The Plea: A Novel (Eddie Flynn) Mass Market Paperback – November 27, 2018

I think I should start with a warning to the prospective reader: You may not be able to put this book down until you finish it at some ungodly hour of the morning. Author Steve Cavanagh has a real talent when ending each chapter, a hook that makes you want to go on to the next chapter. The many characters are compelling and fascinating. Attorney Eddie Flynn is trying his best to defend his client, billionaire David Child, while his own wife and daughter are in jeopardy. It certainly appears that Child is guilty of murder but Flynn is convinced of his innocence. Then we have District Attorney Zader (don’t call him Darth) who only wants a conviction so that he can run for a higher political office. Flynn has a sidekick known as The Lizard who refers to himself in the third person. Then we have an FBI agent named Dell who has some distinctly unconventional ideas about achieving justice. There’s also a huge amount of money at stake. Child has developed a computer algorithm that moves cash around the world at lightning speeds, a “laundering program” done for his parent company, and they have no interest at all in Child’s acquittal. The plot moves steadily with lots of surprises along the way. To make the reading experience more enjoyable, there are plenty of scenes with snappy legal dialogue that bring unexpected levity to an otherwise serious business. All things considered this is one of the best legal thrillers I’ve read in quite a long time.

WOW! This was amazing! Steve Cavanagh is at the top of his game. I love a good legal thriller and this absolutely fills the bill. In addition it is probably the best locked room mystery I have ever read; ingeniously plotted. Every one of these Eddie Flynn novels in the series may be read as a standalone, but the series flows so well that it's more fun to read them in order. I was not so impressed with the first one, The Defense, but they are steadily getting better and better. I have already read Fourteen, the next to come out, as an ARC from Netgalley (see my review on Goodreads), and I remain very impressed. The courtroom scenes buzz with authenticity and the characters are realistic, sometimes scary, and always entertaining. Eddie knows everybody, it seems, and many scenes crackle with suspense and possibilities. I absolutely loved it. Highly recommended.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.--- Lawyers don’t usually question whether or not a client is telling truth. That way lies madness. You do what you have to and trust the system. So, the guilty plead guilty. The innocent fight their case and the jury decides. If a by-product of that process is the emergence of the truth, then so be it, but the truth is not the aim of the process. The verdict is the aim. Truth has no place in the trial because no one is concerned with finding it, least of all the lawyers or the judge.If that's not cynical enough for you, try this: I saw through Dell’s game. It was a familiar one. It’s a game the justice system plays every single day in America--because sometimes it simply doesn’t matter if you’re really innocent of the crime; the only smart move is to plead guilty and make a deal for a lesser sentence. “You want me to read the new evidence and tell David that irrespective of his innocence, he will definitely be convicted and his only choice is to plead guilty and make a deal to cut his sentence.” “Bingo,” said Dell. Happens all the time. I’ve done it myself. Innocent people often don’t want to take the chance of losing and doing fifteen or twenty years when they could make a deal and be out in two. It’s mathematics--not justice, but that's the reality.Don't worry -- this book is not a diatribe about the shortcomings of the American judicial system (as appropriate as one might be), little comments like that are just a little bit of flavoring accenting the story, grounding it in the real world despite the craziness filling the book.Eddie Flynn, for those new to the character, is a con man who went straight and then went to Law School. Following that, he made a couple big mistakes -- one cost him the career he had built, the other cost him his family. He's in the process of rebuilding both -- no easy task -- but you have to root for the guy trying to recover.Eddie's approached (okay, ambushed) by the FBI, who wants Eddie to take on a new client, David Child. Child's a tech billionaire accused of murdering his girlfriend, and the FBI wants Eddie to convince him to plead to the charges. Then he needs to convince Eddie to help the FBI take down the law firm that currently represents him -- and is laundering money on a mind-boggling scale. If Eddie refuses? The FBI has enough evidence to put Eddie's ex away for a long time (did I mention that she works for the aforementioned firm, totally unaware that she's incriminated in the laundering?).So, somehow Eddie has to separate Child from his current counsel, replace them, and then persuade Child to work with the FBI -- within a couple of days. No easy task. Then Eddie becomes convinced that Child is innocent. Which complicates things tremendously. So how does Eddie clear Child, keep his wife out of jail and help the FBI take down the laundering lawyers? Well, it'll take every bit of his old tricks, and maybe a few new ones.I'm not a huge legal thriller guy -- never read a Grisham -- but when you give me a compelling character (particularly a defense attorney) like Eddie Flynn, I'm in. Watching Eddie navigate through the tricky waters of the system -- including jail guards, court staff, judges, prosecutors -- is a blast. This was like a serious version of the Andy Carpenter books. I would like to see Eddie take on a client he because he wanted to for a change, but that's not a complaint about this book, it'd just be nice to see.Sure, it's your appreciation for Eddie Flynn that'll determine if you like this book or not, but he's not the only character to focus on -- there's David Child himself, who is interestingly drawn -- he's a fairly typical computer-genius character, socially awkward, etc. Typical, yes, but used well. My only complaint about Child's associate, Holly, is that we didn't get more of her (not that Cavanagh could've easily fit more of her in). The villains? Nasty, vile people -- believable (with one possible exception, but I liked him enough I don't care) -- all of them were well used, well drawn and just what the doctor ordered.The Plea isn't perfect: I figured out the whodunit almost instantly, but it took a little while to get the details of the howdunit right -- and Cavanagh fooled me a little bit on that one. But that didn't detract from the book at all -- the fun is in watching Eddie and the rest scramble to survive this horrible situation and figure things out. The plot moves at a relentless pace -- which is a cliché, I realize, but I challenge you to come up with another way to describe this plot. Eddie can barely get a moment to rest and think, and when you're reading this, you feel like you can't either.Characters you can't help but root for (or, in some cases, against), a fast-moving plot, with just enough twists, turns and hurdles. This one'll grab you by the collar and drag you along as it rushes to the dramatic conclusion (not that you'll be fighting against it, but the dragging will help you keep up). Keep yours eyes peeled for Steve Cavanagh and Eddie Flynn, they're something to watch.

