Witness 8

Ruby Johnson lived in the posh West 74th Street neighborhood as a child. When her father lost all their money and abandoned her and her mother, she was forced to leave. Now she works as a babysitter and maid for the residents of West 74th. One night while walking home, she witnesses a murder. She knows the victim and the murderer. But Ruby isn't running to the police. Ruby has a different plan in mind.
Former con man turned lawyer Eddie Flynn is brought in to defend Dr. John Jackson, who is accused of the murder. The case looks impossible as the gun was found in his home with his DNA on it. But Eddie believes he is innocent. Proving it means he has to figure out what really happened. This is made all the more difficult when some people show more he's pissed off put out a contract on his life. It's going to take all his wits and skills to survive the trial, let alone win it. One thing common to his con man past and legal present: He doesn't play fair.

The Eddie Flynn books are always a lot of fun. Giving Eddie a con man past was a brilliant decision. He's not just a lawyer who is pushed into gray areas. Gray areas are his bread and butter and part of who he is.

Knowing that Ruby has framed John doesn't lessen the mystery. Why him? How exactly did she do it? What is her goal in all this?

Eddie believes that John is innocent, based mainly on his gut instinct. There's a lot of evidence piled up against him, so Eddie knows he's going to have to do some fancy lawyering to get him out of trouble. That, and figure out what really happened. And he has to do it while dodging the hit men out to kill him, a result of another stunt entirely of his own making.

Eddie is a fascinating and engaging character, which makes following him so much fun. Eddie's investigators, Bloch and Lake, are also entertaining, with their own peculiarities and motivations. Loyalty to Eddie and a dogged commitment to justice fuel them. Ruby is a chilling character who is a little hard to sympathize with, but rather terrifying.

Cavanagh knows how to spin a plot and keep the pages flying by. The twists keep coming, and you'll find your jaw dropping every few chapters. The case seems unwinnable all the way to the end, but you know that Eddie always has one more trick up his sleeve. The revelations at the end will leave you with your mouth hanging open.

This is the best type of legal thriller. Challenging predicament, clever and dogged protagonist, and action and surprises on every page. Cavanagh is a must-buy every time out, and his Eddie Flynn books are an especially good time!

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. show less

Can I Get a Witness?
A review of the Atria Books kindle edition (USA/Canada March 25, 2025) of the original Headline Book hardcover (UK August 1, 2024).

Success or failure as a lawyer is not determined by your knowledge of the law; it is, however, greatly determined by your knowledge of human behavior. ... It’s all about people. And it’s much easier to influence a group of people than a single individual.

This was my final read in the 2025 Long Books Challenge and it made for a speedy conclusion as you just can't turn the pages fast enough with a Steve Cavanagh book. This one piles on the implausible scenarios to an outrageous degree but it is sheer entertainment to follow Eddie Flynn & company as they work out the solutions to each show more problem.

We have a murder where an innocent man has been framed for the crime and Flynn is his lawyer. Meanwhile two of the victim's neighbours are being framed by someone who witnessed the crime, one of them is the actual murderer. To up the stakes, Flynn has pissed off a corrupt subgroup of the New York Police and they have put out a hit on him. Various contract killers move in to try to collect. Can Flynn save his client from a conviction and hold off the killers at the same time? There is of course a final twist as the motive of the witness is revealed.

Was there a hint of a possible sequel down the road? With Cavanagh and Flynn you just never know.

Soundtrack
It is nothing to do with the book, but I couldn't help but think about the Marvin Gaye song Can I Get a Witness (1963) which you can listen to on YouTube here or on Spotify here.

Trivia and Link
I did jump the sequence of the Eddie Flynn series, as Witness 8 in this edition was the only one that met the 400+ page criterion for the Long Books Challenge. It can be mostly read as a standalone but there are some spoilers about the fates of characters from earlier in the series, so perhaps it is best to read them overall in chronological order. show less

Few authors can write absorbing legal thrillers like Steve Cavanagh. Witness 8 has it all: humor, a sympathetic yet scary witness to murder, life-and-death situations, and a roller coaster ride of a courtroom drama.

I love watching the way Eddie Flynn's mind works. He's not your usual lawyer. He's a streetwise ex-con-artist-turned-defense-attorney, and he knows all sorts of people from all walks of life. The team he has assembled is top-notch, so much so that it seems that there is nothing they cannot do.

As a witness to murder, Ruby Johnson is scary yet sympathetic. I felt for her circumstances, but she was so skilled in her manipulations that I wanted her stopped ASAP. Ruby also made me realize just how much the "hired help" knows about show more the families they work for. My advice to the rich? Pay your servants well, be nice, and don't anger them. They always know much more than you think.

To add to Eddie's worries, there's the danger for those near and dear to him-- not just from corrupt police officers but also from an assassin named Mr. Christmas. (Don't you love his name?)

