Book Review : The Defence By Steve Cavanagh

 The Defence by Steve Cavanagh is a fast paced and tense legal thriller which follows burnt out lawyer and former con man Eddie Flynn as he tries to save his daughter's life. This may sound like a pretty standard action thriller storyline, or every Liam Neeson movie since the original Taken but there’s nothing wrong with those ‘one last job’ storylines if it’s done right . I’m pleased to report that The Defence is a ‘one last job’ storyline done right.

The Defence follows Eddie Flynn as he is forced back into the courtroom after vowing never to return after a disastrous case, and has spent the last 2 years drinking.

Flynn’s daughter has been held hostage by the Russian mafia, to ensure her safe return he, must defend Mafia boss, Volchek , who is guilty in every sense of the word . Throughout the book Flynn is reminded that his daughter’s death is only a phone call away. Oh and I nearly forgot to mention that Flynn must do all is in the space of 48 hours whilst having a bomb strapped to his back.
This is probably as much as I can tell you about The Defence plot wise without spoiling it for you, But it should be enough to atleast get you on amazon to check it out. 

Flynn for me (along with Carter Blake) is the surprise of the year and I’m looking forward to seeing what he gets into next.

The defence is one of those books that you will have you staying up until Bastard’o clock reading to find out what happens next, if that doesn’t mark it out as a great thriller then I don’t know what else I can say to convince you that it is. Believe the rumours about this one folks, I'm glad i did .

Book Review : The Killing Season By Mason Cross

“The first thing you should know about me is that my name is not Carter Blake.

That name no more belongs to me than the hotel room I was occupying when the call came in.”

When Caleb Wardell, , escapes from death row two weeks before his execution, the FBI calls on the services of Carter Blake, a Jack Reacher/Bryan Mills type  whose particular set of skills lie in finding those who don’t want to be found.

Blake is also a bit of a drifter which will spark the inevitable Jack Reacher comparisons (we’ll get to that later).

Blake is in his hotel room when he receives a phone call informing him that Wardell has escaped from a prison van and is on the loose again .

Blake is paired with CIA agent Elaine Banner but they quickly find themselves side-lined from the case and they have to try to second guess a man who kills seemingly for fun. They also find themselves entangled in a web of lies and corruption and soon enough Blake finds himself up against not just a prolific serial killer but the FBI as well , no pressure there then…

I don’t want to say too much more about the plot as I’ll end up spoiling it

The killing Season is one of those books that you will have you staying up until stupid o clock reading to find out what happens next , in fact I found myself coming down with what I call ‘one more chapter’ syndrome.

Some books get hyped up so much that when you actually read them they fall flat on their arses, it’s not even the books fault when that happens it’s just that they’ve been subjected to too much fanfare and end up suffering as a result. Does that happen with The Killing Season? No. Not even a little bit.

So will carter Blake be compared to Jack Reacher?

It’s an inevitable comparison and also one that I think is completely justified. In fact I reckon Blake is the next big thing in this type of thriller and will become one of those characters you refer to by their last name alone like Bosch, Reacher , Bond etc

If you love the Reacher books as much as I do then I can’t recommend the killing season highly enough.

Also a big thank you to Mason Cross for the signed copy.