Fifty Fifty, the fifth book in Steve Cavanagh's Eddie Flynn series (The Defense; The Plea; Thirteen), is an exhilarating hair-raiser that combines the moral seriousness of a legal thriller with the blood-drenched villainy of a horror novel.
Late one night, 20-something Alexandra Avellino calls 911 and says that her sister, Sofia, has stabbed their father, a former mayor of New York, in his Manhattan home. Seconds later, Sofia calls 911 and tells the same story, but with Alexandra as the stabber. Which sister killed their father? Each woman is arrested at the scene, posts bail, and needs a lawyer. Representing Sofia is Brooklyn-bred Eddie Flynn, who, as he puts it, "spent many years as a con artist before I turned those skills into a law practice, with little adjustment." Flynn represents only those he believes are innocent and has a tough-guy exterior, but readers won't miss his marshmallow center.
Throughout Fifty Fifty, Flynn shares the point of view with others, including the guilty Avellino sister as she goes about her evil business post-bail and pre-trial; Cavanagh conceals her name and, inventively, her identity until novel's end. The roving perspective enables Cavanagh to pull off another neat trick: at one point, while multiple characters assume they're safe, the murderous sister approaches one of them, but readers won't know who, until....
Cavanagh, a former attorney from Belfast, assigns Flynn the job of explaining the story's legal particulars for readers' benefit, which gives the character a break from doing battle with his nemesis: his conscience. --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer