Thirteen ⭑⭑⭑⭑
Genre: Legal Thriller
US Publication: 2018
Print: 356 pages
Audio: 11 hours 14 minutes
Confetti Rating: 4 stars
REVIEW:
Guess what? I read a book that is number four in a series without reading the previous installments first. On purpose. And I survived.
I’ve been hearing how amazeballs Thirteen is since it was first published in 2018. Someone posts in a book forum seeking recs for mind-blowing legal thrillers… then someone inevitably replies that this is the Must Read solution. The only problem is that there are three books that lead up to it. Are they also Must Reads?
In the interest of making 2022 “The Year that Regina Reads What She Wants to Read When She Feels Like Reading It,” I decided I wasn’t going to force myself to get through the beginning of the series first. You can look at me as your dive-right-in guinea pig, if you will.
Thirteen follows conman-turned-attorney Eddie Flynn as he argues a case in defense of Hollywood “It Boy” Robert Soloman, who has been accused of murdering his wife and her alleged lover. The unique, twisty aspect of this thriller though is that - as the blurb and cover art scream - the real killer isn’t on trial… he’s on the jury! Neat-O!
It’s pretty obvious that Eddie Flynn has a deep backstory that’s detailed in the first three books, but author Steve Cavanagh does a great job of bringing us newbs up to speed. I never felt like there was a gaping hole in the puzzle I was trying to assemble, even as all of Thirteen’s pieces came together.
The problem with hype of course is that reality rarely lives up to it. I wanted my socks to be blown off, but (checks feet) they’re still on. It’s great, just not G.O.A.T-level GREAT. Thirteen will be easy for me to recommend to lovers of courtroom procedurals, and I’m glad I’ve finally read it for myself. I just won’t be going back to get any added texture to Eddie’s story that came before it.
So does Thirteen work as a standalone? For me it did, and it will.
PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:
The serial killer isn't on trial.
He's on the jury...
They were Hollywood's hottest power couple. They had the world at their feet. Now one of them is dead and Hollywood star Robert Solomon is charged with the brutal murder of his beautiful wife.
This is the celebrity murder trial of the century and the defense wants one man on their team: con artist turned lawyer Eddie Flynn.
All the evidence points to Robert's guilt, but as the trial begins a series of sinister incidents in the court room start to raise doubts in Eddie's mind.
What if there's more than one actor in the courtroom?
What if the killer isn't on trial? What if the killer is on the jury?