Eddie Flynn series book #8

A legal thriller

It opens with a bang….. a murder setting the stage for Ruby Johnson a nanny and cleaner to homes in the neighborhood to become the prime witness to a gruesome murder. …Will Ruby do the right thing and tell the authorities what she really saw and identify the right killer? Or will she do something else?... Knowing who he was and where he dumped the weapon was all she needed to put a plan into action

Of course, Ruby decision points to the wrong person and this poor man finds himself defended by a one-time con man Eddie Flynn who quickly took the case. It’s a race against time to uncover the truth while Eddie faces a personal threat from a hit man, the enigmatic Mr. Christmas.

Plain old murder mystery was not in the cards for Mr. Cavanagh he definitely had other ideas and has spun a very convoluted drama for us to enjoy. It is an amazing ride that had me hooked till I reached the last page. What a fun read and a fantastic story that dragged me in its fantastic plot, its legal sequences and its peculiar characters.

“Witness 8” is loaded with surprises and takes unexpected directions when Eddie finds himself defending his client while dealing with Mr. Christmas. The machinations is the game here Ruby played it well and her tactics blended well with the legal handlings and the investigations of Flynn’s team. This story is loaded with surprises and has left me constantly on the edge of my seat till the very end.

The build up to the conclusion and the end result is extremely well done. This is a wonderful novel: entertaining and pleasurable to read.

Synopsis: Lawyer Eddie Flynn is tasked with defending his client who claims to have been framed for a murder he didn’t commit. There was a witness to the murder, and she knows who the real killer is - but is she lying?

Thoughts: I was not aware that this is number 8 in a series, but it can be read as a standalone. Cavanaugh can be counted on to deliver a super twisty psychological thriller. These characters are all super interesting, particularly babysitter Ruby and hitman Mr. Christmas. I also like Flynn and his team and can totally see how a series following them works well. If this kind of story is your jam, Cananaugh definitely delivers. A note on the audio: Adam Sims does a great job narrating the multiple POVs here!

Read this if you like:
🫢 murder mysteries
🫢 crime procedurals
🫢 twisty psychological thrillers
🫢 multi pov

Looking for a riveting psychological thriller? Stop right there and grab Steve Cavanagh's Witness 8!

Eddie Flynn was a con artist before becoming a lawyer. His cleverness in a bad way came from his past but was still used as one of his lawyer tools to help good and innocent people.

Ruby Johnson was 22 years old and worked as a nanny, a maid, and a babysitter for several ultra-elite Manhattan upper-class people on West Seventy-fourth Street. She witnessed a murder scene and saw the weapon was left in the garbage. She picked it up and used it to frame another person. Why? She hated all those people who lived on that street. Again why? She used to grow up on that street. But again why? Pick this book up and read it.

Ruby was not the only problem Eddie had. He had a lot of other problems along with it! More than one group wanted his head.

A lot of twists and turns!

Steve Cavanagh's writing style intrigued me.

I find it hilarious because it is book 8 of the Eddie Flynn Series and it was my first book of this series. When I picked it up and started reading, I realized it was the latest book of the Eddie Flynn series. I am OCD, and I would like to start from the beginning. My daughter googled it and said I can technically read them out of order. After I finished it, she was right, however, it made me want to read his other seven books in this series.

This is my second book of Steve Cavanagh's books. The first was "Kill for Me, Kill for You." Highly recommended!

Thank you so much @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I admire it very much!

Eddie Flynn, you can do it all! A former conman turned brilliant defense lawyer has his work cut out for him as he an his team take on the case of Dr John Jackson, a prominent surgeon who is accused of murder.

The good doctor, residing with his family on the tony elite street in Manhattan was supposedly witnessed shooting the frivolous Maggs, (another resident) by their help Ruby. Problem is Jackson is innocent and Ruby is intent on seeing him "hang". Why is the prevailing question and Flynn and his former contacts and friends are on the case of finding the real killer., they make some eye opening discoveries.

There are lots of twists and murders. Even Flynn's life is in jeopardy. ...and who is this Ruby and her connection to a painting of a red priest?

