The Devil’s Advocate

The sixth book in the Eddie Flynn legal thriller series takes Eddie and his team away from New York City to the southern town of Buckstown, Alabama. Randal Korn has sent more men to their deaths than any district attorney in the history of the United States. When a young woman, Skylar Edwards, is found murdered, the sheriff arrests the last person to see her alive, Andy Dubois.

Everyone in the town believes Andy is guilty. How can he get a fair trial? When the local defense attorney assigned to represent Andy disappears, a government fixer calls Eddie, a New York lawyer and former con-artist who is willing to take on hopeless cases if he believes his client is innocent. He plans to find the real killer and save Andy’s life, but the murders are just beginning.

Eddie’s team consists of himself, his new law partner Kate Brooks, consultant and retired judge Harry Ford, and resourceful private investigator Block. They work well together and aren’t easily intimidated. The characterization is done well for them, and for Andy and the other characters, including several antagonists.

The prologue is chilling and gives readers an indication of the lengths some people will go to for power over life and death. However, this is just the beginning. The plot has a lot of characters with several moving pieces and subplots. However, they’re all important to the story line in one way or another. The characters come to life and the plot is thought-provoking. How easily can a small community be swayed for or against someone? Does racism play a part? While there is an extensive investigation in a short amount of time, some action, and several murders, there is also plenty of time for courtroom drama. This story takes place over the course of approximately one week.

While this is well-written, it was also tough to read at time. The desire for the power of life or death as well as the enjoyment of others’ suffering are hard to read. Corruption, greed, lies, deceit, racism, and murder are additional threads that are prevalent in this story. There’s plenty of action outside the courtroom as well as inside it. The pacing is fast and the ending resolves everything, but I didn’t like some of the resolution. However, it also had a surprise for me. One of the antagonists was only known by a nickname. I was completely surprised by who this person was.

Overall, this is a solid legal thriller with compelling characters. I’m looking forward to reading more of this series. Although this is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone, but I recommend read the entire series. I also recommend reading the Author’s Note at the end of the book.

Atria Books and Steve Cavanagh provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for August 05, 2025.