I love a good "whodunit" I don't know that I've ever really read any courtroom dramas before, but this was so good! 2 sisters accused of murdering their father, both claiming it was the other sister. Gripping right up until the end!

Woah this was dark. And I loved it. Some serious psychotic stuff (big big TWs folks). The casual violence, the crescendo and then waves of emotions that left me feeling absolutely exhausted after reading this - are my favorite. This author knows how to shock and stun even until the very end. I could not stop reading this book, and I loved how the author is clearly showed us that there aren't just 2 sides; there are characters who start to feel like found family even if they are not on the "same side". I love how Eddie is no bullshit, doesn't shy away from the shady to make sure that justice is served and always has a stunning remark up his sleeve. This was a fascinating work of legal thriller unlike anything else

Fifty Fifty opens with a chilling premise: a father is murdered, and both of his daughters call 911 to report that the other one did it. From the first page, I was hooked by the question at the heart of this legal thriller: Who is lying—and who is capable of murder?

The story is told through multiple POVs, including Eddie Flynn, a street-smart defense attorney with a strong moral compass, and the voice of the mysterious killer known only as "SHE." The structure works really well to build suspense, and Cavanagh keeps the pace tight throughout. The courtroom drama is compelling without being bogged down in legal jargon, and the twists are well-timed and genuinely surprising.

What I loved most was the psychological tension between the sisters—Sofia and Alexandra. Both are flawed, both are believable, and the way the narrative teases out the truth is masterfully done. Cavanagh walks a fine line between plot-driven suspense and character depth, and he largely succeeds.

It’s a quick, addictive read that’s perfect for fans of twisty thrillers, legal suspense, or just a fast-paced summer book you won’t want to put down.

A murdered father. Two sisters. Each sister claims the other killed their father, but who is actually guilty? Eddie Flynn takes the case and as he begins to investigate in order to defend his client, a crazy story emerges. One sister is a liar. The other is a killer, but who is who?

Steve Cavanagh delivers a legal thriller that reads like a courtroom chess match with a serial killer watching from the sidelines—and sometimes taking a turn. Fifty Fifty is the kind of page-turner that dares you to guess the killer, then gaslights you every time you think you’ve cracked the case. Spoiler: you haven’t. You start to feel like you are being lead around by a very unreliable tour guide.

At the center of the story are two sisters, both accused of brutally murdering their father. Both claim the other did it. Both are believable, suspicious, and not great with boundaries. Eddie Flynn, our con-man-turned-defense-lawyer hero, takes on one sister’s case while a rival defends the other. Let the courtroom showdown begin.

Cavanagh's writing is slick, sharp, and filled with clever dialogue. The pacing never lets up, and the alternating POVs keep you delightfully unsteady. If you love your thrillers with legal jargon and morally grey characters, this one delivers in spades.

Fifty Fifty is a courtroom thriller with killer instincts and a flair for dramatic reveals. It’ll keep you guessing, gasping, and maybe even second-guessing your sibling relationships. If you are like me, it will also make you want to know more about these characters.

It’s fast-paced, super tense, and full of clever twists that keep you guessing till the end. If you like smart thrillers with courtroom drama and unreliable characters, this one’s a great pick.

Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh is a gripping legal thriller that keeps you guessing until the final page. The fifth installment in the Eddie Flynn series, it centers on two sisters, Alexandra and Sofia, both accusing each other of their father's brutal murder, with each represented by skilled lawyers—Eddie Flynn defending Sofia and newcomer Kate Brooks defending Alexandra. Cavanagh masterfully weaves a suspenseful narrative with alternating perspectives, including chilling chapters from the killer’s point of view, maintaining relentless tension and clever misdirection. The courtroom drama is sharp, and Eddie’s conman-turned-lawyer charisma shines, though some character development feels light. Steve has written a standout thriller, and I absolutely loved this one. I highly recommend this to anyone!

