The Defence

Why we love it:For those of you who know me, you will know that crime fiction for me is like having chips in the pantry – I absolutely can't do anything else while knowing that it's there.With the chips, they have to be eaten and with a crime thriller it has to be read. The night I came home with The Defence by Steve Cavanagh, I was powerless – it had to be read.It came recommended by a friend, and initially I was reluctant to read a debut courtroom drama (to tell you the truth, I thought that genre was now passé and had lost its edge).However, my friend insisted that it's a great read: “It's like Lee Child and Michael Connelly.”I devoured it in one sitting, with its nail-biting tension and intelligent storytelling. It's a truly suspenseful legal thriller, well written and addictive. Eddie Flynn, the main character, is a straight-talker and razor sharp.The Defence has to be one of the best debut crime fiction novels I've read for a while. It's courtroom drama with an edge and it's authentic because Steve Cavanagh himself is a practising lawyer. He's certainly a lawyer who can tell a story. If you like Michael Connelly, Lee Child and John Grisham, you'll love The Defence.