The Plea, Steve Cavanagh

The Plea by Steve Cavanagh, the second novel in the Eddie Flynn series, maintains its tension until the very last page. The entire story unfolds over the course of forty-eight hours, filled with twist after twist after twist. Cavanagh seems to have decided that the reader should finish the book within exactly the same amount of time. Because once you start, it is almost impossible to put down.

Once again, the stakes are deeply personal for Eddie Flynn. He is approached by FBI agents Dell and Kennedy—if you have read the first novel, Kennedy is the rather likeable agent who was determined to arrest Eddie at almost any cost—with a highly unusual proposition. Dell wants Eddie to persuade arrested billionaire David Child, the creator of one of the world’s most popular social networks, to confess to murdering his girlfriend, Clara. But that is only part of the deal.

Child must also help the authorities identify the bank account into which several billion dollars in illegal funds will eventually be transferred from the official account of one of New York’s most respected law firms. David created an algorithm that, in the event of a cyberattack, moves the money through dozens of different accounts before depositing it into a single final destination. Dell needs to locate that account in order to prove that the lawyers at the firm have been laundering money for criminal organizations.

There is only one problem. Eddie is completely convinced that David Child is innocent, despite the fact that every piece of evidence appears to point directly at him. Eddie also faces an impossible choice. If he decides to help Child, his wife – who works for the same law firm- could be charged as an accomplice and sentenced to life in prison.

Eddie chooses the more difficult path. And once again, he finds himself in a situation where his own life is in danger.

I genuinely enjoy Steve Cavanagh’s writing style. There is little more satisfying than an intelligent, unpredictable plot built around a protagonist as compelling as Eddie Flynn. One of the novel’s strongest ideas is that the justice system can be most merciless toward the innocent. They are often the ones who accept plea deals, agreeing to shorter sentences for crimes they did not commit because the alternative risk is simply too great.

That moral angle gives the story far more weight than a conventional courtroom thriller. Cavanagh also includes a memorable quotation attributed to the poet Robert Frost: “A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.” I have no idea how accurate that is in real life, but if your lawyer happens to be Eddie Flynn, the odds are certainly in your favor. Eddie notices every tiny detail and finds a way to turn apparently damning evidence to his client’s advantage. Against him, jurors, judges, and prosecutors rarely seem to stand much of a chance.

The elaborate criminal scheme is another of the novel’s greatest strengths. The blackmail, fraud, financial manipulation, and constant deception create a plot that is both complex and remarkably easy to follow. While Eddie plans his next move, the reader is deliberately kept in the dark. Only several pages later do we discover what he intended all along. With this approach, Cavanagh hits the mark perfectly.

The ending is equally satisfying. Every piece of the puzzle falls neatly into place. And yet, at the risk of sounding unbelievable, the final revelation was exactly what I had expected from the very first page. With one exception: the motive.

BOOKLOVERS Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5) The Plea is a fast-paced, intelligent, and expertly constructed legal thriller. Steve Cavanagh combines courtroom strategy, financial crime, moral conflict, and relentless suspense in a novel that confirms Eddie Flynn as one of the most entertaining protagonists in contemporary crime fiction.