer and save Andy from the electric chair.
But the murders are just beginning.
Is Eddie Flynn next?
I loved this Steve Cavanagh book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for giving me an advanced copy.

Read this book over the afternoon. My eagerness to get to the book kept me hooked to my kindle. Steve Cavanagh has given another hit. And Eddie Flynn kept me enraptured to this legal arguments.

The story explored the theme of false accusation and wrong charges on an innocent man, and it was Eddie to the rescue.

The book was electrifying. My first experience was a cracker, immersed into the story I couldn't help but cheer him on. The writing quite evoked my passions, and this time the author brought Eddie close to danger. It took all his wits to escape and find a way to help the innocent.

Like every thriller this too had gasping twists and turns. Absolutely thrilling, I would say.

Another fantastic instalment in the Eddie Flynn series. This time the author explores Death Row and right-wing extremist groups in the US. It's certainly a timely novel and one that I'm sure will be talked about this summer. The twists and turns of the narrative keep the reader on the edge of their seat and had me turning the pages until I could finally breathe out a sigh of relief.