Rating: ★★★★☆+
Synopsis
THE SERIAL KILLER ISN’T ON TRIAL.
HE’S ON THE JURY…
They were Hollywood’s hottest power couple. They had the world at their feet. Now one of them is dead and Hollywood star Robert Solomon is charged with the brutal murder of his beautiful wife.
This is the celebrity murder trial of the century and the defence want one man on their team: con artist turned lawyer Eddie Flynn.
All the evidence points to Robert’s guilt, but as the trial begins a series of sinister incidents in the court room start to raise doubts in Eddie’s mind.
What if there’s more than one actor in the courtroom?
What if the killer isn’t on trial? What if the killer is on the jury?
Review
Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of Thirteen (Eddie Flynn #4) in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this ARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.
With a hook like “THE SERIAL KILLER ISN’T ON TRIAL. HE’S ON THE JURY.”, how could you NOT be at least somewhat intrigued? This may, in fact, be one of the best hooks I have ever come across for a novel. It is an automatic double-take type of hook when skimming the shelves at a bookstore or your online retailer of choice. I mean, it had me auto-requesting an ARC and I had never even heard of Steve Cavanagh (even though he had already written three (3) other Eddie Flynn novels prior to Thirteen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ), so I can only imagine what it would do to a reader in their local B&N.
The good news for those of you who have had their curiosity piqued: Cavanagh does way more than reel you in with a hook; Thirteen is a highly entertaining thrill-ride inside and outside of the courtroom. Mystery, murder, and a court case for the century all come to play in one of the most highly original thrillers I have ever come across. It is like a Law & Order episode of crack. With two (2) POVs, that of Eddie Flynn and that of Joshua Kane, the author never lets off the gas. In fact, he injects some N2O in places that’ll have you gripping the book harder and harder as you hold on for dear life.
While we understand the gist of the story from the synopsis, Cavanagh does a fantastic job of holding the reader’s attention throughout the novel. Twists and turns aplenty, and the ability to see the case unfold before Flynn’s eyes, will keep you reading well into the night. While it is difficult to say that I liked Kane as he is a serial killer, I thought his character was a very enjoyable one to come across, but Flynn absolutely stole the show. I mean come on: con artist turned lawyer embroiled in trial of the century with a murderer in the jury. WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED.
All in all, even if you aren’t one for courtroom dramas or are burnt out on Season 104 of Law & Order, Thirteen is definitely one I would recommend checking out. It has something for everyone: thrills, chills, murder, and mystery, all wrapped in a crisp dollar bill.
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