The Devil's Advocate

this book got my blood boiling. <br /><br />ive never been so furious with a story before. and i understand that thats the point - books should make you feel something, especially when racism, white supremacy, and police corruption are still such on-going problems to this day. but when a story puts me in an incurable bad mood for hours after finishing the book, is that really a good reading experience?<br /><br />the only solace offered is experiencing eddie flynn &amp; team masterfully dominate the courtroom. all of the little traps they laid along the way for the prosecution, the key evidence so expertly gathered and presented, and just knowing they are most likely two steps ahead is so satisfying. getting to see real justice served is such a much needed relief - i just wish it had happened sooner than the 70% mark. <br /><br />one thing is for sure - this book is compelling. i didnt find it as entertaining as some of the previous books in the series (this one is much more of a downer, imo), but it sure is eye opening. <br /><br /><b>↠ <i>3.5 stars</i></b>

The latest in Steve Cavanagh's legal thriller series featuring ex-con man, New York lawyer, Eddie Flynn, draws parallels between contemporary American realities with its echoes of the 1930s Alabama depicted in To Kill a Mockingbird with the entrenched racism of Maycomb, and the iconic lawyer, Atticus Finch, defending a black man falsely accused of rape. Eddie, and his team of Harry Ford, his law firm partner, Kate Brooks, and the tough Melissa Bloch leave the security of their New York office to travel to Buckstown, Alabama, to defend an innocent young black man, Andy Dubois, from being put on death row for the brutally vicious and ritualistic murder of student Skylar Edwards. The odds are against them, the evidence against Andy seems insurmountable, including 2 confessions and if that was not enough, there are well organised white supremacists led by The Pastor with deadly plans.<br /><br />In what is Eddie's toughest case, he faces a formidable foe in the shape of the powerful District Attorney Randal Korn, a man who goes for the death penalty in all his cases, and his success rate is unsurpassed in the country, he has never lost. The sinister Korn, reeking of death and decay, doesn't care how he wins his cases, by fair means or foul, nor whether the defendant is innocent and he is aided and abetted by the corrupt local law enforcement department, run by Sheriff Colt Lomax. Eddie doesn't go in blind to the dangers he is walking into, Andy's previous lawyer, Cody Warren has gone missing, along with critical evidence that would have proved his client's innocence. Eddie and his team face hostility from locals convinced of Andy's guilt, but there are greater threats, a greater evil and malevolence at play that lies at the heart of why Skylar was murdered. <br /><br />Cavanagh's fast paced and twisty storytelling is full of thrills and spills galore, packed with sky high levels of suspense and tension, so much so that I was turning the pages as fast as I could until I reached the end. The majority of the book has Eddie uncertain as to whether justice will prevail, but his principles will not allow him to give up, despite knowing his life and those of his team are at stake. This is a wonderfully dark and intense legal thriller, where once again Eddie falls back on a skill set acquired from his past as a con man. Flynn is one of my favourite fictional lawyers, and I am hugely anticipating his next outing. Highly recommended to all crime and thriller fans. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

3.5⭐<br /><br />The sixth book in Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn Series has our conman-turned-lawyer traveling out of state to represent a young black man Andy Dubois, accused of brutally murdering a young woman Skylar Edwards in Buckstown, Alabama, where corruption runs deep in the small town as does racism. Pitted against Randal Korn the sadistic prosecutor of Sunville County, Alabama whose idea of justice equals capital punishment and with the real killer whose agenda includes much more than simply murder, on the loose, Eddie and his team (who subsequently joins him) have their work cut out for them. From the moment they step foot in Buckstown, Eddie and Harry realize that the whole town is against Andy and by default, resent the out-of-town lawyer and his team defending the young man they believe is guilty of murder.<br /><br /><b>Steve Cavanagh’s The Devil’s Advocate</b> is an intricately plotted, action-packed thriller that kept me guessing till the very last page. While I did enjoy following Eddie Flynn and his team (I love that Eddie is now working with Kate and Bloch and retired Judge Harry Ford), I did feel that the investigative element and the build-up took precedence over the signature courtroom drama (which features much later in the narrative) that we expect from the Eddie Flynn series. I like that each member of the team significantly contributes to the team’s efforts to save Andy from being wrongfully convicted. Presented through multiple PoVs over seven days, the narrative has strong socio-political overtones and touches upon issues such as capital punishment, corruption in law enforcement, prosecutorial misconduct, conspiracy, white supremacy groups and domestic terrorism and racism. I know that these issues are of critical importance, timely, and relevant, but the narrative gets a tad convoluted in the process of incorporating all these elements into the plotline. The Author’s Note at the end of the book is informative and provides context on some of the issues mentioned in the plot.<br /><br />Overall I did enjoy this novel – it is fast-paced, thrilling and suspenseful- but not as much as the previous installments. I am a fan of this series and do look forward to reading more from Steve Cavanagh in the future.

