When I read Thirteen in March, I was very intrigued about the life of Eddie Flynn. A con man turned defense lawyer. His story was something that I wanted to read. The Defense is the first book in Eddie Flynn series.
Eddie swore never to set foot in a courtroom after successfully defending a rapist and getting him acquitted; who then goes on to abduct and rape the same victim. But now, he is forced back into law by Olek Volchek, the head of Russian Mafia in NY. His daughter is kidnapped and a bomb is literally attached to his back while in court. He has 48 hours to defend Volchek who is accused of murder.
I started the book with the impression that I will get to read about Eddie before he became a lawyer. About how he was a conman and what prompted him to become a defense lawyer. I was in for a slight disappointment. The book is about the circumstances that bring Eddie back into a courtroom after a horrible ordeal that left him broken and questioning himself. Of course, we do get glimpses into his past now and then. It is through these flashbacks that we come to know about his childhood, how he becomes a con man, and what propels him to become a lawyer. But this is not the major plot. I would have loved to read more about this stage of Eddie’s life. A Google search told me that there is a novella that is set in a time before the events of this book. So I guess that’s what I need to read to know Eddie better.
Coming back to this book, it was a fast-paced legal thriller with a lot of twists and double-crossing along the way. Eddie is smart and thinks on his feet resulting in some great courtroom drama. The book is action-packed and kept me turning the pages. Cavanagh has done an amazing job. Not for a moment did I feel that this was the debut novel of an author.
What I missed in Thirteen was to read more about Eddie and his character. This book revolves around Eddie and we get to know more about the kind of person he is. I was also amazed at how Cavanagh successfully made Eddie use the skills of a conman in his case.
The only thing that I could not get past was that every time Eddie was at a dead end, an old friend or an old client conveniently comes along to help him. This was the only thing that stopped the natural flow of the book. Otherwise, it was a good read but not mind-blowing like Thirteen. Just shows that Cavanagh’s writing and characters get better with each book.
I am looking forward to reading more of Eddie Flynn.
My Rating: 4⭐/5