If you love legal thrillers, by all means, acquaint yourself with Eddie Flynn. I would definitely want him defending me if I were on trial.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

West 74th Street is a nice, monied neighbourhood but when a woman is murdered, the well-heeled residents shun the accused. Eddie Flynn and his team are brought in to conduct the defence of John Jackson, a rich surgeon accused of shooting his neighbourhood, the murder weapon found in his house. Flynn also has another problem, in defending a client he has brought the wrath of the corrupt police down on him and there is now a contract on his life. This brings Mr Christmas to New York, a cultured assassin, and he picks up another contract, one Ruby Johnson, and she has links to 74th Street.
Cavanagh writes really entertaining thrillers that also have a wicked sense of humour running through them and this is no exception. The plotlines show more intertwine wonderfully and the twists are fabulous. The characterisation is excellent and sophisticated for this genre of novel. It's an addictive read. show less

Set in an upmarket part of Manhattan a brutal murder is witnessed by a housekeeper/nursemaid/babysitter for several of the families in the area. Rather than report to the police she uses her position as an unseen but intimate part of many families to target and destroy an innocent man for the crime. Eddie Flynn, a quirky and unconventional lawyer, is brought in to defend the innocent man. As the case unravels we dive deeper into the twisted mind and horrific past of the young woman driving the prosecution for her own ends.

An excellent thriller. The plot has a lot of force, the characters are clearly defined and believable and the suspense is wire-taut. The perspective is unusual. we see very little about the murder itself, the victim, show more the actual killer, or even the accused. Our focus is much more on the girl trying to manipulate the investigation, how she does that and her motivations. Everything is kept nicely on the boil until the final reveal.

There is a side plot about a number of professional hitmen trying to claim a large bounty placed on Eddie Flynn's head by the head of a local New York gang. This is entertaining, but always feels like a distraction from the main story line.

This is in every way a superior, well-written thriller. show less

A new installment in author Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn series is always among my most anticipated reads, so much so that I don’t mind ordering a copy from the UK so as not to wait for the book to become available in the US ( Thank you, Blackwell’s for the getting the book to me a day before UK publication day!).

I’ve enjoyed (to varying degrees) all the previous books (including one short story and one novella) in this series and I’m glad to say that the latest installment Witness 8 is a worthy addition to the lot!

Ruby Johnson, a young woman in her twenties, works as a maid and nanny in several houses in an affluent New York neighborhood. Once a resident of the same neighborhood, she is haunted by the events that caused her show more family’s downfall. She is cunning and perceptive and one night, after witnessing the murder of the wealthy socialite, she decides to use this information and manipulate the truth to further her own agenda. The narrative follows Eddie Flynn and his team as they work on defending the successful surgeon who is accused of murdering his neighbor, based on evidence recovered at his home. Complicating matters further for Eddie is the fact that in the course of one of his previous cases, he has provoked a few very corrupt yet powerful people who have taken out a hit on him. Therefore, now, along with working to prove his client’s innocence, he has to dodge the hitmen and assassins (including a very interesting Mr. Christmas, who has a history with one of Eddie’s team) out to collect the bounty on his head while also trying to figure out how to deal with the friction with the criminal entities in the mix.

Needless to say, a lot is going on and Eddie and his team will have their hands full!

It’s always a pleasure following our con man-turned-lawyer who now works with a very competent team comprising his mentor retired Judge Harry Ford, fellow defense attorney Kate Brooks, investigator Melissa Bloch, former FBI profiler Gabriel Lake and their office manager Denise.In the past we've seen that Eddie never hesitates to rope in his friends and associates from his former life as “Eddie Fly” for assistance and this time was no exception.

The author deftly weaves the numerous threads of the plot and multiple perspectives into a consistently paced, twisty, tension-filled narrative. I enjoyed the dynamic between Eddie’s team members and thought they made a formidable team. In this context, I should mention that we don’t see as much of Eddie as much as in the previous books, but I do appreciate that each of the characters has a distinct role to play. The author always infuses a healthy dose of humor into these books, and I find these segments-both in the courtroom and, of course, Eddie’s very creative methods of fact-finding and besting opponents- very entertaining. I will admit that there were aspects that were not entirely unpredictable and while the twists were well-executed, overall, this wasn’t as complex as some of the previous books but this in no way makes this one less enjoyable! I found Mr. Christmas to be a very interesting character and hope we do get to see more of him in future books.

However, overall, I did find this to be an absorbing and entertaining read and I eagerly await the next book in the series!

Please note that this book would work well as a standalone, but I definitely recommend reading the books in series order . You won’t be disappointed! show less

Steve Cavanagh has written an unputdownable thriller. First, an ADA who has a slam dunk case but wants to settle with negligible consequences for the defendant - why? Second, maybe not so reformed con artist turned defense attorney Eddie Flynn understands the be all and end all is about money and who is shaking it from which tree. That is just the run up to the case he is about to catch and the characters involved in this engaging and high stakes story. The dialog was completely engaging, the story moved and zigged and turned and kept moving. The characterizations were well drawn and oh how they hit a certain type spot on. The cons are stupendous and the roads travelled scary.

Steve Cavanagh is quickly becoming one of my favorite show more authors of the crime/thriller genre. Many thanks to Atria/Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a copy show less