White Supremacy is alive and well in Sunville County, Alabama.<br /><br />What isn’t alive and well are the many men convicted of crimes, here, by its prosecutor, Randal Korn. <br /><br />In fact, one out of every twenty of the death row occupants, in the U.S. was put there by Korn-as he has NEVER prosecuted a murder without calling for the death penalty, he has never been successfully appealed and he’s never lost a case. <br /><br />YET<br /><br />You see, the overly zealous D.A. enjoys watching executions and never misses an opportunity to witness the gruesome act in person, even if the men weren’t guilty.<br /><br />Eddie Flynn has been recruited to save the latest innocent man-Andy Dubois, from that fate. <br /><br />He arrived in town along with his consultant, retired judge, Harry Ford, his new partner, Kate Brooks, and their investigator, Bloch. <br /><br />The evidence has been rigged, witnesses have been silenced and Eddie and his team only have SEVEN days to find an angle that will save his client’s life and maybe take down the crooked D.A. in the process. <br /><br />As always, the pace is fast, but this time the book reads more like an ACTION-THRILLER than it does a courtroom drama. We don’t even enter the courtroom till almost the 3/4 mark in the book-and even then, we don’t remain in it for the duration. <br /><br />Though, this is still a 4⭐️ read, I didn’t enjoy it as much as past work-as Eddie Flynn and his clever cross examinations are what make the series so entertaining! We weren’t in the courtroom nearly long enough for my preferences! <br /><br />I hope that the focus returns to the courtroom in “The Accomplice” (Eddie Flynn #7) publishing soon! <br /><br />Although this can be read as a stand-alone, it is beneficial to read the series in order so that you have the full background on all of the recurring characters.<br /><br />Also, the PROLOGUE can be skipped if you want to avoid reading the graphic description of the NINE excruciating minutes it took for one of Korn’s Victims to die by electric chair. <br /><br />DO READ the author’s note at the end of the book which talks about “The Fair Punishment Project” and America’s top Five deadliest prosecutors and the personalities that drive the death penalty. <br /><br />A buddy read with Pat, Ceecee and DeAnn. Check out all of their amazing reviews for additional insight! <br /><br />Available NOW!

<blockquote><b>*5++++ stars*<br /><br /><a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/56075874.The_Devil_s_Advocate" title="The Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh" rel="noopener">The Devil's Advocate</a> is the kind of book you finish then wonder</b> “now what could I read that would top that?”</blockquote>

Wow! Author Steve Cavanagh writes excellent legal/crime thrillers and has surpassed himself with this terrific, edge-of-your-seat, powerful, pulse-pounding novel. The fast-paced plot kept me riveted, but it was necessary to take short breaks to catch my breath and find that my heart was pounding. The suspense and tension kept rising at a rapid pace within a malevolent setting.<br /><br /> Former conman Eddie Flynn, now a successful New York lawyer, accepts a request by a man with a mysterious job and powerful government connections. He is to go to Buckston, Alabama, to defend a young, innocent black man, Andy Dubois. His local defence attorney has vanished, and the trial is quickly approaching. Andy is charged with the murder of his friend and workmate, Skylar. The killing was brutal, and her body was displayed in a ritualistic manner. Flynn travels south with his team, Harry Ford, Kate Brooks, and Melissa Block.<br /><br /> Flynn learns he will be arguing the case against a deadly prosecutor, District Attorney Korn. He always seeks the death penalty and is proud that his county has a record of the greatest proportion of executions in the USA. This malicious, evil man is not guided by morals or justice. The perverse Korn admits to the thrill of watching those he convicted die in the electric chair or by lethal injection. The more painful the death, the greater his satisfaction. He admits that watching gives him a surge of life and power in his body. He has never lost a case presented before a jury.<br /><br /><br /><br /> It matters not at all if the person receiving the death penalty is innocent. He wins his cases by having bribed, threatened, and corrupted the local sheriff, jury, and others who fear him. Any evidence that the person charged might be innocent disappears, along with anybody who may oppose Korn's demands. He has ordered the murder of those who might interfere with his verdicts. People remark that an odour of death and decay surrounds him.<br /><br /> As soon as Flynn and his team arrive in Buckston, they realize they are in hostile territory. Flynn feels that defending Andy in trial may be almost impossible to win. There have been two confessions and a DNA test against his client. In fact, they might not only lose the case but may lose their lives before the trial concludes. The townspeople are certain Andy is guilty. A White Supremacist calling himself the Pastor is stirring up racist feelings and has a secret terrorist agenda.<br /><br /> Flynn feels that with the corrupt, malignant atmosphere surrounding the trial, his onerous duty is to win the case, free Andy, and find the real killer. Now he knows he must also destroy Korn, even if he must resort to skills he learned as a con artist.<br /><br /> This is a propulsive, nerve-wracking story that I highly recommend for its non-stop thrills and chills.

