Thirteen

Steve Cavanagh’s Thirteen is a 2018 legal thriller as part of the Eddie Flynn series. The story follows Eddie Flynn, a former con artist turned criminal defense attorney, as he is hired to represent famous movie star Bobby Solomon in a high-profile double murder case. While Flynn prepares his defense, the real killer carries out an elaborate plan to secure a conviction. After murdering a prospective juror and stealing his identity, Joshua Kane infiltrates the trial, intending to manipulate the verdict from inside the jury box to cover up his crime. Thirteen is the fourth novel in the Eddie Flynn series. Previous entries include The Cross (2015), The Defense (2015), The Plea (2016), and The Liar (2017). 

The novel examines themes that include The Fragility of the American Jury System, exposing how procedural safeguards can be systematically dismantled by a determined sociopath. Kane is motivated by the theme of The Illusion of the American Dream, targeting individuals who have achieved sudden fame or success to expose this idea as a sham. The novel also explores the theme of Deception as a Tactical Advantage, which is explored through the parallel actions of the protagonist and antagonist. 

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic violence, cursing, mental illness, death, death by suicide, rape, and substance use.

Plot Summary

Eddie Flynn, a former con artist now working as a criminal defense attorney in New York, is approached by high-profile celebrity lawyer Rudy Carp with an offer to act as second chair in the murder trial of the century. Their client is the famous movie star Robert “Bobby” Solomon, who stands accused of murdering his wife, the actress Ariella Bloom, and their chief of security, Carl Tozer. Initially believing Solomon is guilty, Flynn agrees to consider the case on the condition that he can walk away if his opinion does not change. After Carp arranges a meeting, Flynn is convinced of Bobby’s innocence and officially joins the defense team. He joins the team in the hope of securing a steady job with the law firm, thus giving his estranged wife a reason to reunite with him. Flynn soon discovers Carp’s ulterior motive for hiring him: Flynn’s close friend and mentor, Judge Harry Ford, has been assigned to preside over the trial. 

Meanwhile, the real killer, a meticulous and psychopathic man named Joshua Kane, executes his own plan. Having intercepted a jury summons, Kane murders the intended recipient, steals his identity, and infiltrates the jury pool, intending to secure a guilty verdict for a crime he himself committed.

As the trial approaches, Flynn enlists the help of his trusted investigator, ex-FBI agent Harper. They visit the crime scene at Solomon’s home and make a key discovery: The mattress on which the victims were found is made of a completely waterproof, Kevlar-coated fabric. Flynn deduces that the bloodstain patterns are inconsistent with the theory that both victims were killed in the bed together. Their investigation also focuses on a peculiar piece of evidence: A $1 bill, folded into the shape of a butterfly, which was found placed in Carl Tozer’s mouth. While the bill has Bobby’s fingerprint and DNA, it also contains the DNA of Richard Pena, a serial killer who was executed 12 years before the bill was printed, leading the defense to suspect a police frame-up. Harper’s inquiries lead them to FBI behavioral analyst Paige Delaney, who recognizes unique ink markings on the dollar bill as the signature of an elusive serial killer she has dubbed Dollar Bill, a “one-per-cent-er” who murders victims in order to frame other individuals, often people who have recently experienced a life-changing windfall.

The trial begins under intense media scrutiny, but quickly faces turmoil. In court, Bobby suffers an epileptic seizure, a condition he had hidden from Hollywood movie studios. The public revelation ends his movie career and causes the studio to withdraw its financial backing for his defense. Rudy Carp and his firm abandon the case, leaving Flynn to represent Bobby alone.

The sequestered jury also faces disruption. One juror, Brenda Kowolski, is killed in a hit-and-run, and another, Manuel Ortega, is found hanged in his hotel room in an apparent suicide. Kane, who has assumed the identity of juror Bradley Summers, is secretly behind both deaths, eliminating jurors he believes might vote for an acquittal. 

Flynn and Delaney, now working together, uncover a pattern: Dollar Bill’s murders have all occurred in states corresponding to the original 13 colonies and the people he frames have all recently come into money or fame. Flynn theorizes that, to ensure convictions, the killer must be infiltrating the juries of his victims’ trials. He begins to suspect one of the jurors, Alec Wynn, is the killer after Kane, impersonating the now-murdered jury consultant Arnold Novoselic on the phone, misdirects him.

The FBI stages a raid on Wynn’s hotel room, but he is clearly innocent and terrified. Flynn realizes he has been manipulated and is then promptly arrested by two corrupt NYPD detectives, Granger and Anderson, for the murder of Arnold Novoselic. Kane has framed him by stuffing $13 bills with Flynn’s fingerprints into Arnold’s throat. The detectives, who have a grudge against Flynn, attempt to execute him in their squad car, but Harper and Judge Ford, who were tracking Flynn’s phone, intervene, ramming the police car and killing the corrupt officers in the process. 

Cleared of wrongdoing, Flynn pieces together the final puzzle. He now knows that the DNA profile for Richard Pena was actually for Kane, which Kane had swapped during the original investigation in North Carolina, and that Kane is actually masquerading as Bradley Summers. Realizing Kane will now go after Bobby to complete his mission, Flynn races to Bobby’s safe house.

Flynn arrives to find Kane has already neutralized the security. Kane ambushes Flynn, holding him at knifepoint and attempting to force Bobby out of a steel-doored panic room. Standing before the panic room’s security camera, Flynn warns Bobby not to open the door. This coded warning signals the waiting FBI team, who breach the room with tear gas. Kane, who suffers from a rare genetic condition called congenital analgesia that prevents him from feeling pain, kills several SWAT agents and, despite being shot multiple times by Flynn, continues his attack. 

Suddenly, Bobby’s security guard, Holten, appears. Just as Flynn believes he is saved, Holten is revealed to be Kane’s accomplice, Russell McPartland. McPartland is about to execute Flynn when Delaney and Harper arrive and shoot him dead. Flynn then confronts the crawling, wounded Kane and kills him with a final shot to the head.

In the aftermath, the full extent of the decades-long killing spree by Joshua Kane and Russell McPartland is revealed, leading to the exoneration of the many innocent men they framed. Bobby is completely cleared of all charges; his secret—that he was with a secret male lover on the night of the murders—is revealed, but he is largely forgiven by the public. 

Weeks later, as Flynn recovers from his injuries at Harry’s apartment, he receives divorce papers from his wife. Accepting that his dangerous profession makes a family life impossible, he signs the papers. Despite the immense personal cost, he decides to continue his work as a defense attorney, embracing his role as someone who must stand for those who cannot stand for themselves.