Thank you @atriabooks @netgalley #partner for the free copy of this eARC!

After reading Kill For Me, Kill For You last year I jumped at the chance to read this one. And after doing so, one thing I know for certain after reading both is that you are guaranteed a wild and twisty ride!

In this one we have quite the main character, Ruby. She’s odd. She’s unique. She cannot be trusted. She is a maid for a wealthy neighborhood and knows all the skeletons in their closets. She also has a master plan to get what she wants after witnessing a shocking murder.

I really enjoyed this one! I think my favorite part was I just how ruthless ALL of the characters were. Between Ruby’s antics and the courtroom trickery I just couldn’t get enough. I thought every character for the most part was despicable but it worked for the book! I know this is the 8th in this series, I haven’t read the previous 7 but absolutely would go back and read them all. This did read just fine as a standalone. 🤩 The pacing was fast, chapters were short making it easy to fly through! Steve is a master of entertainment and I am continually wowed and impressed with the direction he takes his thrillers!

Witness 8 is another gripping, entertaining, well written, and well thought addition to the Eddie Flynn series! I enjoy Eddie Flynn who is a former conman turned defense attorney who knows both sides of the law which make him a force to be reckoned with. In Witness 8 he has been called in to help an innocent man who has been accused of murder. I enjoyed being back in Eddie Flynn's world. He is tough, smart, cunning, and clever. Eddie, as usual, has gotten on the bad side of someone and a man called Mr. Christmas is hot on his tail. But that won’t stop Eddie as there is a man to defend and a case to be solved!

Ruby is the maid and nanny for the man accused of killing a neighbor. When she was younger, Ruby lived in the same posh Manhattan neighborhood as the family who employs her. It is a hard pill to swallow having been one of the elite and now having to clean their homes and care for their children. Ruby makes a call one night, seizing a chance to change her life......

This book kept me on my toes and turning the pages. I enjoyed the mystery, the tension, the banter, the humor, the relationships between the series characters, and the writing. I enjoyed the cat and mouse aspect of this book. I also enjoy seeing Eddie being vulnerable with his mentor, Harry in this book.

Steve Cavanagh continues to write a gripping and well thought of series. I enjoy his characters, their relationships with each other, and the cases they work on. I enjoy how Eddie has not forgotten where he comes from and continues to have a relationship with his childhood friend who is now a crime boss. I also continue to enjoy his bonds with not only with Harry but with those he works with. I am always on the lookout for new books in this series and look forward to reading what comes next for Eddie and the gang.

I’ve been a fan of the Eddie Flynn novels for several years and am always excited to read a new one. As I began to devour this one, I gradually realized how little I was enjoying it. It was different from previous novels. Eddie was different. To begin with, he just didn’t seem to be around as much as usual. Secondary characters were taking over a great deal of the action, especially in court. Then, there were all those points of view and plot lines! There was an over abundance of both which was very distracting.

But, it was the characters that really annoyed me. For the most part they just seemed shallow and one-dimensional, including the recurring ones. Unfortunately, even Eddie had little of his usual charm or flair. Hopefully, Eddie and friends will be back on track in the next book.

My second Eddy Flynn book read, but #8 in the series. Doesn't matter that I don't know all the ins and outs of Eddy Flynn to like his audacity and gumption to fight for his clients and outsmart the other side. This is a great book that does a partial courtroom, but more about the crime.

I felt like I knew what was going on most of the time, being kept in the loop for the most part, but there were still some satisfying tricks up Cavanagh's sleeve.

There are many characters so I think this book is best eyeball read. I think if i had been listening I would've gotten lost.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance e-copy of this book.

So I have loved Steve Cavanaugh since I read Kill for Me Kill for You earlier this year. I give this one a 3.5 rounded up. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and the second half of the book was better than the first. I enjoy Eddie Flynn and the twists Cavanaugh's books always throw in. Enjoyed this but out of the 3 of his I've read, this one comes in 3rd.

This book was engaging from start to finish! There were so many characters but I appreciated that they all had some defining features. I was fascinated by the relationships between Eddie and everyone he associated with. It was sometimes hard to keep up but that’s the nature of a fast paced book, and the short chapters were much appreciated!

4.5 stars - Nobody does legal thriller better than Steve Cavanagh! The Eddie Flynn series is so fun to read, and as someone who has only read a few, I was still able to follow the characters and plot easily.

Witness 8 was brilliant and action packed with heart-pounding suspense. The chapters were fast-paced and the characters were well written. There was a lot going on at one time but was tied up nicely by the end.

I will definitely continue reading anything Steve writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

i have not read any book by steve cavanagh,but this was still good ,having not read any other book in the series. now it was a bit confusing with all the povs in the story. eddie is defending some brain surgeon on a murder charge. while trying to find out who is trying to kill him. lots of twist and turn in this book. thank you netgalley for this copy

Thank you for the early copy of Witness 8! I havent read too many books by this author so I was looking forward to reading this one. I love a good mystery thriller. The start off to this story was super interesting and I was so curious to find out what was going to happen after Ruby witnessed the shooting of one of the neighbors and what she decided she was going to do after witnessing that. Helps that Ruby also knows the victim and even the killer. She has a plan and she was gonna make it happen.

