Book Club #2 Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh

[Yel]

Book #2 for tattle book club!

Thirteen - Steve Cavanagh is the winner with 39%

(hit watch on this thread to get alerts once it's opened)

Shall we open the thread Friday 5th Feb at 6pm similar to last time? Can discuss in general book club thread

The price has gone up since the poll, but audiobook can be got for free with a trial

Amazon product

Not used Hive for ebooks but it's 99p (don't ask how to get it onto kindle - maybe someone can advise on the general thread) https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Stev...ller-isn-t-on-trial-He-s-on-the-jury/21859098

Paperbook is probably on offer somewhere (hit report if you find a good price so I can update this post)
Amazon product

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Book #1 thread - https://tattle.life/threads/book-club-1-this-time-next-year.12824/

General Book Club thread has a poll to vote on genres - https://tattle.life/threads/tattle-life-book-club.12713/page-16

Poll results

 

[comment on life]

Overall I liked it. I did think as soon as Kane mentioned he had "a man on the inside" that it was definitely going to be Holten. I felt like some moments were described in an unnecessary level of detail and other important plot points were entirely kind of skimmed over - there was only vague reference to Holten liking Harper.... He was there in the morning when Eddie calls her so clearly they had some level of relationship and yet when we find out Holten is a super villain aide there is no mention of Harpers reaction to this news.

Throughout the entire book you are lead to believe that Alex Wynn is Kane and at the big reveal that Kane is actually Summers I was kind of like Other than a 1 page description of the jurors we didnt exactly know a whole lot about the other jury members. I'm sure it was supposed to be a big moment but I just didnt really care.

Overall though I liked it. I wanted to keep reading it. Short chapters are always a plus for me. A great book club book because I would never have read it otherwise. I have downloaded 50 50 (the next in the series) because it was 87p on kindle

 

[iShihTzunot]

Ok SO here's what I thought...

I want to talk about 13 as a book, and 13 as a plot/storyline because for me the 2 need to be critiqued separately, and the reason I am giving this book a 6.5/7 out of 10.

As a plot/storyline I absolutely loved the concept of the Dollar Bill serial killer. The level of detail was intricate and was definitely something I felt you could see on the screen as a film or a TV series, like criminal minds or as its own standalone. I dont know anything about the Author but its clear he is well educated in law, and is incredibly creative.

As a book however I felt the opposite. For me, it didn’t really pick up until 60% of the way in, up until that point I found it slow and pretty non eventful. I found Kane's chapters boring and found myself skim reading. Reading takes a certain level of concentration, an Author has to work twice as hard to get the reader to imagine the story in their head vs on screen. For me, that really lacked as there wasnt a great deal of character depth or character description. There are a lot of charcters in this book, and I dont feel like I really knew or could picture any of them. Take Harry Potter for exmple, there are a LOT of characters but every single one I can picture and connect with in my head, from what they look like, the way they talk, stand, walk. The most descriptive character for me was Art Pryor.

I found parts of it cringey, Kane killing as and when he wanted, and OF COURSE he couldnt feel pain. He struck me as a withdrawn character, angry at the world, the hand he had been dealt, preferred solitude and an ego that didn’t fit well with him having an accomplice? So I didn't buy his relationship with Holten but saw it more as a convenience to the plot. I so badly just wanted him to be a normal bloke with a story. I feel thats so much harder to achieve with a character than just giving someone a pain relief trait, some fancy weapons and an accomplice. His childhood story was compelling but just didn’t fit with his notion of wanting to destroy the American dream for me. I didn’t understand his character. And Eddie was very vanilla for a main character. He clearly had a drinking problem but the author completely skimmed over that?! I feel the author spent a lot of time on the plot and almost forgot about the characters.

Therefore as a TV/Film series this could be SO great, and from 60% in I was gripped but overall as as a book I felt it lacked. Wouldn’t put me off reading another of his books, but I’ve read better thrillers IMO.

