Steve Cavanagh writes top notch adrenaline fuelled legal thrillers with his charismatic defence lawyer, ex-con artist Eddie Flynn, set in New York and this is his best one yet. Eddie has been hoping to get back together with his wife, Christine, and his beloved daughter, Amy, which his defence work in the past has placed in grave danger, leading to their separation. He thinks he has it finally worked out as he plans for a safe and secure legal career with Rudy Carp, where he has been co-opted onto the legal defence team for famous celebrity Hollywood actor, Robert Solomon, on trial for the murder of his actress wife, Ariella Bloom, and his security man. Is it already too late to save his marriage? Flynn has attracted the rage of NYPD cops he has publicly revealed as corrupt. Solomon appears a lost cause, the evidence stacked against him is overwhelming, but Eddie can feel he is an innocent man, and will do all that he can to prove it. However, Eddie is to find himself in the most testing case of his career with no idea of what he is up against.
Eddie's close friend, Judge Harry Ford, takes over the trial after the health issues of the previous judge. The colourful Southern PR savvy prosecuter for hire, Art Pryor, has never lost a case, and with the support of his formidable expertise, confidently believes that Solomon will be convicted. Eddie knows that he has been recruited as the fall guy should he fail to prove that the NYPD has tampered with critical evidence, a dollar bill with the DNA of a convicted killer from the past, Richard Pena, and the DNA of Solomon. Eddie hires ex-FBI Harper to be his investigator, and this leads to an FBI agent, Delaney, who believes there is a serial killer whose MO includes leaving behind a specially marked dollar bill on the victim, but has escaped detection because he ensures someone else is always convicted for the murders. Could this provide a viable route to save Solomon by introducing another suspect? However, Delaney is refusing to testify and Eddie has a problem he could not have imagined, the killer is on the jury, ideally placed to ensure that a guilty verdict prevails.
Cavanagh engineers masterly misdirections and twists in this taut and fast paced thriller that had me reading until I finished. The suspense and tension is palpable in this brilliantly plotted story of a highly intelligent manipulative serial killer with the chameleon like ability to become another person, feel no pain, a true sociopath who knows that he really is special and untouchable with the help he receives from someone close to the case. Eddie is a phenomenal lawyer, displaying his courtroom skills with panache as he illustrates that the art of the cross examination and the art of the con are one and the same thing. This is a terrifically entertaining read and Cavanagh can be counted to have you gripped from the moment you start reading. A fantastic legal thriller that I recommend highly! Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.