The Defence by Steve Cavanagh

The truth has no place in a courtroom. The truth doesn't matter in a trial.

The only thing that matters is what the prosecution can prove.

Eddie Flynn used to be a con artist. Then he became a lawyer. Turned out the two weren't that different.

It's been over a year since Eddie vowed never to set foot in a courtroom again. But now he doesn't have a choice. Olek Volchek, the infamous head of the Russian mafia in New York, has strapped a bomb to Eddie's back and kidnapped his ten-year-old daughter Amy.

Eddie only has 48 hours to defend Volchek in an impossible murder trial - and win - if wants to save his daughter.

Under the scrutiny of the media and the FBI, Eddie must use his razor-sharp wit and every con-artist trick in the book to defend his 'client' and ensure Amy's safety. With the timer on his back ticking away, can Eddie convince the jury of the impossible?

Lose this case and he loses everything.

Kindle Edition, 321 pages

Published September 1, 2023

 by Headline

3.5/5 stars

This is the first book in the Eddie Flynn series. A few months ago I read Witness 8, which is book 8, and while it was fine on its own. But I was intrigued with all the characters and how a con artist turned into a lawyer came to make that transition, so alas here I am having read The Defence.

I’ll be very honest here and say that I struggled for the first part of this book, there seemed to be a lot of suspending of belief and I just wasn’t enamored as I was with Witness 8. However I persevered and then read the last third in a day.

The Defence is a story of a father‘s love for his daughter and the lengths he will go to protect her. It is a story of the Russian mafia and the control it had on New York. And it is a story of a murder trial that Eddie needs to win to save his daughter. All in all, a fast paced story with many layers, characters and has what I have come to expect in Eddie Flynn, he has a lot of cards up his sleeves and you never know what his next move will be, he keeps those thoughts to himself until he shows his hand.

I will continue the series because I have had book 4, Thirteen on my shelf for a while and it sounds very intriguing.

My copy was obtained through my Kindle library, you can find this book in Canada for 4.99 via Kindle or Kobo, unfortunately I was never able to find it as an e-book through my library.