I enjoyed this fast paced story, especially after making my way through a very slower previous book.

This book started out with a bang! It was told via multiple narrators, which kept the story moving and flowing surprisingly well.

Witness 8 is a fast paced and captivating read about a young woman who witnesses a crime and sees an opportunity, but her choices end up affecting so many others. This book wove an amazing tale of murder, deceit, blackmail, family, friendship and perseverance. I would highly recommend this book!

Thank you Atria Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was my first Eddie Flynn novel and I was expecting a legal thriller.

This actually is more of what I would call an action thriller. I don’t enjoy stories where there’s more hit men, dirty cops, shooting, and cracking of heads than investigation. The added theme of the wealthy behaving badly is not one I enjoy either.

This is a case of it’s not the book, I’m simply the wrong reader.

This was my first Eddie Flynn book and it certainly will not be my last! I have already roped my husband into reading the others with me. Steve Cavanagh has created a universe where each character is multi-dimensional, flawed, and interesting. Eddie is easy to root for, despite not always playing by the rules. Witness 8 tells the story of a neighborhood of privileged elite, rocked by the murder of one of their own by one of their own. Ruby, a former resident of the neighborhood, is now serving as a nanny and housekeeper for the residents and witnesses the murder and devises a way to use it to her advantage. Eddie takes on the case to defend John after a tip leads detectives to the gun in his house. But Eddie Flynn doesn't defend the guilty. With the evidence stacking against John, how will Eddie and his team prove John's innocence and get him back home to his family? Cavanagh's cast of characters will have you wanting to know more about them, rooting for them, worrying about them, hating them, cursing them, and more, with each turn of the page. I found myself binging this book because I absolutely needed to know what would happen next.

This was a fantastic story. I’ve actually never read an Eddie Flynn novel before but I felt like it was written in such a way that that didn’t matter. This was so entertaining and I know if I want to read a legal thriller in the future this is the first author I’m going to turn to. Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of this ARC! This will be out on March 25!

I was excited to receive this as an ARC! Thank you Atria Books. Even if you haven't read the other books in the series, like me, you will be able to enjoy this story.

"There's something wrong with Ruby Johnson."

Ruby gave me Last Mrs Parrish vibes at first! I found her to be so creepy and deranged, insane. We never knew what she would do next.

Eddie is a smooth talker and a quick thinker. Reading this book felt like watching Suits and Law and Order in one.

All the POVs are interesting. I was invested in every character.

THE ENDING. I don't want to give anything away but WOW.

I loved this legal thriller and enjoyed the experience of reading it while trying to figure out what really happened and how all the plots were going to tie together. I love that the main character, Eddie Flynn, is gritty and questionable. He gives so much authenticity to the character. There was a lot going on with this story and I had no idea how it was going to all come together.

Steve Cavanagh wrote one of my favorite thrillers of all time, “Kill For Me, Kill For You”, so I was very excited about reading this book.

I loved Ruby’s storyline. She was a perfect villain, and her motivations for her actions kept me guessing until the very end.

I could have done without so much of the hitmen subplot. Although I know this book is part of the Eddie Flynn series, it just felt almost like I was reading two different books at some points. Everything comes together in the end, but this book could have been at least 100 pages shorter and still have the same effect.

Overall, I enjoyed it, and Steve Cavanagh is still one of my favorite thriller authors!

Amazing read! Lot's of twists and turns! Overall, I found this an absorbing and entertaining read and I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

I started this series a while back, then got sidetracked (oops). When I requested Witness 8, I thought, “Okay, the perfect excuse to finally catch up on the earlier books.” Spoiler alert: I didn’t. But here’s the great part—I didn’t need to! This book stands strong on its own, and now I’m fully committed to going back and reading the rest. No more distractions this time.

A Defense Attorney Like No Other

Let’s talk about Eddie. At book eight, I feel I do have some catching up to do with him and his team but I felt like I picked up where we left off. He’s a defense attorney with a con artist’s mind, which makes him fascinating to follow. He takes on hopeless cases, spots angles no one else does, and manipulates the system. He’s a hustler, a risk-taker, and so sharp that I sometimes struggle to keep up. His approach is unique, giving something fresh to the crime fiction genre.

