Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for an e-galley in exchange for a honest review. Ruby Johnson used to live with her parents, although that was before her family lost everything. Now on the same street where she used to live, she is a maid to wealthy families. One night, Ruby witnessed a murder in one of their homes and sees that as an opportunity to change her life and her families life once more. Ruby phones the police to give the name of the killer. In enters, Eddie Flynn who used to be a conman but is now a lawyer. He represents the man Ruby named. However, the man named is completely INNOCENT. Through twists/turns, we find out why Ruby lies and her grand scheme of things.

Is the second book I have read by Steve Cavanaugh and they both have been such great thrillers. This book is part of a series that I have not read but was able to read this book by itself and there was no confusion.

Witness 8 is the latest thriller novel from author Steve Cavanaugh. Witness 8 features ex conman, now lawyer Eddie Flynn. This is the 8th Eddie Flynn novel. Although they feature the same character, they do not have to be read in any particular order.

One night a woman named Ruby witnesses a horrific crime in a very affluent NYC neighborhood. Ruby once lived on this very street until one day her father gambled their money away and left her and her mother destitute. Ruby now is a nanny/maid to the wealthy neighbors on the street but she yearns for the life she used to have as one of the wealthy. After Ruby sees this crime, she does not call 911 or report it to anyone but uses the crime as an opportunity. A man named John Jackson is accused of the crime and Eddie Flynn takes the case as his defense lawyer.

This book is very fast paced and with short chapters that keep you turning pages as quick as possible. Mr. Cavanaugh’s writing makes you love Eddie Flynn and his legal associates. Eddie’s past as a conman gives him unique abilities as an attorney. He is very clever and will not hesitate to use some ‘tricks’ so to speak to get the truth out of a witness. It’s very entertaining to read about Eddie’s performance in court.

There’s a lot going on in this book besides the Ruby storyline. Eddie has angered some of the wrong people and they’re out for revenge. Cavanaugh does a great job of managing both these storylines and leaving no loose ends at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for this advanced copy of Witness 8 in exchange for my honest review. Witness 8 will be released on March 25, 2025.

After reading Kill For Me, Kill For You by Cavanagh - I knew I needed more of his writing. When Witness 8 came up on NetGalley - I requested it so fast. Even though this book is technically #8 in the Eddie Flynn series, I read this as a standalone and absolutely devoured it.

I genuinely can’t wait to go back and read more of this series from the beginning as Flynn and his comrades were such a fun bunch to read. I felt fully immersed in their universe (and law office) right away, and felt an attachment to the characters.

Witness 8 was SUPER twisty and had about a million moving parts. I love how this author pushes and pulls you in so many different directions and is able to bring everything together at the end.

Check this one out if you love thrillers, twists, and legal dramas!

**Thank you to Atria Books for the physical ARC of this title, and to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC!** P.S. Atria NEVER misses!!

This was my first book by Steve Cavanagh, and I was unaware this is one of a series. Fortunately, this book reads well on its own.

I enjoyed the setting, NYC high end neighborhood, with drama between the haves and the have nots. There are detectives, mobsters, and ex special forces thrown in for good measure.

The book was a little slow for me at the beginning, but then picked up around midpoint and I was hooked.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. The twists and turns that I went on were great and I highly recommend this book! I’ll definitely be checking out more books from this author!

Another 5 star read by Steve Cavanagh!! I seriously think this author doesn’t know how to put out a book that is anything but stellar!! It’s grabs you from the beginning and holds you to the very end. I love the Eddie Flynn character and good ole Judge Harry. If you like lawyer/courtroom drama, this is the book for you. I would recommend this book to everyone.

3.25 stars

This one definitely had its ups and downs. When the book was intense, it was amazing, but the lulls in between were a little too bogged down for me. Usually I thoroughly enjoy his books, so I was shocked to not fully attach myself to everything in the middle.

I’m wondering if I struggled because there were too many POVs? I love multiple POVs, but this had too many plots and people running around that I think this book became very convoluted.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Loved this book! I love Eddie Flynn and all the twists throughout. He always keeps me guessing! This series has very likeable characters and well thought out storyline. I will definitely recommend this to all my reader friends!

Fresh, original, unique. The blurb had me hooked--a witness to a murder, but the witness is crazier than the murderer. And that was most certainly the truth.

The interweavings of this crazy nanny/maid to this wealthy inner club were delicious. At first, I struggled keeping so many characters straight, but as the story moved on it got easier. The ending was stunning to say the least.

This will keep you on your toes! Mysterious, thrilling, and characters that won't disappoint in "crazy."

Thanks to Net Galley, I got my hands on an ARC of Steve Cavanagh's upcoming book, Witness 8. Not only did I want to read this book because of the author, I loved Kill For Me, Kill For You, and how unique the plot was from other thrillers I've read, but I also found the premise of this book intriguing. A witness that's crazier than the killer? What? At first, it was hard for me to get into... there were a lot of characters and several different story lines that all intertwined, and it was hard to keep track of who was who sometimes. But I kept pushing through, and eventually, it hooked me. I was invested in the characters, confused about the painting, I was speculating what was going to happen, as well as the "why" for the whole situation, and I couldn't wait to see how it all played out. The ending did leave me with a couple of questions still. However, the Epilogue was awesome! It had me laughing out loud, and I really hope that Steve Cavanagh is planning to continue that story in another book! Because that is a book I would want to read! Highly recommend this one if you're looking for a unique thriller read!

