Thirteen (Eddie Flynn, #4) by Steve Cavanagh
Published by Flatiron Books
Publication date: January 25, 2018
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
Bookshop, Amazon
Right now, fast paced books are my favorite kind of reading. Normally, I love diverse, literary fiction, but it’s not enough to hold my COVID/post-election attention. This is also my backlist reading time of the year, when I’m less about striking out on my own—reading new books you may not know about—and more about reading older books I’ve heard about. The bookish stars aligned when Sarah at Sarah’s Book Shelves Live discussed a thriller she’d recently read, called Thirteen, while we were recording the show’s latest episode episode. It perfectly fit the bill for reading I couldn’t put down.
Eddie Flynn is a con man gone straight. So straight, he’s actually a defense attorney. The ability to notice details others have missed along with his hard-won knowledge of the criminal justice system makes him a formidable advocate for questionable clients. Up until he’s hired by Rudy Carp, a media loving mega-attorney who’s representing an up-and-coming movie star accused of killing his wife and their head of security. Rudy wants Eddie to use his highly honed skills to shake up the police and forensic witnesses.
The details of the case are fairly straightforward, but…wait for it…there’s a twist I’ve never read before. Thirteen is told from two vantage points, Eddie and the killer. Not a biggie, except this is a serial killer so dark he’s found a way to get on the jury. This is not a spoiler—it’s on the book’s cover. The details behind how he does it, as well as the motivation behind the murders is the hook.
What a hook. It’s one of those things that you read and think, ‘Why hasn’t anyone done this before?’. It could go terribly wrong if sloppily executed, but, much like killer Joshua Kane, author Steve Cavanagh moves meticulously, does his research, and covers his tracks. Does it go a bit far by the end? Yes, but by that point I’m hooked and am willing to let things slide, because I. HAVE. TO. KNOW. HOW. IT. ENDS. I’m not going to try and finesse my opinion here: Thirteen is unsettling, Space Mountain coaster ride reading.
If you want more great backlist reading then be sure and listen to Sarah’s podcast, episode 71. We discuss almost 30 books from previous years that we’ve loved or are going to try and read before the end of the year. Click on image to go to episode or download from wherever you get podcasts.
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That sounds fantastic! I really need fast-paced books rights now. Adding it to my TBR.
This fits the bill. I went on to read the first book in the series- The Defense and his plots are out there, but he executes them so well. I’m just along for the ride!