Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh

The serial killer isn't on trial, he's on the jury.

That's the hook for Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh. Bobby Solomon was on the cusp of movie superstardom, but now he’s on trial for murdering his actress wife and their bodyguard. Eddie Flynn believes that his client is innocent but there's a lot of evidence stacked up against him. The biggest obstacle to overcome however is not the evidence, it's the jury. For it turns out that the killer is actually on the jury.

Steve Cavanaugh comes up with a simple but brilliant premise. Even though you know this key fact from the very beginning, Cavanagh keeps you guessing and gasping for the entire novel as twists and revelations follow one after the other. Cavanagh keeps ratcheting up the tension as chapters alternate between con-man-turned-attorney Eddie Flynn and the killer Joshua Kane. Both are incredible characters. Flynn is a gifted attorney with more than a few skeletons in his closet and Kane is a brilliant but sadistically evil killer. The intelligence of these characters makes the cat-and-mouse game between them even more exciting.

Flynn is doing his best to win the trial, but his best bet may be figuring out who the real killer is. With the help of an ex-FBI agent turned private investigator, he uncovers what may be a serial killer whose existence has been hidden. Kane has invested a lot of time in setting up this plan to put the movie star in jail for a crime he didn't commit and he's willing to kill anyone who gets in the way.

Steve Cavanagh will remind you why you love legal thrillers. If you don’t like legal thrillers, he’ll show you why you should. This story is compulsively readable. The action is relentless and the strategies both inside and outside the courtroom are brilliant. A great idea, an ingenious plot and amazing characters make this one of the best thrillers of the summer. This book is crying out to be made into a movie. One of the best reads of the year. Do yourself a favor and pick this book up. Highly recommended.

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

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