Thirteen: The serial killer isn’t on trial. He’s on the jury

4.5 ★s

Thirteen is the fourth book in the Eddie Flynn series by Irish lawyer and author, Steve Cavanagh. Eddie Flynn had been approached by high-profile lawyer Rudy Carp, but was reluctant to join his team for Bobby Solomon's trial. Bobby was charged with the murder of his wife, Ariel Bloom and his head of security, Carl Tozer. On meeting Bobby, however, Eddie became convinced of his innocence. Eddie's role would be to discredit the NYPD's handling of evidence.

The case looked almost hopeless but there was a piece of evidence that had Eddie puzzled, so he called on his ex-FBI friend, Harper, to do some digging. His good friend Judge Harry Ford would be on the bench and the prosecution had a hired gun to put their case. Art Pryor had a reputation for getting convictions, and doing so quickly. But then the unexpected happened, and suddenly Eddie was defending Bobby by himself.

Cavanagh sets up his story with chapters that alternate between Eddie's narrative and the perspective of the murderer. So the reader is immediately aware of what this man has done to get onto the jury, and why, if not the full extent of his actions. Eddie is smart, but is this serial killer smarter?

Cavanagh's tale is full of twists and turns and red herrings to mislead and distract the reader. Eddie indulges in some clever courtroom antics and also mixes it with the bad guys in a physical sense. There's plenty of action leading to a heart-stopping climax in this gripping page-turner.