I have just discovered Steve Cavanagh and now I’m quite hooked on Eddie Flynn. If you are finding this book and are not familiar with this series go back and read the first book because it’s great and the series just gets better as you go. If you read the first book you will enjoy this one. My only criticism of The Defense was about the flashbacks of Eddie’s origins so I was really glad that there are no more of those in this book. This book was very interesting but not quite as compelling as the first one but those were quite high stakes. Poor Eddie this time it’s his wife who finds herself in danger. I love the way the author combines a legal thriller with a great con and suspense to keep the novel moving and the reader riveted. There were some twists and turns that I saw coming but I still could not put this book down and stayed up far too late reading it. You won’t want to miss this one! I started the series out of order with his latest novel, Thirteen, because I did not realize it was a series so I can say the series just keeps getting better.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just wanted to keep reading and despite working I read it a day. I've just downloaded the book that introduced Flynn, although I hadn't realised until after I'd finished reading this book that it wasn't the first one, so obviously the book stands on its own merits as well.The book starts with the scene of a shooting and you don't actually know if Flynn survives but then rewind and find out what led up to the shooting. The story starts with Flynn receiving an ultimatum in which he has to secure a high profile client who is accused of murdering his girlfriend. The evidence appears overwhelming so he is told to get the client to plea bargain. If Flynn doesn't agree then his wife will suffer. Throughout the book Flynn tries to steer a course that will get the right result for everybody. The situation is often tense as he seriously upsets the law firm who were originally representing his client and which is itself the subject of a FBI investigation.The pace of the book is good. There's times when it is quite fast and has to be the thriller parts, but then other times it's more moderately paced giving a more realistic feel and a chance to instant the character's. However it is never slow. I really liked the courtroom drama and you get a real sense of how lawyers can spring surprises to get the right result. For Flynn the right result is more about truth and genuine justice rather than defending his client.Definitely recommended especially if you like thrillers with some good courtroom drama.

