Category Archives: Steve Cavanagh

The book review café book of the month for **March 2020**

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I normally post my book of the month at the beginning of each month, but unfortunately I’m a bit late with this post, but as the old saying goes “better late than never”. I hope you are all keeping safe and well, along with your family, loved ones and friends.

The reason I haven’t been around for a while is I have been really worried about Mr book review café aka Andy, he got tested through work for the Corona virus and unfortunately the test came back positive, so as you can imagine first came the shock and then the worry! He’s doing fine and due to be retested later this week, but the most worrying thing about it all is that this virus is the silent killer, my husband has had no symptoms apart from a loss of sense of taste and smell, no cough, no temp so he had no idea he had it, so it doesn’t take much imagination to see how easily it’s spread.

As usual I’m digressing here, and now to the point of this post, my book of the month for March 2020. I read some cracking books in March, but if I’m honest the book I’ve chosen was always going to be a contender for my book of the month, and it’s already one of my top reads of the year so far.

How do I choose my book of the month?

I choose a book I feel is particularly outstanding, a book that covers every aspect of what I look for in a read, an original  plot, great characters and a storyline that draws me in from the first page and keeps me in its grips until I reach the very last page. So without further ado here’s my book of the month for March….

The Memory Wood by Sam Llyod

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I expected The Memory Wood to be a disturbing read, after all the plot is based on a child’s abduction,  what I wasn’t expecting was a read that was harrowing, and ultimately heartbreaking, I must admit I finished this book with a lump the size of a golf ball in my throat. Sam Lloyd has written a book that’s compelling, and one of the most original books I’ve read in a long time. Highly recommended. You can read my full review here….The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd

Highly recommended

You can read my full  reviews here…….

Killing Pretties by Rob Ashman #BookReview @RobAshmanAuthor @BOTBSPublicity #BlogTour 

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel #BookReview @amyengle @niamh_anderson @HodderFiction #AuthorInterview #BlogTour

Mr Nice by John Nicholl #Review @nicholl06 #MrNice

Dead Wrong by Noelle Holten #BookReview @nholten40 #BlogTour @KillerReads @0neMoreChapter @BOTBSPublicity @HarperCollins #MustReads

Books I’m hoping to read this month

God knows! I’m really struggling to concentrate at the moment, so I really could be reading anything or nothing! But here’s some of the potential books that I hope to read this month.

 

 

 

 

 

My #TopReads of 2018 by the book review café #MustReads

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I know some people think it’s too early to be sharing a top reads post before the end of 2018, but I’m taking some time off from my blog until the new year so it’s now or never.

I have been blogging for just over three years now and yet I’ve never done a top reads post and now I know why😂  I have read some fabulous books this year and trying to narrow it down is nigh on impossible. If you read my book of the months post you will know I can’t even manage to choose ONE book of the month! So I set myself an impossible challenge or so I thought, but then I had a brainwave “why not share all the books I gave a gold star too” simple eh?

So my top read list consists of all the books I gave this award to, It’s given to a book I feel is particularly outstanding, a book that covers every aspect of what I look for in a read, an original  plot, great characters and a storyline that drew me in from the first page and kept me in its grips until I reached the very last page. So here are those books in no particular order.

Links to my reviews can be found under each set of books I’ve included

 

 

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/02/02/unsub-by-meg-gardiner-bookreview-duttonbooks-meggardiner1-mustreads/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/01/06/blog-tour-hydra-by-matt-wesolowski-orendabooks-concretekraken/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/02/27/thehunger-by-alma-katsu-mustreads-almakatsu-poppystimpson-transworldbooks/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/04/09/blog-tour-keeper-by-johana-gustawsson-bookreview-

 

 

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/04/23/the-key-to-deaths-door-by-mark-tilbury-bloodhoundbook-mtilburyauthor-mustreads/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/05/11/dying-truth-by-angela-marsons-bookreview-writeangie-bookouture-mustreads/

http://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/05/25/dont-make-a-sound-by-david-jackson-bookreview-mustreads-author_dave-bonnierzaffre/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/05/30/thepuppetshow-by-m-w-craven-mwcravenuk-littlebrownuk-mustreads/

 

 

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/05/15/cross-her-heart-by-sarah-pinborough-sarahpinborough-harpercollinsuk-mustreads-donttrustherbooks/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/06/07/blog-tour-th1rt3en-by-steve-cavanagh-sscav-orion_crime-lauren_bookspr-tr4cyf3nt0n-thatbookthathook/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/06/19/thislittlepiggy-by-rob-ashman-blogblitz-robashmanauthor-bloodhoundbook-mustreads/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/06/22/the-old-you-by-louise-voss-bookreview-mustreads-louisevoss1-     

