Steve Cavanagh- The Accomplice @stevecavanagh_ @orionbooks @orion_crime

THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICA
The Sandman killings have been solved. Daniel Miller murdered fourteen people before he vanished. His wife, Carrie, now faces trial as his accomplice. The FBI, the District Attorney, the media and everyone in America believe she knew and helped cover up her husband’s crimes.

THE LAWYER
Eddie Flynn won’t take a case unless his client is innocent. Now, he has to prove to a jury, and the entire world, that Carrie Miller was just another victim of the Sandman. She didn’t know her husband’s dark side and she had no part in the murders. But so far, Eddie and his team are the only ones who believe her.

THE FORMER FBI AGENT
Gabriel Lake used to be a federal agent, before someone tried to kill him. Now, he’s an investigator with a vendetta against the Sandman. He’s the only one who can catch him, because he believes that everything the FBI knows about serial killers is wrong.

THE KILLER
With his wife on trial, the Sandman is forced to come out of hiding to save her from a life sentence. He will kill to protect her and everyone involved in the case is a target. Even Eddie Flynn…

Before I launch into my general lovefest about The Accomplice, the latest instalment of the quite frankly brilliant Eddie Flynn legal thrillers, I would like to extend a special thank you to Steve Cavanagh as a bookseller. There’s always that awful tumbleweed moment when a customer says, ‘I love legal thrillers. I’ve read every single John Grisham. What can you recommend?’ because when you think about it, and I’m willing to be corrected, there aren’t that many really good legal thrillers around. Being able to press the first of this series into their hot and accepting hands is always a joyous moment. So thank you.

Right to the book we go, and after proclaiming that the last book, The Devil’s Advocate , was the best of the series to date, I need to go back on my words, and say that now this one is the best of the series to date- yes, I am a fickle creature, but it’s true. Even if you’ve not read any other book in the series, the vibrancy and energy of Cavanagh’s characterisation will quickly settle you in with the main characters, and you will get a sense of who they are and what makes them tick incredibly quickly. Eddie Flynn, ex-grifter, tough upbringing, is the kind of lawyer you would dream of defending you in a tight spot, and bolstered by his team of associates- his legal partner Kate Brooks, a strong advocate of women’s rights, Harry Ford (and canine sidekick) ex-judge and Flynn’s barometer of good sense and legal experience, Denise, office manager extraordinaire bringing all the sass, and Bloch, the kick ass, mercurial investigator. Throw into the mix a tough and mysterious ex-FBI agent and a totally slimy public prosecutor, and the scene is set for a kapow, rollercoaster ride of a thriller…

Again, Cavanagh totally envelops the reader in this case with a serial killer on the loose, an innocent wife taking the rap for at least some of the crimes, and more twists and reveals along the way, to keep those pages turning and your head a spinning. The plotting is absolutely flawless, and if you want a fast-paced thriller which keeps both the main characters, and you on the back foot for much of the time, this book ticks all the boxes. Obviously this is a book which has the possibility of huge spoiler sinkholes for any reviewer but trust me on this, that as a fairly prolific reader of crime fiction I got thoroughly caught out at times with this one. It’s clever, the reveals are credible and you will be utterly immersed in, and excited by this book. The tension of the courtroom, the crimes, the sharp visceral moments of violence, and the interplay between the characters.

And OMG- that ending!

Think it’s fair to say, that I quite enjoyed The Accomplice. In fact I absolutely loved it, and boy, how I hate waiting an entire year for the next one. No pressure Steve Cavanagh…

Highly recommended.

Steve Cavanagh was born and raised in Belfast before leaving for Dublin at the age of eighteen to study Law. He practiced civil rights law and was involved in several high-profile cases; in 2010 he represented a factory worker who suffered racial abuse in the workplace and won the largest award of damages for race discrimination in Northern Ireland legal history. He holds a certificate in Advanced Advocacy and lectures on various legal subjects (but really he just likes to tell jokes). His novel The Liar won the CWA Gold Dagger award while his follow-up novel Thirteen won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award in 2019. Twisted was a Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller. He is married with two young children.

Follow Steve on Facebook at facebook.com/SSCav1 and Twitter @SSCav

(With thanks to the author for the ARC)