4.5*Eddie Flynn is coerced by CIA agent Lester Dell into getting himself hired by David Child, billionaire owner of a massive social media network, as his lawyer. Child is accused of first degree murder and Dell wants him to make a deal—testify against a prestigious law firm for a lesser sentence or risk a much longer incarceration. If Eddie and Child don’t cooperate, Dell has information that will not bode well for Eddie’s wife. Christine works for Harland and Sinton, a front for a huge money laundering operation. David Child designed an algorithm that tracks the firm’s funds, but that seems to have been tampered with, and Christine witnessed a document with no idea it would implicate her in fraud. Add to the mix a district attorney who just wants a quick conviction to further his career and Eddie is in a very tricky situation.Even though the evidence against Child seems to be watertight, after speaking with him, Eddie doesn’t believe he’s guilty.'With my experience I could normally spot a lie a mile away. I expected Child to be an excellent liar, a man I would have to study before I would be able to spot his tells. I’d underestimated him. He was a mass of nerves, shock, and guilt. That made him damn near impossible to read. So I had to rely on my gut instead.My first impression—this guy was no killer. But I’d been wrong before.’After a surprising opening the tension begins to build as Eddie is on a forty-eight hour countdown, via the chapter headings, to the gun shot that opens the story. With the help of his unconventional and interesting group of friends, Eddie works under pressure to get Child’s case thrown out and find out who the real villains are.A fast paced, well constructed courtroom drama, with an engaging protagonist it would be hard not to like—well defined, multi layered and with a strong moral code but not without flaws. Con man turned lawyer, Eddie needs every one of his skills, legal or otherwise, to save his family, himself and David Child. He has no intention of letting an innocent man, or his wife, go to prison.'“I saw through Dell’s game. It was a familiar one. It’s a game the justice system plays every single day in America–because sometimes it simply doesn’t matter if you’re innocent of the crime; the only smart move is to plead guilty and make a deal for a lesser sentence.”’The story covers tense courtroom scenes and Eddie’s attempts to find out the truth in a non stop, fast paced narrative. Yes, reality has to be suspended up to a point, it doesn’t really seem feasible that all this took place over two days but…I enjoyed the first book very much, the first person perspective drew me in, getting into Eddie’s mind and being privy to his thoughts. The drama in the courtroom is a delight to read, and the whole thing is intricately plotted. The ‘con’ tricks Eddie learned from his father adds another unusual dimension. It has everything a good thriller should—murder, fraud, double-dealing, twists and flashes of humour.

By now, I'm utterly hooked on this Eddie Flynn series and each new novel in the series just keeps getting better and better. In theory, it shouldn't be possible for an author to take such a narrow subject band (a lawyer defending a case) and keep churning out fresh stories that keep the reader hooked, But that exactly what Steve Cavanagh manages.In this outing, Eddie is blackmailed into getting his client to plead guilty as a device to expose a money-laundering operation. But when Eddie realises that his client is innocent, he has to find a way to overturn seemingly overwhelming evidence. The courthouse scenes that ensue are utterly gripping and, of course, it got right to the end before the plot twists all came together. As always, there's plenty of action too and it's this, if anything, that's the weakest part of the plot; Eddie seems to live of jeopardy not equaled by James Bond.I haven't seen such consistently clever plotting as this since the very best of Jeffery Deaver and the result is enthralling. It's all the more enjoyable that, at the end, the reader doesn't feel cheated; all of the pieces were there all along for an astute reader to see the plot twists coming. But, of course, no reader does!I can't wait to begin the next in the series now!

This is a good court/murder drama and the main character, Eddie Flynn, is a quirky, unusual lawyer. A con and petty villain in his past life, Eddie spots trouble from afar. He’s streetwise and the perfect defence lawyer with his ability to ‘sniff out’ lies. Eddie has friends/associates from the past who assist in any investigations to pursue the truth.In this book Eddie is engaged by a high ranking CIA officer to persuade a young billionaire, David Childs, to take a deal for a murder he is alleged to have committed, in order that Eddie’s wife escapes justice for her ‘involvement’ in money laundering at the lawyers’ office where she works.The plot is convoluted and gripping; involving killings, corruption, blackmail and digital money laundering.I have no hesitation in recommending this book. The author has a knack of leaving the end of each chapter with a cliffhanger, which made me want to turn the page and continue reading. However, I drop a star from a top mark as I thought the storyline was a little drawn out and maybe too many threads involved.

If you like clever, legal thrillers with action, humour and fast paced twists and turns then you really, really, really need to read The Plea - but first you must read The Defence which is book 1 in the Eddie Flynn series.It's difficult to express just how exciting these books are until you've read one.  Eddie Flynn is a brilliant character - an ex-conman/hustler now hotshot lawyer in New York who sees angles and opportunities everywhere.  He's clever, charming and if I ever get indicted for a felony - I will be calling Eddie for help.  With a fascinating backstory, some really dodgy friends and the ability to spot a con from 50 feet away Eddie Flynn really is one of my favourite legal characters around.Highly recommended for readers who enjoy intelligent thrillers.