This was my first introduction to legal eagle Eddie Flynn, as I hadn’t read the books that came before this one (this works well as a standalone). I’ll gladly hunt down those books though!
So … Eddie Flynn … rather an unconventional and unexpected hero to be honest! From the outset I wasn’t quite sure if he was actually the good guy, and I couldn’t quite tell which side of the law he was on. He didn’t seem quite as savoury as I would have expected him to be. He’s on the verge of pulling his life together, being co-opted onto Rudy Carp’s team in a front-page legal case: Hollywood’s latest golden boy, hot-shot Bobby Solomon is accused of murdering his wife and security guard in cold-blood.
It’s obvious from the outset that Bobby’s not guilty here, as we meet one of the most ruthless, brutal sociopaths I’ve ever come across: Joshua Kane! Oh my goodness … Cavanagh’s created one of the most twisted individuals ever to stalk his way across the pages of a book (well, a kindle), and into most people’s nightmares!! He’s one mean, nasty, twisted piece of work. The only problem is … we don’t actually know who Kane is, but he’s sitting right there in the courtroom, on the jury!!
This isn’t only a cleverly plotted courtroom drama, it’s also an intricate and complex journey into the heart and mind of a deranged serial killer, made even darker by the fact that alternate chapters are narrated by Kane himself! As evil as he is, he’s also a character full of depth and charisma, and he’s oh, so brilliant!
Something else that caught my attention was the reference to police corruption – something we in South Africa tend to think is so unique to us!! It clearly isn’t and Cavanagh shows how corruption is rife everywhere, we just need to take off our rose-coloured glasses to notice it!
Get hold of Thirteen and hold on tight – it’s a helluva ride, but it’s a five star one, all the way!
Thank you so much to Tracy Fenton of THE Book Club on Facebook and the folks at Orion for inviting me along for this one.
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Jan's Book Buzz 
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