Witness 8 An Eddie Flynn novel

Eddie, formerly a con man, is now a defense lawyer. He usually takes on clients who can't find another lawyer, but this situation is a little different. Dr. John Jackson is accused of murdering his neighbor; Jackson is wealthy, he's represented by a high-priced legal firm, and they have recommended Eddie take lead on the case. Almost immediately after he says he'll do it, the murder weapon is found in Jackson's home, with his DNA on it. Eddie's instincts, honed through years of playing other people, tell him something is fishy--but he's not prepared for what he finds out. Cavanagh's first Flynn novel, The Defense (2015), was a wonderful introduction to Eddie and his unique investigative methods, and each subsequent book has opened up new windows into Eddie's past life; he's become a complex and immensely likable fellow, and we find ourselves actually worrying about him as, here, he might for the first time be disastrously out of his depth. A terrific addition to a series that mystery fans should consider a must-read.

Cavanagh sacrifices plausibility for plot surprises in his disappointing eighth thriller featuring New York City con man--turned--attorney Eddie Flynn (after The Accomplice). A prologue introduces 22-year-old maid Ruby Johnson, whose financial troubles have reduced her to working in the kinds of Upper West Side homes she once lived in. Ruby sees an opportunity for a new life after witnessing an unnamed man she recognizes gun down one of the residents on the street where she works. Ruby retrieves the gun the killer abandoned in a garbage can and uses it to frame Dr. John Jackson, one of her employers, for the crime, then takes credit for tracking him down. Jackson retains Flynn to fight the ensuing murder charge--a difficult proposition, considering Ruby managed to plant his fingerprints on the gun. Meanwhile, Flynn tries to dodge a hit put out on him by an unknown enemy, which draws out-of-town gunmen to New York once Flynn's mob boss friend ensures that no one local accepts the contract. Cavanagh stretches both plots quite thin, with reveals that are equal parts outlandish and underwhelming. Here's hoping the next installment is a return to form. Agent: John Wood, RCW. (Mar.)

When a New York socialite is murdered, a clever witness manipulates the case. Ruby Johnson has spent her whole life on the same posh block of West 74th Street on New York's Upper West Side. In her childhood, her well-off family lived there, but when she was a teen, her father left Ruby and her mother, and they lost their home. Since then, she's held jobs with various families on the block as a maid and nanny to support herself and her mother, who has medical issues. Late one night, as a party goes on a few doors away, Ruby leaves work and witnesses a murder. She knows the victim--Margaret "Maggs" Blakemore, notorious for her many affairs--and she knows who the killer is, too. (Although the reader doesn't.) But then things get strange: Ruby frames an apparently innocent man, a saintly pediatric surgeon who is one of her employers. The mystery of this novel is less about identifying the killer and more about figuring out why Ruby does what she does. Guiding the reader through it is Eddie Flynn, a wisecracking con man--turned--defense attorney, who has a rather shocking number of people trying to kill him for various reasons. He's also got multiple sidekicks--a wise older adviser, a brilliant female law associate, a fearless detective who doubles as a bodyguard, a former FBI agent with a shady past. It's a promising setup, but the plot bogs down in stereotypical characters (mob guys, corrupt cops, eccentric hit men--yes, plural), repetitive descriptions, excessive exposition, several narrators, and multiple subplots that take us away from the main story for such long stretches that it loses all momentum. Somewhere beneath a clutter of extraneous details lurks an interesting premise trying to get out. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Excerpted from Witness 8: A Novel by Steve Cavanagh All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.