If you’ve not come across Steve Cavanagh’s con man turned lawyer, Eddie Flynn, then I’m delighted to be able to introduce him to you. If you have discovered him, I think you’ll know what I’m talking about! Before I tell you about Eddie, though, it’s worth saying a few words about Steve Cavanagh. I couldn’t help feeling a bit surprised to find out that this American lawyer was the creation of an Irish author! A former lawyer himself, Steve Cavanagh was born in Belfast and he still lives there. Since he moved away from the law, he has written six books about Eddie Flynn (including a novella titled ‘The Cross’) as well as a few stand-alone novels and, believe it or not, as his website says, all of his novels have either been nominated for awards or have won awards internationally. I think that’s a pretty good recommendation and I’m now going to tell you why I think it is entirely justified.
I can’t remember how I came across Steve Cavanagh but I suspect I was just looking around for a new writer and I googled ‘if I like ******* who else should I read’ and his name came up. Thank goodness it did because I think his character Eddie Flynn is great and the stories are pretty good too! As I said, he has also written a couple of stand-alone novels which are very good but my favourites are those with Eddie. Just before I say something about him, while it is not critical, as ever, I would suggest that you read the books in order. I feel that, in this case, it’s good to be introduced to his character at the outset and then gradually get to know him better until you know that you and he could be mates!
As I said, Eddie is a con man and crook who has turned himself around by qualifying as a lawyer although, as his Goodreads review says, perhaps the two are not entirely different! Anyway, he uses his range of skills and his wit and intelligence (as well as a range of friends) to ensure that his clients all get well-deserved not guilty verdicts. At the same time, it would be unusual for such a character not to have a difficult domestic life and he also spends his time trying to look after his daughter and his estranged (but on relatively good terms) wife.
If you haven’t tried Steve Cavanagh and you are a fan of even some of the authors I write about here, I would strongly recommend him to you while, if you have read the books, I would really like to know if you agree with me. One thing to watch out for although it’s not a really big deal – there is another Eddie Flynn, who is an English former policeman turned private detective, operating in London. The author is Michael Donovan and I think I must have found him while I was searching for Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie. I wasn’t going to bother with him but for the fact that I think I may have ordered a book on my Kindle by mistake but I was pleasantly surprised and I’ve read four of his books, published between 2013 and 2018. In fact, as it happens, I have just discovered a fifth one, ‘The Black Fire’ published at the end of 2019, and I’ve just bought it on my Kindle so there will be a review coming shortly. Although, not quite as much to my taste as Steve Cavanagh’s version, I still think they are well worth a read, if you’re interested in what I’m covering here. If you try them, let me know what you think!
Finally on Steve and Eddie, the latest book, ‘The Devil’s Advocate’, has just recently been published and it is well up to the standard of the previous ones. Roll on the next one!
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.