Book Reviews: Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh (Eddie Flynn #8)
Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐
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 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. Edddie also never hesitates to rope in help from his friends and associates from his former life as “Eddie Fly” 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 all the books in series order . You won’t be disappointed!
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 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. Edddie also never hesitates to rope in help from his friends and associates from his former life as “Eddie Fly” 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 all the books in series order . You won’t be disappointed!
Comments
Post a Comment