The Defence, Steve Cavanagh

The Defence by Steve Cavanagh, the first novel in the Eddie Flynn series, is one of those fast-paced thrillers that are genuinely difficult to put down. A very strong opening to the saga — and one that immediately raises the question why the series still hasn’t been translated into Bulgarian.

For years I’d heard praise from friends and fellow thriller readers about the Eddie Flynn books, but lack of time delayed this “first meeting.” Starting somewhere in the middle felt wrong, so I decided to begin exactly where the story starts, even though the novels technically work as standalones.

And honestly? It was absolutely the right choice.

Eddie Flynn, as many readers already know, is a former con artist who originally pretended to be a lawyer in order to scam insurance companies after they refused to pay for his father’s medical treatment.

A respected judge named Harry recognizes Eddie’s extraordinary intelligence and takes him under his wing, helping him become a brilliant defense attorney. But after one particularly traumatic case, Eddie abandons the profession entirely.

Until the Russian mafia finds him.

Mob boss Oleg Volchek is accused of ordering the murder of a low-level Italian criminal. The prosecution’s star witness is Benny — the actual hitman — who claims Volchek personally ordered the killing.

The case seems airtight.

Volchek’s conviction appears inevitable.

Except Volchek kidnaps Eddie and reveals that his ten-year-old daughter has also been taken hostage.

The demand is simple:

Eddie must place explosives beneath the witness stand in court and kill Benny.

No witness, no case.

Simple.

Only Eddie quickly realizes that Volchek never intended to leave either him or his daughter alive. Suddenly he has less than twenty-four hours to outsmart the Russian mafia, save his child, avoid becoming a murderer himself, and somehow still win the trial.

What could possibly go wrong?

BOOKLOVERS Rating: 4/5

The tension and pacing remain consistently strong throughout the novel. The structure is impressively tight, while the fragmented flashback scenes are inserted at exactly the right moments, never feeling like unnecessary filler — something that unfortunately happens far too often in modern thrillers.

The only slight weakness is that some of Eddie’s deductions occasionally feel a little too convenient, while the finale leans more toward action movie territory than pure courtroom thriller.

But with a slight wink to the reader… we are talking about the Russian mafia after all.

If you enjoy thrillers built around high stakes, sharp twists, and intelligent protagonists, The Defence is more than a solid beginning to the Eddie Flynn series.