Playing to Win: Ruby’s Dangerous Move

Then there’s Ruby. She works for Eddie’s wealthy new client, who’s accused of killing a neighbor. Ruby’s had a rough past, and she’s not just sitting back and letting things happen—she’s playing her own game, trying to manipulate her way out of the hole she is in. How does she fit into the bigger picture? That’s the best part! The way the plot weaves her story in is captivating and kept me guessing what she is going to do next. And it’s not just her—the side stories, and unexpected twists make this book impossible to put down.

Twists, Turns, and (Almost) a Jaw-Dropper

The pacing is sharp, the stakes are high, and the tension never lets up. Cavanagh knows exactly how to keep you on edge. However, I do have to admit while the case came together well, I was expecting a jaw-dropping twist that didn’t quite land.

Those side stories now that’s where things came together in that thrilling way for me and won me over.

Now, time to go back and read the rest—this time, no sidetracks!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and read it in one day. I thought the storyline and character development were great! I would definitely recommend this book.

4⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of Witness 8.

Eddie an ex con man turned lawyer gets a case of a doctor named John who has been arrested for the murder of a neighbor but he proclaims his innocence. Eddie is good at reading people and he believes him. Ruby is the nanny for John and his family and she sees the toll that this whole ordeal has been taking on the family. That was all part of her plan. She used to be one of them until her father lost all their money and ran off. She has set a plan into motion to make her rich but she did not plan for Eddie and his ways.

This was a crazy ride of a book with many twists and turns and I really enjoyed it. This book is part of a series but they can all be read as standalones. I will definitely have to go back and read the other books in this series. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I love Steve Cavanagh’s writing!

I enjoyed this police procedural but there was a lot going on. Ruby’s story was my favorite part! Will definitely read future Mr Christmas books, too.

4.75 stars

This has been such a fun series to read, and Witness 8 is my favorite of the series so far! It wasn't quite as gimmicky as some of the other ones, and I was completely hooked all the way through! Mr. Christmas is a wonderful new character, and I hope he shows up in future books. *
I wasn't quite at 5-stars because the ending of the trial seemed a tad too neat, but there are so many storylines to love, and Eddie had some "cons" that were so much fun to see how they played out. Loved this!

I think I am the wrong demographic for this novel; that said, I enjoyed it. It was full of suspense and twists, and Eddie Flynn is certainly a great protagonist.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the arc!

I am always happy to discover a new author and series; I'm delighted to have discovered Steve Cavanagh and his character, con man now lawyer, Eddie Flynn through the eighth book in the series, Witness 8. Cavavagh told his editor the premise for this book was grounded in the question: what if the witness to a crime was exactly the wrong type of person? Meet Ruby Johnson, a current housekeeper, nanny or maid to the wealthy residents of West Seventy Fourth Street in NYC. Ironically Ruby also grew up on 74th Street until her gambling and abusive father lost everything and abandoned his family. The current residents know Ruby's background, and while she is not on their social lists, they trust her working in their homes. On her way home from work one late night Ruby saw Maggs Blakemore, a resident of the street, a client/ "friend" of Ruby, former model married, yet involved with men from the neighborhood, murdered in her own home, and clearly saw the killer. In fact Ruby followed the murderer, retrieved the weapon used, potentially with the intent of blackmailing a resident of 74th Street and getting some much needed money simultaneously.
Based on an anonymous tip and the police finding the gun in the home of a very talented and successful surgeon and upstanding man, Dr. John Jackson is arrested. Eddie Flynn and his associates are tasked with proving the doctor's innocence and hopefully discovering the real killer. I thoroughly enjoyed Eddie and his team; additionally there are many subplots and intriguing characters that make this book a standout for me. In the event that you are a thriller fan, this book is definitely for you. Thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, Atria Books and Steve Cavanagh for the opportunity to read an ARC of Witness 8; my review reflects my honest opinion. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I just could not get into this book which actually bummed me out because I have heard good things about this author but with 9 POVs I just could not get into it. I was lost the whole time.