Steve Cavanagh

Eddie Flynn and his colleagues are up against it in the sixth installment of this series. A very tough and upsetting book and I want to know how a lawyer raised and still living in Belfast, Northern Ireland has such an incredible understanding of the despicable, racist thoughts and actions that have prevailed for so long in the Deep South of the United States. Research might capture the hate, the injustice of a prejudiced community, but being able to pen it to a horrifying believable story show more is genius.

Cavanagh is a master at blocking his characters into corners with no room to move, no way to get out. He is also adept at providing the smallest keyhole to watch and worry. And I did plenty of that trying to understand how his protagonist was going to maneuver into a position of, if not strength, at the very least truth, wondering on each page if that will be enough for right to prevail.

Another difficult but brilliant book by an enormously talented writer. A million thanks to Atria / Simon & Schuster for a copy. show less

If fast-paced, dark, twisty, and completely unhinged psychological thrillers are your thing, pick this book up STAT.

“Amanda White lifted the lid from the electric baby-bottle steriliser and stared inside at the .22 caliber revolver.”

Yep, that's the opening line, and I knew that I was going to love this book!

Persevere. The story takes off at an incredible speed after the first quarter, taking you on a wild, twisty ride. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, brace yourself show more because you don't. The twists are twisting!

I lost track of the "NO WAY!" moments while reading this book, and it kept me up way past my bedtime because I couldn't put the book down!

Do NOT give in to the temptation to read the spoilers unless you want to ruin your reading experience. I just wanted to share my thoughts on certain scenes and characters. But go ahead if you've already read the book.

The opening scene at the subway. So Amanda's plan to shoot and murder Wallace Crone is thwarted, and she "dropped the gun, unnoticed, into the half-open golf umbrella of the businessman beside her." The police intervene and issue her a restraining order. But I kept wondering why the businessman didn’t report the gun when he found it in his umbrella. If the police had known about the gun and her intent to kill, they might have charged her with more than just assault.

Amanda trying to murder Quinn. I was surprised by how incredibly intense and graphic this particular scene was! “She felt like her eyeballs were going to pop right out of her skull. Even the skin on her cheeks burned – as if the tiny blood vessels in her face were rupturing under the strain. Her sight darkened.” And yet she had the strength to stick a screwdriver into Quinn's (a much bigger and stronger man) bicep and BURIED AN AXE IN QUINN'S CHEST!

Billy turned out to be the biggest surprise twist for me! I never expected him to be Mr. Blue Eyes, the man who attacked Ruth! Even though his character was introduced later in the book, his cover was so convincing and his story so believable that I never suspected him as a killer. Plus, he seemed genuinely kind to Amanda! But why did he attack Ruth in the first place?

Billy's letter to Amanda. In the letter, he hints at killing Wallace Crone as a return favor for her help in finding Ruth. His tone is polite and grateful, almost portraying him as a good guy! It's confusing—is he a serial killer with a kind heart? And he never gets caught, so he's still out there, possibly targeting the next unsuspecting woman to kill?

Overall, I had a blast with this book and would totally recommend it to anyone in the mood for a crazy, page-turning thriller with writing that hits all the right notes! show less

How do you like this angle for a storyline? "The serial killer isn't on trial, he's on the jury." When I read that from the book cover I knew that I HAD TO READ THIS!!! This is the first book I have read by this author, but I will certainly be searching for more of them out after reading this. It's basically about the murder of a starlet and her supposed lover, who were found by the husband that supposedly beat him to death with a baseball bat...and then stabbed her repeatedly. Now enter show more Flynn as part of the defense team who becomes "the" defense team following a few revelations whereby the main lawyer (who is employed by the studio) is told to withdraw. Meanwhile, someone is going to great lengths to be on the jury ... welcome...Joshua Kane, a very disturbed individual. Flynn is a fantastic character; you have to absolutely adore him. He's so likeable...he's "normal" ... well, that is if you can call a previous con-man with a shady history, " normal"... but it does give him a unique view of things which certainly comes in handy in his line of work. Joshua Kane is anything but normal but still a great character - he's such a "good baddie"! The chapters are written alternatively between Flynn and Kane and whilst Flynn's are written in the first person, Kane's are written in the third; this was, I think, a stroke of genius as it gives different perspectives from Flynn who's trying his best for his client, in contrast to Kane who is cleverly manipulating things from the jury box. The pace of the book is absolutely perfect with plenty of action, thrills, twists and turns that will keep you hooked from the first page. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best books I have ever read...and it will get repeats. show less

"Oh, what a very fine monster you are. . ."

WOW! Twisty, diabolical - so good! I was hooked from the start. There are a few POV in this one but they are easy to follow and tell apart. We get Amanda, who's daughter was murdered and she lost her husband soon after. She knows who the killer is but the police can't/won't arrest him. She's angry and sad and confused. We also have the POV of the detective on her case and a woman named Ruth.

These 3 POV fully flush out the story. They keep you show more guessing on why you have these 3 and who they all are in this spider web of deaths and murder. At first, this may feel like Strangers on a Train but don't let it fool you. The twists are so good and will keep you wondering. I absolutely loved this one!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. show less