 

[Dexy]

For starters this is exactly the type of book I would usually go for. Jo Nesbo is my usual.

The psychology about what makes murderers do what they do and how they are different from us fascinates me. I love a good plot twist too.
I didn’t find the book started slow at all. I enjoyed how it was built up, discussing the jurors and building the tension to what was he going to do next. I liked that the chapters seemed to be short and after each one I was left wanting to find out more.
The originality of the murderer being on the jury was a clever idea. Initially I wondered if it would come across as a bit farcical but found it very well done and believable. I was worried the court scenes may be a bit drawn out or full of complicated legal jargo - but they were neither.
My one criticism would be as others have said - the characters while I got their personalities didn’t really have a “ face” to them.
So overall, thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be picking up another Steve Cavanagh book.

 

[petitspois]

I thought it was an ingenious idea for the plot but felt like it didn't get started until the FBI got involved. A few things jarred with me: his inability to feel pain was hammy, the gay reveal was old fashioned and the fact that Kane was, in fact, a different juror didn't really work as that juror hadn't been mentioned much. I always find fight or action scenes hard to read as I can never work out what's going on.
I find a lot of books are written almost as a movie pitch these days and this was the same.
Great choice for book club!

 

[Elle]

Some great reviews above! I LOVED this book. Would give it a solid 8.5/10. I'm now fully fangirling over Steve Cavanagh and deep into Fifty Fifty at the moment, which I'd also highly recommend.

I love Cavanagh's writing style. I find it really engaging and you can tell he's a very smart guy. I thought the storyline was very clever and loved the format of the chapters alternating between Kane and Eddie.

Unlike others, I didn't struggle to get into the book and found it engaging from the get go. For me, it seemed like the book intentionally started off slow and built momentum and I liked this.

I liked the side plot of a potential romance blossoming between Harper and Eddie. I liked the gory details given and Kane's backstory. I also really liked the bits about the jurors and the likelihood of each of them giving a guilty verdict. Yeah, I just basically bloody loved everything about it.

 

[Aussiemumma]

I abolsutley loved it. I agree it took forever for me to get really into it. I did at one point think is this ever going to kick in?! But when it did finally kick in I loved the pace etc of it.

I read that Thirteen is the third or fourth book in a series about Eddie Flynn so I am tempted to go back and read the series from the beginning which I think will give a better background to all the characters.

 

[Deepsigh2018]

I quite enjoyed it but I much preferred Eddie's chapters over Kane's and didn't really feel like Kane's chapters added much to the story for me. When it was revealed that Kane was Summer I didn't know which one of the jurors it was for it to make an impact. I guessed at the point when Eddie asked to see a picture of the campus police officer that it was Holden so wasnt shocked by that revelation but it was a good read and Eddie as a character was interesting I give it a 8/10

 

[SpiceWeasel]

I really enjoyed this book, it's my genre so I got into it from the start. I liked the short chapters and alternating between Eddie and Kane. I don't mind there not being a face to the name sort of thing as I tend to imagine what they look like based on their role/actions, not how characters are described to look, if that makes sense. The only part I didn't really enjoy was the action packed ending, I always end up skimming action scenes as there's too much going on like others have said! Didn't think Holten had it in him tbh, I just pictured him as some musclebound bodyguard who's just there in the background

 

[Yel]

Hard to add much when others have said it far better

I quite liked the build up but I felt the twists were a bit disappointing, by that point it was obvious who was the inside guy, was hopping for something more interesting than Bobby being gay as a secret and didn't really care that it was another juror.

Probably a problem on my part but I struggled to picture the car scene at the end even after a second read.

Was the movie mentioned about seeing someone's face change a real movie? I'd love to see that scene played out!

Eddie seemed to come out very quickly that the killer was on the jury and blurted it out. Seemed way over the top to arrest him for another dollar bill murder just after he announced to everyone they were closing in on the dollar bill murderer.

I'd read another one in the series though, did like the short chapters with different characters.

