Thirteen

June 1, 2019
To carry out the final steps of a grandiose scheme, the sophisticated, supremely evasive serial killer Joshua Kane becomes a juror on a celebrity murder trial in Manhattan. The defendant is Hollywood star Bobby Solomon; a heap of incriminating evidence has gotten him all but convicted of stabbing his wife and a security guard. The only person who can get Solomon off, and stop Kane from manipulating the jury into a guilty verdict, is defense attorney Eddie Flynn, back from Cavanagh's (The Plea, 2018, etc.) other two novels. A one-time con artist, Eddie has been hired by a high-powered law firm working for the studio releasing Solomon's new movie. When Kane, sneaking around after dark with his trusty filleting knife, starts killing off jurors he has determined are leaning toward an acquittal, the case goes haywire--but keeps going, one of the more questionable details in the novel. While the premise of the book is promising, Cavanagh is too clever for his own good. The gimmick of the killer jurist is worn so thin that the murders have no real impact. It would be one thing if Kane had a unique personality to go with his rare congenital analgesia, which makes him unable to feel pain, but he's just another faceless madman with a troubled upbringing. Though Flynn is hardly alone among crime-fiction heroes in struggling to win back his wife and child, he's pretty enjoyable. But his winning ways can't distract us from the desperation of an eighth-inning reveal by the author pertaining to the case. In spite of mounting murders, the suspense is uneven in Cavanagh's carefully plotted mystery.

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Starred review from June 17, 2019
What if the killer is on the jury? That’s the harrowing question posed by Cavanagh’s pulse-pounding third novel featuring New York defense attorney Eddie Flynn (after 2018’s The Liar). Cavanagh juxtaposes the viewpoints of Flynn, brought in to help defend actor Bobby Solomon, who’s accused of killing his wife in their Manhattan home, and Joshua Kane, who murders and connives his way onto the jury in the actor’s trial. Some literal courtroom sleight of hand and sharp questioning by Flynn throws doubt on the seemingly airtight case of the prosecution, but Flynn’s best chance is to identify another killer. His ex-FBI investigator Harper and her contact in the Bureau’s Behavioral Analysis Unit provide a solid lead—a serial killer who has remained hidden by framing others for his crimes. Meanwhile, from within the jury, the ruthless Kane is able to discredit or kill the fellow jurors who won’t vote his way. Cavanagh throws in false leads and red herrings to heighten the uncertainty. This tightly plotted page-turner delivers as both a legal thriller and serial killer investigation. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management.

Starred review from May 1, 2019
What better way to influence the outcome of the trial of the century than to serve on its jury? When movie star Bobby Solomon is charged with murdering his wife, who costarred with him in a major film due for release, and his chief of security, both found naked in bed in Solomon's Manhattan brownstone, high-powered attorney Rudy Carp takes the defense and persuades Eddie Flynn, con man turned lawyer, to assist him. When the movie studio pulls its financial support, Carp jumps ship, but Flynn?believing his client innocent?stays the course, even though it means giving up a job at Carp Law that's a potential lifeline for saving his marriage. Flynn soon finds he's up against the sophisticated serial killer known to the FBI as Dollar Bill, for the distinctly marked bills he leaves by his victims. Dollar Bill's unusual MO includes targeting those charged with the murders he himself commits. From the start, it's clear to the reader that the killer has maneuvered his way onto the Solomon jury, and action accelerates when the defense team puts together the bigger picture. A red herring is a bit disconcerting, but it doesn't substantially lower the impact of the adrenaline-fueled finale. A knockout legal thriller with a doozy of a twist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2019

Con man-turned-defense lawyer Eddie Flynn passionately believes that his movie star client is innocent of killing two people and suspects that the culprit is close at hand. But on the jury? From Steel Dagger finalist Cavanagh.

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