I will never tire of talking about Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn series – these books are terrific. They are filled with drama, with passion, with high stakes. These stories are emotional rollercoasters that you ride with the lovable main character who has been through hell and back.
The third instalment in the series, The Liar, is no different. In fact – it might just be the most powerful one yet. Full of incredible and unexpected twists and turns, The Liar is as dynamic as it is intelligent. I was hooked from cover to cover, and you will be, too.
A MISSING CHILD
When wealthy businessman Leonard Howell’s daughter is kidnapped, the police jump on it straight away. But Howell knows this won’t be straightforward – he needs someone willing to break the rules.
A CRIMINAL LAWYER
Once a con artist, now a hotshot lawyer, Eddie Flynn’s learnt that fast talk and sleight of hand are just as important in the courtroom are they are on the street. Knowing what it’s like to lose a daughter, he’ll stop at nothing to save Howell’s.
A CORRUPT CASE
With a client on trial for his life, and the body count rising, Eddie Flynn is starting to fear that the whole thing was a set-up from the very beginning.
The only question is who is deadlier – the man who knows the truth, or the one who believes a lie?
A missing girl, a desperate father and a case that threatens to destroy everyone involved – Eddie Flynn’s got his work cut out in the thrilling new novel from the author of The Defence.
Cavanagh is a head and shoulders higher above almost all other courtroom drama writers – he has got to be one of the world’s best crime writers. I don’t say that lightly, these novels are just incredible. They are ridiculously gripping, fast-paced and genius plotting from a criminal mastermind.
I absolutely adore Eddie Flynn. He’s so big-hearted and strong and he’s been through a lot both personally and professionally. And he is absolutely the man you want in your corner when things go wrong.
The Lair was a really powerful story, even more so, I think, than it’s other co-novels. This time it involves a kidnap and a ransom, from a teenage daughter. Unlike the story with the Russian mobs, for example like in The Defence, this one feels much more real. Kidnapping happens far too often, so it felt kind of like this could happen to anyone.
Watching the father go through that grief as well is actually really hard. Because you can only imagine how he’s feeling. It made this book feel closer to home than the others, like it could be playing out right outside your window, and not miles away in the world of fiction.
One thing I love about Cavanagh’s stories is their message. In The Defence, he reminds us there’s always a way through a problem. In The Plea, he warns us about being highly susceptible to misinformation through perception, and believing only what we see. In Thirteen, he talks about the unspoken dark side of the American Dream.
In The Lair, Cavanagh shows us that in life It’s not about getting lucky, it’s about how you play the cards you’re dealt to make the most of a situation.
A wise man knows they are never powerless; no matter the circumstance or situation, there is always something that you can control – there’s always something you can do. You just need to know how to play your cards.
A lot of things happen to all of the characters in this story – some of it they have no control over. But what we realise through Eddie is that even when that happens, how you react to it is what comes next, and that is something you can control.
Near the end of the novel, Eddie has a flashback to something his dad one told him. He says:
“Luck has no part in it. It’s not about the high cards, son. Any hand can be a winning hand. Doesn’t matter if it’s the best hand at the table or the worst. Its all about how you play it.”
– Steve Cavanagh, The Liar
My father thought card cheats were the lowest of the low. He never cheated at cards his whole life. Not once. He played the game.
In life you’re not dealt a winning hand or a losing hand. You can be dealt winning cards and still lose, or dealt a losing hand and still win. This statement is true in art and in poker as much as it is true in life.
How many times have you seen someone who looks like they have everything they could ever possibly need, and they squander it away and end up in a bad situation. Or, likewise, someone who built themselves out of nothing, when they were at every disadvantage?
You pretty much make your own destiny with your actions with how you play your cards – it’s not about the cards themselves, it’s what you do with them.
Page By Paige 