The verdict in this case will be to close to call

Its the kind of lurid, high profile case that lawyers dream about. Frank Avellino, the former mayor of New York City, is dead in his home, brutally murdered. The 911 operators received two phone calls almost simultaneously from the residence, one from each of Frank's daughters Sofia and Alexandra. Each sister is accusing the other of having killed their father, and one of them is telling the truth...but which one? Eddie Flynn, conman turned lawyer, will be representing Sofia, while Kate Brooks, a newly minted attorney trying to rise above the pack in the powerful law firm where she works, has Alexandra for a client. Each lawyer is convinced that their client is the innocent one, but clearly at least one of them is mistaken. As evidence is uncovered it points in both directions; the sisters' upbringing for example was far from idyllic with a mother who at best would be called abusive, but her actions were directed at both her daughters, so it doesn't help implicate or exonerate either one. This case will go down to the wire...will the jury get it right, or will the wrong sister be convicted?
Fifty Fifty is a fast paced legal thriller which throws twist after twist into the narrative, making it hard for the reader to pinpoint the killer. Eddie is an interesting lead character, a lawyer who started life as a successful con artist and found that the same skills that made him good in that earlier career serve him equally well in sizing up his clients (he refuses to defend a guilty client) and manipulating juries. In this latest case even he can't get a bead on how the jury will vote, and for him its an unsettling sensation. Kate is an ambitious young lawyer who finds that her path to a successful career flows straight through a group of sexist, condescending men who control the field in which she works and therefore her future. Its not enough for her to work hard and well, she has to duck groping hands and awkward passes. The story is told in chapters with alternating perspectives from Eddie, Kate and "She" (the killer), and as the killer details the motivations driving her it explains why things have unfolded as the they have...but it doesn't help the reader figure out which sister "She" is. The driving force of the book is not the characters, though, it is the courtroom action and the intriguing story line that keep the reader turning the pages. Readers of Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer series, Harlan Coben and Lisa Scottoline would be likely to find this an enjoyable read. My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me access to this clever legal thriller in exchange for my honest review.

Steve Cavanagh does it again!
Fifty Fifty was a very entertaining thriller. It kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat the whole time.
Great thriller that kept me turning the pages, a great story with intriguing characters that kept me guessing.
Such an interesting, and well written read which kept me completely gripped.
A well paced and engaging story that kept me gripped until the end.

Cavanaugh remains one of my favorite authors out there today.
This is a quick read and adds a new couple of characters as well as a villain I'd like to see back at a future time.


I am hoping for a return to surprises that I don't see coming, but that's the risk when you follow too religiously your favorite authors

Fifty Fifty is the fifth book in the Eddie Flynn series by Steve Cavanagh. There are two calls to 911 within minutes from the same residence. Two sisters asking for help because their dad is dead, claiming the other twin killed him and is still in the house. One of them is a liar and a killer. But which one?

Eddie Flynn is an ex-con, now lawyer. He is good at reading clients and juries. He can usually determine right away if a client is telling the truth of innocence. For majority of the book, readers are led every which way before figuring out whether Flynn is defending the right sister in court.

What started as super interesting ended as meh. The dual 911 calls. The intrigue of murder. The twin dynamic. All very interesting. Then it went downhill and didn't quite deliver. Fifty Fifty is my introduction to this series and the character Eddie Flynn. Unfortunately, it did not make a good enough impression for me to start the series from the beginning.

Happy Early Pub Day, Steve Cavanagh! Fifty Fifty will be available Tuesday, June 3.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

I should have known I was doomed when the cover said “buckle up and read in one sitting” - I did just that. Couch rot was real.

The pacing on “Fifty Fifty” was absolute perfection. I was absolutely hooked from the first page. The premise of the book already blew my mind and then it proceeded to get darker and more twisted. The characters are likeable and had a lot of depth to them.

I read a lot of thrillers, sometimes I want to guess the twists, sometimes I don’t. This was definitely one where I just wanted to enjoy the ride and let myself be shocked.

This book was absolutely fantastic and I’m ready for more Eddie Flynn.

This is only the second book I have read by Steve Cavanagh, but I look forward to reading more. This one was really shocking and fully engrossing. I couldn't read fast enough to find out the truth!

Description:
Two sisters on trial for murder. They accuse each other. Who do you believe? From Steve Cavanagh, the “wickedly clever” (The New York Times) master of twisty psychological thrillers.

“911 what’s your emergency?”

“My dad’s dead. My sister Sofia killed him. She’s still in the house. Please send help.”

“My dad’s dead. My sister Alexandra killed him. She’s still in the house. Please send help.”

One of them is a liar and a killer.

But which one?

