The Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

The Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Pages - 304

Publisher - Orion

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

A deadly prosecutor

They call him the King of Death Row. Randal Korn has sent more men to their deaths than any district attorney in the history of the United States.

A twisted ritualistic killing

When a young woman, Skylar Edwards, is found murdered in Buckstown, Alabama, a corrupt sheriff arrests the last person to see her alive, Andy Dubois. It doesn't seem to matter to anyone that Andy is innocent.

A small town boiling with rage

Everyone in Buckstown believes Andy is guilty. He has no hope of a fair trial. And the local defense attorney assigned to represent him has disappeared.

A former con-artist

Hot shot New York lawyer Eddie Flynn travels south to fight fire with fire. He plans to destroy the prosecutors case, find the real killer and save Andy from the electric chair.

But the murders are just beginning.

Is Eddie Flynn next?




My Review

So I have read a few of the Eddie Flynn books, bought the ones I have missed and need to actually read them. I LOVE Eddie, he is a lawyer who won't represent anyone who is guilty, I imagine this may be covered, the why, in the earlier books. He has a colourful past and can be a wee bit dodgy but in a totally good way, he is a really good guy and has a moral compass, he also bends some rules as and when needed. He has been asked to come to a small town to help a guy accused of murder, the prosecutor has a record for going for the death penalty and it is never reversed. The town is shady, dodgy, racist and even the decent people aren't huge on outsiders. The prosecutor loves his record, he is powerful, rich and very influential, nothing and no-one gets between him and his goal, Eddie has met some bad people in the past but this town has folk of the likes he has never encountered before.

If I hadn't had work I would have sunk this in one sitting. I make no qualms about how much I love Flynn so I really need to find the earlier books and get them read. He is the type of guy you can't help but love, wee bit shady, heart in the right place, fighting for the good "guy" and the odds are usually placed against them.

This book gave me "A Time To Kill" vibes, racism, them vs us, murder, violence, manipulation, corruption, abuse of power, ooft heart in my mouth multiple times and beyond horrified at the behaviour of some of the humans in this book. I know it is fiction but attitudes and violence like we see in this book is all to real and fiction that evokes strong emotional responses *mic drop*.

I couldn't guess where the book was going, I gasped a fair few times and was just like there is no way out for X character, where to next? The author pulls the rug from under you a fair few times, I was totally invested in the characters and a total ragin spice at others. Definitely one of my 5/5 this year, I am re arranging my 5 bookcases soon so will be actively hunting the earlier Flynn books. Out to buy tomorrow in ebook and tree book, I can't recommend this story enough. Be warned it has some very hard hitting themes, do not start it late at night or if you have plans that day because you are drawn in and need to know what happens next! Buy link from AMAZON UK.

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