Good Morning All,

Hope everyone is keeping well. I’m struggling to function this morning. I’ve had a couple of late nights that have caught up with me and I have a feeling that today is going to feel like the longest working day ever. Thankfully, I have a job that means I can take a small break and do my favourite thing; write about books!

Book 📖

I am a very lucky girl indeed. Thank you so much to @SSCav, @alexxlayt and @orionbooks for allowing me to be one of the first 100 people to get this ARC in return for an honest review. The Devil’s Advocate is due to be published on 5th August 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Skylar Edwards is found murdered in her home town of Buckstown in Alabama. The last person to see her was her work friend Andy Dubois and the sheriff has already decided upon his guilt. Neither the sheriff, the DA or the local community seem to care that Andy is innocent; the DA especially. He has a track record for sending people to the electric chair for his own sick pleasure.

Eddie Flynn and his team are drafted in to defend Andy in what turns out to be one of the most dangerous cases that Eddie has ever worked on.

General Thoughts 🤔

Ah, I was so #ReadyforEddie as the Twitters-phere was saying. This is up there as my favourite series so whenever a new book is published I get very giddy with excitement. This sixth book in the series is absolutely amazing and I’d go as far to say it’s my favourite so far. I loved that Eddie and the gang were out of New York and out of their comfort zone in Alabama. This case seemed to be the closest to impossible to win as all of the odds were stacked against them. Looking at their problems in isolation seemed manageable but when piled on top of each other, I could understand why the team weren’t feeling very confident.

What I especially liked about The Devil’s Advocate was it’s relevance to recent times regarding racism, white supremacy and death penalty cases in America. It brought out more emotions in me than I expected from this book and there were often times when I felt pure rage about what I was reading. This wasn’t only rage on behalf of Andy or Eddie or any of the characters, but rage for real life people that could and have ended up in Andy’s position.

Characters 👭👫👬

Eddie is a legend and I love him. I’m not sure there’s much more I can say on that subject. His intelligence and somewhat unorthodox tactics will never cease to amaze me and I love that he has become a character I feel like I know personally.

The last book was when Eddie, Kate, Bloch and Harry formed as a team and I enjoyed seeing that team grow stronger together in this story. They were a fully established, well oiled machine where everyone had their roles and their strong suites that they could play to. The bonds within the team had grown stronger and I particularly liked seeing a more sensitive and very protective side of Bloch.

I had some pretty strong feelings about some of the other characters, namely; Andy, Patricia and Francis. I’m walking on a bit of a tight rope here though as I really don’t want to give any spoilers. At one point or another I had feelings of sympathy, empathy, anger and pity towards all of them.

Writing Style ✍️

Steve Cavanagh did it again. He blindsided me and had my mind whirling trying to work out what on earth was going on, who I could trust and where the story was going to go. The man is an absolute genius at weaving complicated and twisty stories that are so fast paced, my brain can’t keep up with my eyes. I had my breath held for about 85% of the time whilst reading and had a pretty constant “on edge” feeling.

Having read the authors note, I imagine a tonne of research went into this book in order to make it as relevant as it was. I think it is this that sparked a light in me that the majority of books in this genre that I read do not. I truly admire that the author was able to keep the excitement and thrill that is expected from an Eddie Flynn book whilst addressing real life issues.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I am an absolute sucker for this series and I continue to be after reading this sixth instalment. I need everyone I know who reads, to read this book, even if they don’t read the others. I loved it and I feel so lucky to have been chosen to receive a copy of this pre-publication. My favourite series, one of my ultimate favourite authors and I’m still buzzing this morning after finishing the book last night. A-MAY-ZING.

😍😍😍😍😍