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Summary and Reviews of The Plea by Steve Cavanagh

The Plea by Steve Cavanagh

The Plea

by Steve Cavanagh
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (9):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • First Published:
  • Feb 13, 2018, 368 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Nov 2018, 544 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

An innocent client. A wife in jeopardy. A locked room mystery. Who will take The Plea?

Billionaire David Child swears he didn't murder his girlfriend, Clara. But the evidence overwhelmingly shows that David killed her: the security video showed no one else entering their apartment, the murder weapon was in his car, and he was covered in gunshot residue he can't explain.

The FBI believes David's arrest and obvious guiltc ould help them take down a huge money laundering scheme - if they can get him to testify.

Con-artist-turned-lawyer Eddie Flynn is given the job: persuade David to plead guilty and give the agents the evidence they need. If Eddie can't get David to take a plea bargain, the FBI has incriminating files on Eddie's wife – and will send her to jail. But David insists that he didn't murder anyone.

As the FBI pressures Eddie to secure the guilty plea, Eddie becomes increasingly convinced that David is telling the truth. With adversaries threatening, Eddie has to find a way to prove David's innocence and find out if there's any way he might have been framed. But the stakes are high: Eddie's wife is in danger. And not just from the FBI…

CHAPTER ONE

SUNDAY, MARCH 15TH

48 hours until the shot

My key slid into the lock.

I froze.

Something wasn't right.

The mahogany front door to the four-story sandstone building that housed five offices, including my one-man law practice, looked like any other at this end of West Forty-sixth Street. The area was a mix of bars, noodle houses, high-class restaurants, accountants' practices, and private medical consulting rooms, with each set of offices becoming classier the closer you got to Broadway. The paneled front door to my building had been painted blue about a month ago. The reverse side of the door boasted a hand-cut, steel-back plate—a little surprise for anyone who thought they could kick through one of the panels and open the door from the inside.

It was that kind of neighborhood.

When it comes to locks, I don't have much experience. I don't carry picks; never had a use for them, even in my former life as a con man. Unlike a lot of grifters, I didn't ...

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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

[T]he plot twists keep pages flying as Eddie attempts to unravel a case where anyone and everyone – with the exception of Christine – either is or can be guilty of murder. The courtroom scenes are terrific as Eddie carefully constructs his questions of prosecution witnesses, coming head to head with an ambitious and ruthless District Attorney. So who is pointing a loaded gun at Eddie? And why? Getting to the answers is the most fun I've had since reading any of Grisham's best...continued

Full Review (671 words)

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(Reviewed by Donna Chavez).

Media Reviews

Northern Crime
If you don't normally read courtroom dramas, you must make an exception. These books are just full of intelligent wheeling and dealing. Top notch storytelling... Superb, in a 'I must not move a muscle til I have finished this book' way.

The Financial Times (UK)
The Plea reads like an idiosyncratic cross between Elmore Leonard and John Grisham, but bursts with its own individual flavour.

The Times (UK)
Lively, clever and enjoyable ... The constant action is interrupted only by absorbing courtroom scenes.

Times Crime Book Club
Fast-moving, low-punching, street-hustling adventure... Seriously superior airport read.

Library Journal
Starred Review. Cavanagh's fast-paced, action-packed legal thriller is bound to grip John Grisham and Michael Connelly fans with its unexpected turns.

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Criminally entertaining…Perfect for anyone who likes a locked-room mystery wrapped inside a legal thriller on steroids.

Booklist
As Cavanagh develops his plot, it's not clear who's conning whom... [The] setup produces some stunning moments, like a car chase directed by cell phone. Plus delicious locked-room and what-the-police-missed detection... The action sequences and the courtroom hijinks make this worth a look.

Kirkus Reviews
You can beat him up, arrest his wife, try to acid bomb him, but you can't hustle a hustler… Good courtroom sequences, engaging minor characters, an ornately twisted plot, a repentant but hopeful hero - what could go wrong?...A worthwhile caper.

Author Blurb Ian Rankin
Rip-roaring legal thriller…Twisty, bloody, and convincing.

Author Blurb John Connolly
The Plea is one of the most purely entertaining books you'll read this year. It's a blast.

Reader Reviews

Cloggie Downunder

Another page-turner
The Plea is the second book in the Eddie Flynn series by American author, Steve Cavanagh. Eddie Flynn is a former conman turned lawyer. He was, formerly, not too choosy about whom he defended. On Sunday March 15th, Eddie Flynn arrives at his office ...   Read More

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Beyond the Book



Money Laundering

Money LaunderingA high stakes money laundering scheme is at the core of Steve Cavanagh's legal thriller The Plea. Eight billion dollars in illicit cash is flowing through the accounts of a Manhattan law firm that enjoys a solid gold reputation. The United States federal government is hot on the case, but nailing the parties involved at just the right time is crucial to their case.

Although $8 billion (USD) may seem like a lot of money, in the grand scheme of economic crime it is dwarfed by the estimated $1-2 trillion in laundered money that is transacted worldwide each year, representing between 2% to 5% of the global GDP. But what exactly is money laundering and why is it illegal?

According to Investopia: "Money laundering is the process of ...

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Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

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