This is my first read from this author, but he has a few books that were already on my tbr pile! When I saw his name come up on netgalley I hoped to be approved for this one. I went in blind, off JUST the author name. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It did start out a bit slow, he did pretty good with character development so I appreciated it. When it got moving I was really into it! He wrapped everything up nicely with a bow. Definitely will be going forward with his titles on my tbr! I found out after the fact, that this is actually part of a series, I'm really glad I didn't know that when I went in. I am also really glad that you don't have to have read the books before it to understand what's happening.

🎧Song Pairing: Miss Atomic Bomb - The Killers

💭What I thought would happen:

I LOVED Kill For Me, Kill For You so as soon as I saw Stevie had a new book on NetGalley (but then saw it’s 8th in a series and a police procedural (which I just dislike - post approval of course)

📖What actually happens:

Ruby witnesses a murder of a woman she works for instead of reporting it she’s going to use it to bring chaos on a lot of people.

Eddie is an ex con-man turned lawyer who plays fast and loose with the rules of the law. He will defend the suspected murderer but cannot connect A to B, his client has zero motive and insists he’s innocent.

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

Colour me SHOCKED that I loved this so much. Like I said above it’s 8th in the series….doesn't matter you won’t feel lost at all and a police procedural/courtroom drama and Oh my god couldn’t get enough! So exciting from the first chapter!

THE TWISTS! The cleverness of “abusing” the law! The motives! I very much wanted more more more! While I know nothing of American law, police procedures…do I know if this is even remotely accurate…absolutely not. Like watching Greys with no medical knowledge is exciting 😂

Anyways, read it. It really in no way disappointed. I’m going to have to go back and read book 1-7.

this was one of my highly anticipated end of the year reads, especially after being introduced to Eddie Flynn in SC’s Th1rt3en while trying to finally jump into the thriller genre a few months ago, and while i find that this started off really promising, really fast it also crash and burned pretty quick for me. i wasnt a huge fan of all the POVs there was a point where it started to feel like homework to keep up with all of these characters and remember the things they are telling us.

in all honesty i would have loved to see way less of ruby, she was very bland to me and not at all interesting as a main character should be… and if we were going to have this much going on i would have liked to see more from a few different characters, a bit more into the court room and trial (i really enjoyed watching kate in these scenes, i think this was honestly really the only time she really flourished in but at the same time i would have liked to see eddie in the court room more like in 13, as kate felt more of like a placeholder for eddie.)

i am still really eager to jump into the other Eddie Flynn books, i think SC’s writing is phenomenal and all the thought that goes into creating this universe for us but for me this one felt insanely off compared to my previous experience with 13 and if i feel that way after only having read one previous book, i can only imagine how others who have been invested for years could feel about this one. i think it will be very hit or miss with his audience and wholeheartedly believe if you have been looking for a sign to start EFs journey that you should not let this one be your first and if it was your first that you should give the others in this series a chance before writing it off!!!

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh is a gripping psychological and legal thriller. This is my first book from Steve Cavanagh though I'd always wanted to read one of his books and I wasn't disappointed. Witness 8 is a book in a series but I didn't feel like I missed anything. There are many characters and subplots but the author skillfully connected them all together. The suspense and twists were out of this world. I also enjoyed the dry with in the book and the character development. I look forward to reading more from Steve Cavanagh. Thank you, Netgalley and Atria books for giving me the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Love Steve as a writer. This book started a bit slow for me compared to his others and took me a while to get into. Maybe about 50% in the book finally picked up. You have gang relations, dirty cops, legal jargon, rich families etc all involved in this book. Very dynamic. Loved the character development. Just wish it picked up faster. Not my favorite of his books but would recommend.

Witness 8 was a different type of thriller/mystery than I normally read. At first I felt like there were a lot of characters and I did not see how or where they possibly could be intertwined. Steve Cavanagh did an AMAZING job of linking everyone together, detailing how they were connected to each other. Cavanaugh's descriptions were so vivid you could clearly see what he was describing. I highly recommend this book about murder, con men and the legal system.

‘What if the witness was more twisted than the killer?’ is the perfect blurb for Witness 8, much like ‘The serial killer isn't on trial. He's on the jury...’ was for Th1rt3en, which I also loved.

This is book #8 in the E. Flynn series and it did not disappoint. Cavanagh is boundless when it comes to his characters and their diversities. Idiosyncratic, cunning, humorous, ruthless, erudite… I mean, name any descriptive and he’s got a character who owns it. And somehow they all mesh effortlessly, like tea-time and me-time and work together like a wolf pack.

There were several moving parts in this narrative, but SC knits them together seamlessly and keeps you on the hook for over 400 pages of solid entertainment. Seriously, you will not come across a dull moment in this one. So very clever and a damn good time! I can’t wait for #9!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this arc in exchange for review.

Pub Date: 3.25.25.

Wow! Really enjoyable writing style and interesting plot. This was my first by this author but won’t be my last. Will be recommending to my students in the future!

Ruby Johnson had money and lived among the wealthy.things changed, so she now works in their houses.
Her own grandmother always said , "There's something wrong with Ruby.".
of course, witnessing a murder is never a good thing.
Soon, someone is accused of murder and it's on. The attorneys for the prosecution and defense face off, but who is reliable in their testimony?
The preparation is intense and sometimes dirty , with manipulation on both sides.
This novel is intense and the excitement builds on every page. Someone is the match and someone is the flame.
An enjoyable read.
I was provided an advance copy of the book and all opinions are my own.