Cover of Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh, featuring the text Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh.

Thirteen By Steve Cavanagh Book Review

Thirteen is the fourth book of the Eddie Flynn series. Eddie Flynn is a defense attorney who only takes cases of innocent people and does not run after fame. 

 

Here’s my honest review of the book.

 

Plot

A famous Hollywood actor has been arrested for the brutal murder of his wife and bodyguard. Defense lawyer Eddie Flynn was forced to take the case even though he didn’t want to. While fighting the case in Court, he discovered a terrible truth. Meanwhile, a serial killer is killing in a certain pattern across different states of the United States. His purpose is to achieve a specific goal. What is that goal? And the Hollywood actor really did the murders? Or is there some other conspiracy behind it? Will Eddie Flynn be able to prove his popular client innocent? The answer to all these questions is hidden in Steve Kavanagh’s famous legal thriller Thirteen. This book is an excellent combination of courtroom drama, police procedural, and serial killing. 

 

My Review

Let me tell you that this is the first courtroom thriller I read. I’ve never read a courtroom thriller before. I bought the book by looking at the Goodreads rating. So, I started reading the book with low expectations. In the beginning, the story flows slowly. But after a few chapters, the flow of the story comes. Then, I didn’t want to get up until I finished the book.

As an artist paints a picture perfectly, Steve Kavanagh describes the courtroom atmosphere perfectly in the book “Thirteen.” How the prosecution convicts the defendant with evidence, then the defense tries to prove him innocent, how a jury is selected, how jurors work, their attitudes, how attorneys discredit witnesses in the name of cross-examination, how the defense and prosecution fight a war of words. All these are beautifully written in the book. The description inside the Court was so perfect that every character’s frustration, hatred, pride, sadness, and fear could be felt. You will get a good idea about the Court after reading the book. And yes, there are twists in the book (but I always try and tell others to keep expectations low). I had mixed feelings after finishing the book because, at the end of the book, everything falls into place (as all books do), of course, but some harsh reality is presented. After reading the book, if you close your eyes and think about the whole thing, goosebumps are bound to come.

 

The book was moving from two sides. Once by defense attorney Eddie Flynn (written in first person) and the next time by murderer Joshua Kane (written in third person). One chapter followed another, thus changing the perspective each time at the end of the book, which converges to a point.

 

The strange thing is that it is like those books in which the author reveals the murderer’s name beforehand. This is not a spoiler. I have noticed this before in some Japanese thrillers. I enjoyed reading from Eddie Flynn’s point of view because of his courtship skills, presence of mind, responsibility towards his work, efforts to free an innocent man, and humor. Joshua Kane’s character was also quite interesting and brutal. Because he is not an ordinary person, I can definitely say that there are very few serial killers as clever as Joshua Kane. In the middle part of the book, he confirms his position on the jury board. A serial killer is a jury board? That too in someone else’s identity. He doesn’t mind hiding his true identity. The purpose is to mislead the Court.

 

The courtroom parts were the main surprise of the book because catching the murderer was not the main focus here, as in other books. The real point was to prove an innocent person innocent with the help of evidence. Eddie Flynn beautifully demonstrates how to save his client despite overwhelming evidence against an innocent person. Every time prosecuting attorney Art Pryor showed the jury evidence against Robert Solomon, it looked like Eddie Flynn might lose the case because every piece of evidence went against Robert Solomon. But Eddie Flynn didn’t let that happen. He has presented the Court with more and more evidence that establishes him as a skilled defense attorney to the readers. And it wasn’t just Art Prior who was up against Eddie Flynn. Joshua Kane was also sitting in the jury seat.

 

The book is not just about courtroom drama. There are also police procedurals and serial killing thrills. That is three genres in one book, which goes on and on. The police procedural featured Eddie Flynn, Federal Agent Delaney, and Private Investigator Harper. 

Before reading the book, I did not know the rules of the Court, who is called what, and whose job is what. I had to use the internet to learn this. Perhaps no other book or TV series about the Court had as much detail as Thirteen.

 

Price

Kindle – $11.99

 

Paperback – $25.89

 

Personal Rating

9.5/10. How well a book appeals to the reader depends on the writing, plot, and ending of the book. But a large part of it depends on its completion. There are many books that, despite having a good plot, appeal to only a few readers due to the lack of a proper ending. But as much as I say about the ending of this book, less will be said. After a long The Poet by Michael Connelly.

 

Similar Books

  1. The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup.
  2. The Poet by Michael Connelly.
  3. The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter.
  4. The Executioner by Chris Carter.
  5. The Crossing by Michael Connelly.
  6. The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen.
  7. The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen.
  8. Jack & Jill by James Patterson.