Review: Thirteen, by Steve Cavanagh

Thirteen, by Steve Cavanagh

Flatiron Books - 2019
Thriller - Legal
E-book

368 Pages

* I received this digital ARC courtesy of Flatiron Books, via NetGalley, in exchange of an honest review. This does not influence the following opinions which are my own.

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Thirteen, by Steve Cavanagh is an edge-of-your-seat-nail-biter of a legal thriller. 

When Ariellla Bloom - one half of Hollywood's newest power couples is found murdered in their bed alongside the couple's chief of security, her husband Bobby Solomon is put on trial for the brutal double murder. Although the case is convincing, one of the jurors - Joshua Kane, knows that Bobby is not the murderer; he is. With his identity carefully masked, he  now sits on the jury deciding Bobby's fate. 

Defense attorney Eddie Flynn believes in his client's innocence. The evidence is stacked against them though, and the only way to save his client is to prove that someone else not only committed the murders, but framed Bobby as part of some bigger plan. Thus begins a elaborate and deadly game of cat and mouse that keeps the reader guessing and on the edge of their seat to the very end.

While part of a series, Thirteen can easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone. This was a first book for me from this author, and I did not feel the story suffered at all for not having read the previous books. 

Like many writers of legal thrillers, Cavanagh is a trial attorney, so as expected he knows his way around the court-room and its procedures. He is also a darn good writer though.  His characters were well developed, his timing on point, and the plot was tight, original, and wholly engaging - complex enough to not be a giveaway, but not so complicated as to be difficult to follow. I was hooked with the first sentence, and had far more difficulty putting it down than picking it up again.

Fast paced and clever, this book is exactly what a legal thriller should be!

Happy Reading,

Christine