I am glad that you can read this as a stand alone rather then having to have read the others in the series. Its easy to catch on to what is going on without having to read those but I did hear you should read the others in the series which I will get to! I also love that the chapters were short in this book so it made this read a quick one. Definitely an interesting and fun read that you gotta check out!

I read this book without reading the others in the series. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not knowing much about the characters, I was still drawn into the story. There a lot of characters to keep track of and the earlier storyline was a little lost on me before they began the main investigation. Overall, it was enjoyable and kept me wanting to read.

This book was a wonderful read for me.

Multiple points of view, characters you love and hate at the same time, twists and turns and courtroom drama. All things I love in a book.

A con man turned lawyer is a weapon all in himself as he understands both sides and uses it to his advantage and a witness who is worse than the killer? How could you not want to read this book and find out what happens.

I can not wait for more of this series.

Witness 8 is my third book by Steve Cavanagh and yet again, I am so impressed by him!!! I loved his books Thirteen and Kill For Me, Kill For You, and now I can add this one to list!

If you are a fan of courtroom drama and psychological thrillers, this book is for you. Steve has a talent for writing flawed but lovable characters. Eddie Flynn is one of my favorites and I know I need to read the others in the series (this is book number 8). The tag line on the cover summarizes the premise of the book perfectly: what if the witness was more twisted than the killer? 🗡🔨

Witness 8 is a perfect fall read. I highly recommend this one and his others! ❤
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I had a hard time with this one! This book switched POV depending on the chapter. This can be really well done but there were too many character POV’s! I think I counted 9 different ones for this novel. In general, I think there were so many names and characters in this book it almost felt like too much was going on and confusing to keep track of. Overall, the pacing was really slow and took me a while to get through. I found the courtroom scenes repetitive and long. There were some action moments but still nothing that blew me away. I was able to guess one or two of the major twists but really enjoyed a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming at all. If it weren’t for that twist, I think this would have been a 2 star read for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

Steve Cavanagh does it again! Witness 8 is a captivating thriller that expertly blends suspense and mystery, keeping readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The plot is meticulously crafted, with a series of twists that escalate the tension and intrigue. The story will leave you wanting more!

Love this author. Love his writing style. I couldn't put this book down. So looking forward to more of his books.

When I saw Steve Cavanagh has a new book hitting shelves in 2025, I knew it would be a must-read for me since his previous thriller has been my favorite of the genre this year. 

The first thing I noticed about Witness 8 upon starting it is the fact that it's part of a series I haven't read. I feel like I should make it clear straight away, therefore, that this can easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone. Witness 8 is a clever mystery with well-developed characters I loved and others who I loved to hate. Filled with cunning, deceit, and twists and turns, it was such a fun ride!  I particularly liked that it is part courtroom thriller, part murder mystery, and features a cat-and-mouse trope. It made for a juicy read that kept me on my toes and left me wondering what would happen next. And as a little unexpected element? It was peppered with perfectly timed humor that took me by surprise each time and made me laugh out loud. After thoroughly enjoying my second Steve Cavanagh read, I'm excited to see what he releases in the future!

This is my second Cavanagh novel, first being Kill For Me, Kill For You, which blew my socks off. The bar was set high when I started Witness 8, my first foray into the Eddy Flynn series.

As a newbie to the series, there are a lot of characters that had past history with Eddy Flynn but I was able to catch up pretty quickly. The chapters fly by as well. Two plot lines intersect with Eddy being a target of a hit due to his public humiliation of a New York City policeman in court (Eddy now being an attorney/conman). The second revolves around a witness to a crime that wants to remain anonymous in their testimony. Quite frankly, I was most interested in the witness plot and could have happily stayed in that storyline for the entire book.

What didn't work for me was the amount of pages dedicated to the hit on Eddy and introduction to a Mr. Christmas. It was just too outrageous for me. Maybe I am alone in this opinion but it did impact my star rating.

What I really enjoyed was Eddy's relationships with his people. I also loved Eddy's quick wit and dialogue.

This one ended at 3.5 stars for me (see above for Mr. Christmas).

Thank you to Atria Books for an early electronic copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was an interesting experience for me. The character development was a strong point, and I particularly enjoyed the dynamic between the private investigator and the ex-con turned attorney. The setting of crime in NYC was classic and provided an enjoyable backdrop for the story. However, while the rival gangs and hitmen added intrigue, their actions felt somewhat predictable.

One aspect that left me slightly wanting was the feeling of missing a backstory. It turned out that this book is part of a series, and this realization explained some of the gaps I felt. Additionally, while shocking, the ending didn't quite deliver the twists and chills I had hoped for. I also thought there might be a love interest subplot, but it didn't materialize as expected.

Despite these aspects, I still found the book enjoyable. It wasn't the most gripping or page-turning read, but it offered a good dose of mystery and PI fun. This was my first time reading a book by Steve Cavanagh, and while it may not have been a perfect fit for my preferences, I appreciated the author's style and storytelling.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!!

This book was very fun, shocking and twisty.

I’ll definitely be picking up more from this author in the future.

Another great legal thriller with con man turned legal eagle, Eddie Flynn. Even though these books are part of a series, you can read any or all books in no particular order. My favorite book is #4 but this book rocked me. Made my eyes widen and I definitely wasn’t expecting that!

Thank you #netgalley, #stevecavanaugh and #atriabooks for the Advanced Reader Copy