The killer isn’t on trial, he’s on the jury…
Bobby Solomon, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, is on trial for murdering his beautiful wife. This is the case of the century, and only one man can save Solomon – ex-con man (and now lawyer) Eddie Flynn. All the evidence points to Solomon, but the defence remains convinced of his innocence.
As the trial begins, a series of incidents begin to occur which are too sinister to merely be a coincidence. The serial killer is definitely in the courtroom, but he’s not the one being accused of murder…
This book is the epitome of why thrillers are one of my favourite genres to read. It had everything I want from a legal/crime book – a huge trial, an innocent defendant, and, of course, an absolute lunatic of a serial killer. The story is told from two different perspectives – Eddie Flynn, the defence lawyer who has the chance to launch his career, and Joshua Kane, the killer who manages to end up on the jury. I don’t want to reveal too much about the plot of the novel because I’m scared to give something important away, but these are two really interesting characters.
From the beginning, it’s clear that Kane is smarter than your average killer. He has a condition (which I can’t remember the name of), which means that he can’t feel pain, and so murdering other people gives him some sort of release. His super strength can at times be a little unrealistic, but it adds to the whole 'thriller' element of the story and emphasises how different he is to normal humans. But Kane has definitely met his match when it comes to Eddie Flynn. A rogue con-man turned into a lawyer, Flynn immediately believes Solomon to be innocent and starts to unravel the pieces Kane has left behind.
I particularly enjoyed the scenes about the trial itself. I’m really interested in the prosecution and defence’s way of arguing evidence and their opening/closing speeches, and I thought this writing was really effective and fascinating to read.
This book had me second-guessing myself all the time. It was full of twists and turns, and I genuinely couldn’t predict what the ending was. Steve Cavanagh purposefully leaves us in the dark from time to time, but it’s worth it when everything starts to fall into place.
As far as thrillers go, I don’t think I’ve ever read one like this one. It had me gripped from the beginning, and, as usual, I spooked myself out a few times when I read it just before going to bed. As a warning, some scenes are quite graphic and violent, but they weren’t too often and I managed to cope with them.
Thirteen is the 4th Eddie Flynn book, but can be read as a stand-alone (that’s what I did), but I will definitely be looking into more of Steve Cavanagh’s books. If you’re a crime/thriller lover, then you will absolutely love this book.
Favourite quotes:
“Guilt was a tattoo that weighed two hundred pounds. As long as I fought for those clients I believed in, I was slowly shedding that weight.”
“Whatever good things you’ve heard about me probably aren’t true. Whatever bad things you’ve heard about me are probably just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Words never weigh so much as when they’re spoken for somebody else.”