3.8/5

 

[Miscanthus]

Not my usual genre but a good read for lockdown or a holiday (remember them?). I'm not sure I can add much that hasn't been said but I thought the lot idea was clever but implausible. It was a cheap trick that Kane didn't feel pain. There were also plenty of moments where I thought it was far fetched, particularly where Kane had supposedly done preparatory things, that were mentioned afterwards, to ensure things worked out. The guy myst have been permanently mentally and physically exhausted. The main characters weren't fleshed out enough yet there was plenty of detail in other areas. I didn't guess the man in the inside but tbh I wasn't bothered.
I would read more from the author if I was casting around for something but thankfully have a long list.
Just read Girl with the Louding Voice by Abu Dare. Excellent.

 

[Raker]

I can see it as a TV show too. I enjoyed it, love this genre anyway.

The author is from Belfast (well, Lisburn, but near enough ) but sets all the Eddie Flynn books in New York. He has recently resigned from day job as a solicitor to concentrate on writing full time. I think he was also a screenwriter at some point, which may explain how Thirteen may work better as a TV show.

He also has a v funny crime writing based podcast with another (Liverpool based) writer, which I think is still going, but as I previously did all my podcast Listening while driving I currently have no idea!

 

[twilightgarden]

When it was revealed that Kane was Summer I didn't know which one of the jurors it was for it to make an impact.

Good point, I actually flicked back to find his witness profile to see which juror it was

 

[Tit4Tattle]

I read this book a good 18 months ago but can still remember it vividly. It definitely started my love of Steve cavanagh and I have read a few more of his now (although not in order!) fifty fifty is another fab read by him

 

[Ceebee]

This is the type of book I'd normally go for so I did enjoy it. I felt similar to what others have said here previously. More character depth, less cliches. A non-American setting would've made me enjoy this story even more. However, I'd definitely consider reading something else from Steve Cavanagh in the future.

 

[Katykatykaty]

I really enjoyed this book, it's my genre so I got into it from the start. I liked the short chapters and alternating between Eddie and Kane. I don't mind there not being a face to the name sort of thing as I tend to imagine what they look like based on their role/actions, not how characters are described to look, if that makes sense. The only part I didn't really enjoy was the action packed ending, I always end up skimming action scenes as there's too much going on like others have said! Didn't think Holten had it in him tbh, I just pictured him as some musclebound bodyguard who's just there in the background

I completely agree with everything you’ve said, especially about skim reading the ending. It felt like there was far too much going on and my brain couldn’t keep up enough to picture it all.
Really enjoyed the main premise though and thought it was well paced and developed. Would definitely recommend it to others!

 

[Boredofthegram]

I enjoyed this book. The concept was interesting with a man on the inside. I liked the twists it kept it interesting until the end. The characters were well written but Kane’s chapters weren’t as engaging as Flynn’s.

It would make a better film/show than a book I think.

Id probably read more of cavanaghs books. Would rate this one 3/5.

 

[Dietcoke21]

This was my first time ever reading this genre and I loved it! I will definitely be reading the other books in the series.

I do agree with the above poster that it didn’t really pick up until after half way through. I actually couldn’t put it down near the end and stayed up until 3am just so I could finish it

 

[twilightgarden]

I’ve read the previous 3 books in the series so I enjoyed this. I really love Eddie’s character for some reason

I thought the idea behind the serial killer being on the jury was great and definitely different. I liked how the chapters almost alternated between Flynn and Kane and that the chapters were short.
It was a bit slower initially but I didn’t mind the build up. The last part was suddenly much more fast paced and exciting. I know there are more books in the series so in the back of my mind I knew Eddie would be ok. That gave it a little predictability.

 

[Butthatsnoneofmybusiness]

Thirteen is potentially the most enjoyable book I’ve read and I’ve recommended it to a few people who all loved it too. I’m not going to add much more because there is some great detail in the posts above. The star of the show is Eddie Flynn and after reading Thirteen I went back and read his standalone books. I also read 50/50 last year which was really good but not close to Thirteen for me.