 

 

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/07/06/the-lion-tamer-who-lost-by-louise-beech-summermustreads-louisewriter-orendabooks/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/08/21/blog-tour-beforehereyes-by-jack-jordan-jackjordanbooks-corvusbooks-must-reads2018/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/09/10/blog-tour-the-hangmans-hold-by-michael-wood-michaelhwood-killerreads-harpercollinsuk-

 

 

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/08/23/truthandlies-by-caroline-mitchell-caroline_writes-mustreads-newcrimeseries/

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/10/04/blog-tour-the-murder-of-harriet-monckton-by-elizabeth-haynes-elizjhaynes-myriadeditions-harrietmonckton-

https://thebookreviewcafe.com/2018/11/27/the-liars-wife-by-samantha-hayes-samhayes-bookouture-blogblitz-

And finally just when I thought I had completed my top reads  post I read Skin Deep by Liz Nugent which blew me away, and now it’s firmly one of my top reads of 2018. 

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#SkinDeep by Liz Nugent #BookReview #MustReads @lizzienugent #IrishBookAwards @PenguinBooks

And there you go my 19 top reads of 2018, are any of my choices included in your top reads of 2018? Do you want to share your top reads of 2018?  I would to love to know so please feel free to leave a comment in the post.

I’m ashamed to admit I only read 104 books in 2018 not as many as I hoped (Holds head in shame) but hey ho hopefully next year will be better, here are the books I read……..

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Some of the books I’m looking forward to reading in 2019….

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To all the fabulous publishers and authors who have sent me ARC’s, it’s an honour to get so many awesome books, but it’s not something I’ve come to expect or take for granted so a huge thank you to each and everyone of you x x 

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Finally I would like to wish my followers, those who constantly share my posts, book bloggers,  publishers, authors and readers a very merry Christmas and a very happy new year,  And thank you for all your support 😘

 

**Blog tour** #TH1RT3EN by Steve Cavanagh @SSCav @orion_crime @Lauren_BooksPR @Tr4cyF3nt0n #thatbookthathook

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Today I’m thrilled to be one of the stops on the blog tour for TH1RT3EN by Steve Cavanagh, which means I can finally share my review for this fabulous book.

Anyone who follows my blog may have noticed I have never read or reviewed  a book by Steve Cavanagh, it’s not because I haven’t  wanted to, in fact I have the first in the series sat on my TBR shelf, I’ve just never got around to reading them. So why jump in at the fourth book in a series? I’m hearing, in all honesty it was the tag line? THE SERIAL KILLER ISN’T ON TRIAL. HE’S ON THE JURY... I’m a sucker for a plot line with a serial killer, and going back a few years ago (pre-blogging) I used to read nothing BUT legal thrillers, could Steve Cavanagh make me fall in love with this genre once again? Read on for my thoughts……

Book description 

THE SERIAL KILLER ISN’T ON TRIAL.

HE’S ON THE JURY…

To your knowledge, is there anything that would preclude you from serving on this jury?’

Murder wasn’t the hard part. It was just the start of the game.

Joshua Kane has been preparing for this moment his whole life. He’s done it before. But this is the big one.

This is the murder trial of the century. And Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house.

But there’s someone on his tail. Someone who suspects that the killer isn’t the man on trial.

Kane knows time is running out – he just needs to get to the conviction without being discovered.

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I loved, loved Thirteen, with an unique plot, fabulous characters and a thrilling storyline I was hooked from the word go. Despite it being the fourth book in the series it can be read as a standalone, but if you choose to read it first then like me I bet you buy the previous books in the series way before you reach the final page.  Although a legal thriller it has so many elements that make this book special, with more than an hint of crime and suspense mixed in, Steve Cavanagh has written one of the most original and exciting books I’ve read this year.  It’s not something I say very often but “If Thirteen doesn’t make it to the top sellers list I will be very surprised, in fact I would be astounded, it really is fabulously brilliant”.

What a fascinating character Eddie Flynn turned out be a conman turned lawyer, there were so many sides to him that made him a very engaging character, funny, charming with the gift of the gab. I’m now desperate to go back to the earlier books in the series to see how his character has evolved. Joshua Kane what an absolutely incredible character, smart, highly intelligent and a master manipulator, he made this book such a page turner. Steve Cavanagh has created characters that are engaging and fascinating, and for me that’s what made Thirteen such a brilliant read.