So, everything that I wanted to say has left me. My head is empty. Maybe because it’s close to midnight and my old self is tired. Or maybe it’s because my mind feels overwhelmed by this story and everything that occurred. <br /><br />Reading about racism and white supremacy and their psyche hurts my brain. They are filth like no other and this story did an incredible job at highlighting the danger that is racism when its supported by media, law enforcement and your ordinary folk. It becomes a plague. <br />On the flip side, it emphasised their stupidity, their pathetic and weak mindset. They’re fuelled by hate, never by intelligence or facts. The whole thing is manipulative.<br /><br />Steve Cavanagh knows how to write a compelling story and I enjoyed every moment of it. It started off with Eddie Flynn only. The team has now grown into a found family and each of them standout. <br /><br />Highly recommend the audiobooks. They became a part of my morning routine, this series, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now.

5+++ stars ⭐️ <br /><br /><b> <blockquote> “When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something.”</blockquote> </b><br /><br />This is Steve Cavanagh at his best?(not me saying this every time he releases a new book BUT ITS TRUE!) I can always trust on Steve to bring something new and unique with his new releases everytime. Steve is one of my favourite all-time authors and probably at the top of my list when it comes to mystery/crime thriller genre. There’s just something about the way he writes, his wit, his delivery which makes me wanna worship the ground he walks on.<br /><br /><b>Summary</b>- <br />This book revolves around the murder case of Skylar Edwards (a white girl) and how the town has already set up in their minds that the murder was done by Andy Dubois (a black guy) who worked at a bar with her. To not make it easy there are already 2 confessions, DNA linking Andy to the crime and to top of it all a DA who has a fascination with never prosecuting for a murder without calling for <i>death penalty</i> which is even a more tough job cause a case of death penalty and a normal court is totally different and the pressure is real. <br /><br />The murder happens in a small town of Buckstown in Alabama where everyone is corrupted and brings whole another meaning to the word “ racial discrimination”. Since Andy is black, the whole town has made its mind that he’s a criminal and deserves to be dead. <br /><br />This case, imo, was the toughest case Eddie has ever had and he has to give his best and put on his favourite suit to prove Andy not guilty.<br /><br /><br /><b> <blockquote> “The condemned man was offered his final words.<br />‘I’m innocent and they all know it.’<br />Korn knew it. And he didn’t care. He didn’t become a prosecutor in a death-penalty state to concern himself with guilt or innocence. It was the system that appealed to him. Justice was simply a cloak he wore to disguise his true nature.”</blockquote> </b><br /><br /><i> Randall Korn</i> , also called as “ King of Death Row” is Eddie’s biggest challenge till now in his whole career. The guy has a weird fascination with death penalties and the fact that he has never lost a case and has sent more people to death row than any other district attorney in history (115 convictions in 17 years) is really insane and intimidating. <br /><br />Honestly, I found this guy very interesting. His obsession with death penalties, his aura, the way he didn’t get off by physically killing people but by killing with his legal power really made me wonder and want to know more about him. He has had a tragic past which makes sense but I’m glad what happened to him later cause he had it coming.<br /><br /><b> <blockquote> “I knew this case would take something from me. Some cases just cost a piece of you, something you won’t ever get back. Sometimes it’s a little piece. Sometimes it’s a big piece. The more I read, the more I was willing to pay the price.” </blockquote> </b><br /><br /><i> Eddie Flynn</i>, also called as the loveee of my life, my role model and all time- fav character really outdid himself in this book?? The way he dealt with pressure and how he planned everything out was I N S A N E. I’m in love with his charm, his personality, his way of getting things done, his brain and him??<br /><br /><b> <blockquote> “Korn had an unusual distaste for human life in general. He told himself it didn’t really matter what color his victims were. They all screamed and died the same. Yet, the underlying racism of authority in the South was ever present. He’d seen it his whole career. But this was the first time he’d heard it spoken aloud in a more public conversation. This wasn’t a whispered discussion among two conspirators. It was out in the open now. The silence which followed the statement was not uncomfortable. If anything, it felt natural for it to come out in the open now, in these times.”</blockquote> </b><br /><br />This book dealt with heavy topics like Racism, corruption, blackmailing, graphic killing scenes and this made the book even more believable. I was shocked to see that how everyone broke the very principle of justice simply to send a black person to jail and when I read the authors note about there actually being a group of people called The White Camelia, i was outraged. The amount of research Steve did for this book is something I highly appreciate and I loved how he just didn’t show us the good parts but also the bad parts and how people believe anything they hear and judge people based on their skin.<br /><br />What I also loved about this book was the multiple POVs, I’m really not a fan of multiple POVs but in this book? It was fucking awesome. The use of multiple POVs not only had me guessing till the end but the suspense and the setting it made was brilliant and well-executed. I loved how the author did not only show Eddie’s skills in the case but also Kate’s, Bloch’s and Harry’s. I love this team so much??✨✨<br /><br />This book was highly engrossing and I can’t recommend this book and the series enough. This is gonna go down as my top 1 thriller I’ve read till now and lowkey now looking back at it, Thirteen is nothing in front of this book sksks. <br />Ngl, there was something which I felt like was missing but overall this book was a fucking <i>masterpiece</i>. <br /><br />I can’t wait to see what Steve does next and what journey and adventure is on the way for Eddie.<br /><br />Highly highly recommend this book to all crime and thriller fans!✨?<br /><br />Ps- this book can be read as a standalone.

