Thirteen by Steve Cavanaugh is Book 3 in the Eddie Flynn series. I’ve read high praises for this book and it was high time I read another courtroom drama. Thirteen has a very interesting story twist that I don’t remember having recall from memory. The killer is actually on the jury? Sign me up please! The killer will either get away due to his wits or get caught because of their ego. The fun would be finding out just how it all unfolds. With hopefully a good narrative and edgy courtroom drama antics, I was extremely excited to begin Thirteen. As an aside, you do not need to have read previous books in the series to enjoy Thirteen.

There were some things that I wished the author wouldn’t have done with the characters such as making the main protagonist fall into the super stereotypical detective/officer with a marital and drinking problem. Maybe I’m being insensitive here in that this actually happens way too much in the real world but I just wished Eddie Flynn would have been anyone else but that type of person. To make up for it though, the story and unfolding of events kept me reading without wanting to take a break. For the most part, I didn’t really care about the killer’s story too much which shocked me but it just wasn’t too exciting after the first couple of parts. Fortunately for me these were kept to a respectable minimum and not very long winded. The main unveiling on why he did what he did also didn’t excite me too much. What got me attached to the book was getting to read how everything slowly unfolded from Eddie’s perspective. The drama that was played out in the courtroom also did not disappoint.

I guess I’ve read too much novels or have watched too many shows but I was also angry with the unveiling of the secret held by Eddie’s main client. It could have been sniffed out a mile away and the unoriginality of it was a great disappointment to me. The author could have chosen so many scenarios but yet once again he chose one that is hardly surprising or shocking anymore since it’s been done so many times. Besides, it’s the year 2019/2020 where topics such as these are no longer so shocking. I found the author’s imagination and creativity at least in this department very lacking.

What I found out after having read Thirteen though is that if I want to read another courtroom thriller in the future, I know which author to turn to. My review may sound a bit more harsh than it really is but the main takeaway is that Thirteen kept me turning page after page and that’s what matters to me the most when I read these type of thrillers.