Thirteen was a page turner, the plot is tense and gripping, the author doesn’t give the reader time to draw breath as Thirteen reaches its thrilling conclusion. I loved every page of this well written legal thriller, no words or scenes are irrelevant, each character has their place. As for the court rooms scenes they were real “nail biters” as you really aren’t sure which way the jury are going to vote, which heightens the tension tenfold. This review maybe vague but I want it to be, Thirteen is a book you definitely need to read for yourself , my advice just BUY It I’m positive it won’t disappoint.

Steve Cavanagh has been compared to John Grisham (who by the way used to be one of my favourite authors) personally I think Steve Cavanagh’s writing is even better, it’s fresh, innovative and with an engaging protagonist I’m sure this series will go far. Would I recommend this book? You bet I would in fact if like me you’ve haven’t read any books in the series  just buy  the whole damn series as your in for a real treat.

This is going to come as no suprise but I’m giving Thirteen  the very prestigious Gold Star Award Rating. It’s given to a book I feel is particularly outstanding, a book that covers every aspect of what I look for in a read, an original  plot, great characters and a storyline that draws me in from the first page and keeps me in its grips until I reached the very last page.

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Buying links:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thirteen-serial-killer-isnt-trial-ebook/dp/B076PKVQJV

https://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Steve-Cavanagh/dp/1409170667

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Books in the series

1. The Defence

2. The Plea

3. The Liar

4. Thirteen

The Cross an Eddie Flynn novella 

*Each Eddie Flynn thriller can be read as a standalone or in series order*

To learn more about Steve Cavanagh or buy books in the series click here

Click here for author info and to buy books in the series

Who is Steve Cavanagh?

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Steve Cavanagh is a critically acclaimed, award-winning author and lawyer. He is also one half of the Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast. His latest novel, Thirteen, is out in ebook now and paperback in June.

Find out more at www.stevecavanagh.com or follow Steve on Twitter @SSCav

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Unwrapping the #BookPost with the book review café

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Here I am again sharing some of the lovely #BookPost I’ve received over the last week. Some have come direct from the publishers but I’ve also included some of my, (ok lots) of my Birthday #BookPost that I personally bought for myself. 😂🙈

Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh

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Book description

‘To your knowledge, is there anything that would preclude you from serving on this jury?’

Murder wasn’t the hard part. It was just the start of the game.

Joshua Kane has been preparing for this moment his whole life. He’s done it before. But this is the big one.

This is the murder trial of the century. And Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house.

But there’s someone on his tail. Someone who suspects that the killer isn’t the man on trial.

Kane knows time is running out – he just needs to get to the conviction without being discovered.

My thanks to Orion Publishing for my ARC 

The Adversary by Emmanuel Carrére

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Book description

ON THE SATURDAY MORNING OF JANUARY 9, 1993, WHILE JEAN CLAUDE ROMAND WAS KILLING HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN, I WAS WITH MINE IN A PARENT-TEACHER MEETING…

With these chilling first words, acclaimed master of psychological suspense, Emmanuel Carrère, begins his exploration of the double life of a respectable doctor, eighteen years of lies, five murders, and the extremes to which ordinary people can go.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

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Book description

After the death of her mother, Mary Yellan crosses the windswept Cornish moors to Jamaica Inn, the home of her Aunt Patience. There she finds Patience a changed woman, downtrodden by her domineering, vicious husband Joss Merlyn. The inn is a front for a lawless gang of criminals, and Mary is unwillingly dragged into their dangerous world of smuggling and murder. Before long she will be forced to cross her own moral line to save herself.

Anything For Her by G.J.Minett

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Book description

You’d do anything for the one that got away . . . wouldn’t you?

When Billy Orr returns home to spend time with his dying sister, he bumps into his ex-girlfriend Aimi, the love of his life. He might not have seen her in eleven years, but Billy’s never forgotten her. He’d do anything for her then, and he’d do anything for her now.

When Aimi tells him that she wants to escape her abusive husband, Billy agrees to help her fake her own death. But is she still the Aimi that Billy remembers from all those years ago?

Once Aimi disappears, Billy has to face the possibility that perhaps she had different reasons for disappearing – reasons that might be more dangerous than she’s led him to believe . . .

Sometimes trusting the one you love is the wrong thing to do.

My thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for my ARC  

Murderabilia by Craig Robertson

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Book description

The first commuter train of the morning slowly rumbles away from platform seven of Queen St station. And then, as the train emerges from a tunnel, the screaming starts. Hanging from the bridge ahead of them is a body. Placed neatly on the ground below him are the victim’s clothes. Why?

Detective Inspector Narey is assigned the case and then just as quickly taken off it again. Winter, now a journalist, must pursue the case for her. The line of questioning centres around the victim’s clothes – why leave them in full view? And what did the killer not leave, and where might it appear again?