My Thoughts:
Yep - each sister called 911 and said the other sister killed their dad. I thought all along that the sisters must have killed him together and figured no jury could convict because there was no way to determine which one did it - beyond a reasonable doubt. But no - that's not what happened at all! This book was both shocking and surprising. Even the attorneys were fooled at times by the girls' stories. Who do you believe? What really happened? I couldn't wait to find out! Any mystery lover or crime lover will really enjoy this one.

Thanks to Atria Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Eddie takes on the representation of a young woman accused of the brutal murder of her father. Sophia, a troubled young woman, and her sister, Alexandria, a beautiful socialite, were both arrested after their father was found dead. One of them was guilty.

There are lots of twists and lots of victims in this novel.

Two sisters. One dead dad. Who is guilty?

***

This was actually my first Steve Cavanagh novel, and I am very excited to have discovered him. This was a well paced thriller that kept you guessing from one page to the next. I think the narrative structure worked really well. I absolutely ADORED Eddie Flynn and his team of crime fighters. (Protect Harry and Clarence at all costs!!)

I was totally thrown by the death of a clearly big character. Takes guts to take someone out like that. There were some legal ethics that were slightly dubious, but I imagine that is Eddie's schtick. And who cares if they are all that lovable?

Would recommend this to fans of the series, or new readers looking to jump into Steve Cavanagh's world. I'm looking forward to diving in myself!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Steve Cavanah can do no wrong when it comes to a good mystery! Eddie Flynn is back to represent a woman on trial for murdering her father; the twist is that her sister is also on trial for the same murder. Which one did it? Were they both involved? Eddie finds himself wondering if his intuition about his client’s innocence is incorrect for the first time.

I could not put Fifty Fifty down and highly recommend for an entertaining read from beginning to end.

Thank you to Steve Cavanagh, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy in exchange of my honest review.

I have read most of the books in the Eddie Flynn series and while the audiobook was solid and the story had the usual twists and turns, I felt it was missing something. There wasn’t anything wrong about this installment but it didn’t have the snappy dialogue of previous books. I also didn’t really understand the court maneuvering at times. Having read some of the books after this one in the series, I liked learning about how Kate and Eddie forge a partnership so that fulfills that piece of the story. I’m happy to be back in Eddie Fly’s world again but this one was just okay for me.

Another gripping legal thriller from Steve Cavanaugh. Absolutely spectacular! Once you pick this book up, you will not be able to put it down. This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I kept thinking I had figured out which sister was guilty a few different times, but I was wrong!

If you enjoy thriller and want the court room drama to accompany it, definitely pick up this book! Eddie Flynn is a conman at heart, but this makes him an excellent defense attorney. He specializes in defending the wrongfully accused and proving their innocence. Two sisters are arrested for killing their father, but only one sister is guilty and they are both blaming each other. This book will take you on the journey of figuring out which sister is actually guilty and proving their innocence.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc for my review. This book was amazing. I will be recommending it to everyone!

Book Title: Fifty Fifty
Author: Steve Cavanagh

What’s it about?
Two sisters. One murdered father. Both claim the other did it. This legal thriller drops you into the courtroom chaos as Eddie Flynn defends one sister while another lawyer represents the other—only one is telling the truth, and time is running out to prove it.

Favorite Part:
The back-and-forth courtroom scenes were intense and clever. I loved watching Eddie piece things together while the case unraveled in real time.

Thoughts on Characters:
Eddie Flynn is a standout—smart, flawed, and sharp-tongued in the courtroom. Both sisters were well-written too; just when you thought you had one figured out, the story twisted again.

Would You Recommend It?
Yes, especially for fans of fast-paced legal thrillers with morally complex characters and plot twists that hit hard.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with the opportunity to review this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of Steve Cavanagh and this latest book does not disappoint!!

Two wealthy sisters are accused of murdering their father, the former NYC Mayor, and Eddie is representing the mentally unstable sister, Sofia. But which sister is the murderer and not only of her father but a serial killer too? Is it the cool, calm, and confident Alexandra or the mentally unstable Sofia?

This is another well written, fly by the seat of your pants thriller, suspense, murder mystery! The pacing is fast. The characters are fully developed with some being likable and some not so much.

If you have not read any of the prior books, you will be fine reading this as a stand alone. However, I recommend that you start with book 1 as there are characters that the author pulls in and out of Eddie's life and seeing the full series in order will be more enjoyable IMO. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!