This was a huge disappointment and I am a five-star fan of the previous books in this series. Getting so many readers to award this book five stars is truly worthy of Eddie Flynn's skills. Let's name just a few of the messages that Cavanagh attempts to slip by us as readers: 1) All white people who are conservative and believe in the 2nd amendment (some are also NRA members, the horror!) are racist and corrupt justice. 2) The state of Alabama is a racist, white supremacist, death-seeking hellhole. 3) The Camellia flower (Alabama's state flower) is held up as a racist symbol. (Yes, I am aware of the connection to symbolism in "To Kill a Mockingbird.") In truth, the camellia flower is a symbol of love, adoration, and longing. 4) The only way to save a black man's life in Alabama (in a backwards, small town -- aren't they all? No!) is to use the deep state to intervene and bring in a white man from NYC to save the day. Sorry, I am not buying it. I'm done with the Eddie Flynn series.

Oh my god, what an absolutely riveting read by Steve Cavanagh.<br /><br />Book#6 in the Eddie Flynn series, which is fine to be read as stand-alone, the Devil’s Advocate is gonna grab you by your throat and never let go! The opening chapter is chilling but that is just the beginning, as Eddie becomes involved in a murder case in the small town of Buckstown in Alabama. Steve Cavanagh captures the small town so brilliantly that the reader is made to sweat in rivulets reaching this highly antagonistic place. The pacing of the story in the first few chapters is so intense that I did forcefully take a break from reading and walked around to keep my galloping heart at a steady rhythm. <br /><br />The case is gonna be the toughest in Eddie’s career, the town as a whole has already condemned Andy Dubois to a guilty verdict, the DA is an overzealous murderer hell-bent on getting the death row for Andy, there are 2 confessions, DNA evidence linking Andy to the crime and Eddie has come into the scene after the representing lawyer goes missing. On the face of such irreversible stacks piled up like a tower, Eddie and Harry arrive to find themselves with no rooms to stay and no diners ready to serve food. With the sweltering heat ready to take the skin off their backs, Eddie with Harry, Kate, and Bloch has no choice but to be as cunning and wily as the prosecutor’s team.<br /><br />This is my second book by Steve Cavanagh and Eddie Flynn has become one of my favorite characters. His quirky ways to get things done, the sleight of hand tricks he conjures to overcome the odds against him are so crafty that one can’t help but cheer him on from the stands. And it is just not Eddie, I loved how the author gives Kate to shine in the courtroom too, one of the scenes where she cross-examines the medical examiner is simply pure gold. The complex story does take a turn with white supremacism and bigotry coming into play and honestly, it was a relief to breathe a little easier with scenes shifting from the courtroom to the hidden motive behind the murder of Skylar Edwards.<br /><br />Engrossing ?️ ?️ ?️ ?️ ?️<br /><br />Highly recommended legal thriller.<br /><br />Many thanks to Net Galley, Orion Publishing Group, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.<br /><br />This review is published in my blog <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://rainnbooks.com/">https://rainnbooks.com/</a>, Goodreads, Amazon India, Medium.com, Facebook, and Twitter. <br />