Everyone has a hobby. Some people collect death. To find this evil, Narey must go on to the dark web, and into immense danger …

I Found You by Lisa Jewell

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Book description

Everyone has secrets. What if you can’t remember yours?

‘How long have you been sitting out here?’
‘I got here yesterday.’
‘Where did you come from?’
‘I have no idea.’

Lily has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night, she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one.

Alice finds a man on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, no idea what he is doing there. Against her better judgement, she invites him into her home.

But who is he, and how can she trust a man who has lost his memory?

29 Seconds by T.M. Logan

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Book description

What if a single 29 second phonecall could change your life forever? ‘Give me one name. One person. And I will make them disappear . . .’

When Sarah rescues a young girl in trouble, she expects nothing in return. But her act of bravery puts a powerful and dangerous man in her debt. He lives by his own brutal code, and all debts must be repaid – in the only way he knows how.

He offers Sarah a way to solve a desperate situation with her intolerable boss. A once-in-a-lifetime deal that will make all her problems disappear.

No consequences. No comeback. No chance of being found out.

All it takes is a 29 second phone call.

Blood Feud Anna Smith

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Book description

Kerry Casey thought she’d made a life away from the dirty dealings of her gangster family. Her father wanted to make them legit – her brother Mickey had other ideas, and now it’s got him killed. When Mickey’s funeral turns into a bloodbath at the hands of a group of anonymous shooters and Kerry’s mother is killed in the crossfire, Kerry finds herself at the head of the Casey family, and desperate for revenge.

Running a crime empire is not a job she ever asked for, and not one she wants, but Kerry is determined to fulfil her father’s wishes and make the Caseys go straight. First, though, she will find the men who murdered her mother, and she will take them down, no matter what it costs.

A Tapping At My Door by David Jackson

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Book description

When police are called to a murder scene in the Liverpool suburbs, even the most jaded officers are disturbed by what they find.

DS Nathan Cody, still bearing the scars of an undercover mission that went horrifyingly wrong, is put on the case. But the police have no leads, except the body of the bird – and the victim’s missing eyes.

And then the killer strikes again, and Cody realises the threat isn’t to the people of Liverpool after all – it’s to the police.

Hope To Die by David Jackson

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Book descrption

There was a hate in this killer. A thirst for obliteration rather than a mere desire to end a life . . .

A brutal murder takes place in the grounds of a Liverpool cathedral. A killer is on the loose, driven by a chilling rage. The victim: the last person you’d expect to be subjected to such terrible violence. Can DS Nathan Cody crack the case before another innocent is chosen?

The Defence by Steve Cavanagh

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Book description

Eddie Flynn used to be a con artist. Then he became a lawyer. Turned out the two weren’t that different.

It’s been over a year since Eddie vowed never to set foot in a courtroom again. But now he doesn’t have a choice. Olek Volchek, the infamous head of the Russian mafia in New York, has strapped a bomb to Eddie’s back and kidnapped his ten-year-old daughter, Amy. Eddie only has forty-eight hours to defend Volchek in an impossible murder trial – and win – if he wants to save his daughter.

Under the scrutiny of the media and the FBI, Eddie must use his razor-sharp wit and every con-artist trick in the book to defend his ‘client’ and ensure Amy’s safety. With the timer on his back ticking away, can Eddie convince the jury of the impossible?

The Plea by Steve Cavanagh

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Book description

When David Child, a major client of a corrupt New York law firm, is arrested for murder, the FBI ask con artist-turned-lawyer Eddie Flynn to persuade him to testify against the firm.

Eddie is not someone who is easily coerced, but when the FBI reveal that they have incriminating files on his wife, he knows he has no choice.

But Eddie is convinced the man is innocent, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. With the FBI putting pressure on him to secure the deal, Eddie must find a way to prove his client’s innocence.

But the stakes are high – his wife is in danger. And not just from the FBI . . .

The Liar by Steve Cavanagh

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Book description

When David Child, a major client of a corrupt New York law firm, is arrested for murder, the FBI ask con artist-turned-lawyer Eddie Flynn to persuade him to testify against the firm.

Eddie is not someone who is easily coerced, but when the FBI reveal that they have incriminating files on his wife, he knows he has no choice.

But Eddie is convinced the man is innocent, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. With the FBI putting pressure on him to secure the deal, Eddie must find a way to prove his client’s innocence.

But the stakes are high – his wife is in danger. And not just from the FBI . . .

That’s it for this week I’m really looking forward to reading all these books, my dilemma will be choosing which one to read first.  I’m off now to sit in the sunshine with a coffee and a book, and a delicious slice of birthday cake that my lovely hubby bought me.

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