Overall, the plotline and story develops well. Eddie and the team, of course get into scrapes but these help push the events along and allows the ever inventive, and frankly clever, Steve Cavanagh to create a number of surprises.

Randall Korn , also called as “ King of Death Row” is Eddie’s biggest challenge till now in his whole career. The guy has a weird fascination with death penalties and the fact that he has never lost a case and has sent more people to death row than any other district attorney in history (115 convictions in 17 years) is really insane and intimidating. Thank you to Steve Cavanagh, the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC, in exchange for an honest review. When Eddie meets Child he's convinced the man is innocent, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. With the FBI putting pressure on him to secure the plea, Eddie must find a way to prove Child's innocence while keeping his wife out of danger - not just from the FBI, but from the firm itself. This could be a very dark story with a very dark ending, but character really is key and when it comes to bringing a trial to life, Eddie flynn really is in a class of his own. He never plays things completely straight, always acting in the best interest of his clients, of course, but willing to push the boundaries of professionalism on occasion, especially if it gets him the result he wants, even better if it unsettles his opponents. He is straight talking, sarcastic, the king of sleight of hand, and very astute. His moral code is unshakable, and he feels the weight of responsibility for his friends and, especially this time, his client. He’s a fantastic character, and with a good portion of the story told in his voice, it’s just as well it’s a pleasure to spend time in his company.Steve Cavanagh has written another Eddie Flynn story that provides a believable plot with a variety of characters who have many facets and needs. These characters, helped along with some pointers and events from the author that keep America's current and historic racial troubles in view, give a cross spectrum of small-town life through the eyes of financially struggling families and businesses where close-knit (or everyone knows everyone's business) community and big personalities rub along within Mobile county, Alabama. In fact, one out of every twenty of the death row occupants, in the U.S. was put there by Korn-as he has NEVER prosecuted a murder without calling for the death penalty, he has never been successfully appealed and he’s never lost a case.

He arrived in town along with his consultant, retired judge, Harry Ford, his new partner, Kate Brooks, and their investigator, Bloch. You see, the overly zealous D.A. enjoys watching executions and never misses an opportunity to witness the gruesome act in person, even if the men weren’t guilty. Wow! Author Steve Cavanagh writes excellent legal/crime thrillers and has surpassed himself with this terrific, edge-of-your-seat, powerful, pulse-pounding novel. The fast-paced plot kept me riveted, but it was necessary to take short breaks to catch my breath and find that my heart was pounding. The suspense and tension kept rising at a rapid pace within a malevolent setting. Here is a tale, told with great depth and brilliant writing of corruption, racism, violence, right wing extremism and death. But you also have goodness, mercy and a driving force to seek out the evil and to destroy it. In what is Eddie's toughest case, he faces a formidable foe in the shape of the powerful District Attorney Randal Korn, a man who goes for the death penalty in all his cases, and his success rate is unsurpassed in the country, he has never lost. The sinister Korn, reeking of death and decay, doesn't care how he wins his cases, by fair means or foul, nor whether the defendant is innocent and he is aided and abetted by the corrupt local law enforcement department, run by Sheriff Colt Lomax. Eddie doesn't go in blind to the dangers he is walking into, Andy's previous lawyer, Cody Warren has gone missing, along with critical evidence that would have proved his client's innocence. Eddie and his team face hostility from locals convinced of Andy's guilt, but there are greater threats, a greater evil and malevolence at play that lies at the heart of why Skylar was murdered.

Customer reviews

Eddie only has 48 hours to defend Volchek in an impossible murder trial—and win—if he wants to save his daughter. It was on this basis that I researched the real extent of capital punishment, the profile of the killers and their victims, and the states most likely to pass a death sentence. Blimey I was enlightened. Yet the unflinching and unorthodox Eddie Flynn doesn’t just take on a seemingly unwinnable case but also chooses to take on the omnipotent power of the DA, the King of Death Row, who has sent more people to the chair than any other DA in America. Because he can. Yes, the devil enjoys it but is he the killer? Flynn feels that with the corrupt, malignant atmosphere surrounding the trial, his onerous duty is to win the case, free Andy, and find the real killer. Now he knows he must also destroy Korn, even if he must resort to skills he learned as a con artist. Skylar Edwards, a promising young woman, has been brutally murdered and her co-worker Andy Dubois is accused of the crime. It doesn't seem to matter that his confession was coerced or that there are questionable witnesses. The evidence against Andy seems a bit too convenient but is tough to overcome. DA Randal Korn feels he has another death row sentence all sown up. How can Andy get a fair trial when everyone is convinced that he's guilty?