Mesmerising

Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh is a contemporary psychological murder suspense that will have you glued, guessing and mesmerised from the start. It is the fifth book in the Eddie Flynn series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Two sisters stand accused of their father’s murder, each is accusing the other. One is guilty. One is innocent – now it’s up to the jury to decide and deliver the verdict. Can you correctly guess the guilty party?

The novel is very cleverly constructed as the tale is told from alternating points of view including that of the guilty party under the heading of ‘She.’ I carefully followed the action, noting the clues along the way – but try as I might I failed (again) to predict the outcome but it was a marvellous roller coaster of an emotional read.

Fifty Fifty would make a marvellous television crime drama – totally compelling and impossible to decide on the guilty party.

I thought the core characters were hard working and likable. The lawyers had strong principles and a good work ethic – both opposing lawyers only working for the party they believed to be innocent.

Steve Cavanagh is a new author to me but I want to read everything he has ever and will ever write.

I heard about Fifty Fifty via the BBC2’s Between The Covers book club series. It was an excellent recommendation and I can certainly endorse all that was said. It is an excellent read.

JULIA WILSON