Th1rt3en by Steve Cavanagh

Bobby Solomon’s, famous actor’s wife is found dead in their own bed with a different man. Of course, Bobby is accused of killing them. But he didn’t, and this is not a spoiler! It’s not, because as the story unravels, we follow the trial from Bobby’s lawyer’s perspective… as well as the killer’s, who made his way into the jury duty. And he wants to make sure Bobby goes down for the murder he didn’t commit.

Here we go, the best book I have read this year! Steve Cavanagh used the dual POV so well I just couldn’t put the book down. It was full of tension and surprises. I was fooled into who the killer was until the killer reavealed it himself. I also loved the attention to detail when it came to describing the progress of the case and the trial and the meticoulsness of the descriptions, you can really tell that the author has law experience, and he used it oh so well.

First of all, the idea of telling the story partially from the killer’s perspective is very unique. So far, all other crime books I read were written only from the perspective of the detective on the case and adding this second POV was a game changer. It added a kind of ‘insider’ perspective that gave another meaning to the story. As a reader, while I sill hated Kane as a killer, I understood his motives and the way his brain worked. And the fact that the alternating chapters were still kept in one timeline kept the story moving smoothly and flawlessly.

I thought the story progression was really well thought-through. From a celebrity accused of killing his wife to a serial killer going way back, it’s really something. The detectives had hardly anything to work with, but the way the author executed it was fantastic. The insightfulness of them all was top-notch. And while this idea might seem unbelievable, Cavanagh made it believable.

My absolute favourite of the whole book was the legal and procedural aspect of it. Before reading the book I found out that Steve Cavanagh has a legal background and I could really tell based on the descriptions throughout the case. The legal jargon was used well (at least to me, as a person with not a lot of knowledge of law) and wasn’t forced. I quite literally felt as if I was watching a crime documentary, but on paper.

The characters were created to the highest standard, which is not always the case in crime books. Eddie Flynn’s journey as an ex-alcoholic and a lawyer just thrown into representing someone who he wasn’t sure was innocent, that took a lot courage from him. He is a very likeable character, with a lot to offer. Harper was my personal favourtie, with her don’t-beat-around-the-bush attitude and I wish there was a bit more of her in the story. Nevertheless, I loved her eagerness and persistence in digging up the evidence. And then Kane… absolute masterpiece. His backstory, his mentality, the slow unveiling of his character and his real reason behind the killings. I won’t lie, the first few chapters confused me a little but as the story progressed, it all got clearer and I understood how intelligent and cold-blooded he really was.

And last but not least… the ending! I honestly thought I knew who Kane was… but no! He had me fooled until the very end, and he had Eddie fooled as well. I was absolutely stunned by the way the book ended. If other Steve Cavanagh books are anything like this one, then I’m in for a treat!

Rating: 5/5