Review: Two Kinds of Stranger by Steve Cavanagh

 

Two Kinds of Stranger (Eddie Flynn #9) by Steve Cavanagh

Publication Date: November 18th 2025 by Simon & Schuster Audio

Pages: 400

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Elly Parker, a popular influencer whose platform centers around random acts of kindness, has her life upended with one viral post. Elly doesn’t think things could get worse until she helps a random stranger in the subway and then becomes the target of a smart, twisted individual.

 

Elly reaches out to Eddy Flynn and his team to help her. This stranger is one step ahead at every turn!

 

Eddy has his own troubles when his ex-wife and daughter become the focus of a sociopathic criminal bent on revenge.

 

Two Kinds of Stranger was oh-so-good! Action packed, exciting and full of clever maneuvering! I was hooked from the very first page! I love it when well-deserved justice is served out and it was very satisfying here! Oh, that last chapter!!

 

As a side note, I had only read the prequel novella, The Cross, from this series before picking this up. It works well as a standalone. That being said, I will be reading the previous books because the writing and mysteries I’ve read so far have been excellent!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

SHE HELPED A PERFECT A STRANGER. SHE DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS THE PERFECT KILLER...

Elly Parker had everything.
Perfect husband. Perfect apartment. Perfect friends and the perfect job.
As an internet celebrity - famed for her random acts of kindness - everyone knew it.
So when a betrayal causes her to lose it all, millions of people are watching.

But even at her lowest, Elly will always help someone in need.
Which makes her the perfect target for a sadistic game.
Because as she soon learns, you can never trust a stranger - and a seemingly random encounter plunges her into a nightmare worse than she ever imagined.

The only person she can turn to is conman turned trial lawyer Eddie Flynn, who must take on a case where nothing is what it seems. With the most cruelly ingenious mind manipulating events from the shadows, everyone is in danger - including Eddie and his family.

Audiobook Review: The Cross by Steve Cavanagh

 

The Cross (Eddie Flynn #0.5) by Steve Cavanagh

Publication Date: November 18th 2025 by Simon & Schuster Audio

Audio Book Length: 4 hrs 30 mins

Narrators: Adam Sims

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Eddie Flynn is a former con man turned lawyer and he’s the first to admit the line between the two professions is thin. The tricks and instincts that once kept him alive on the streets now serve him well in the courtroom, especially when he takes on a case as dangerous as this one. His client, a grieving widow, is suing New York City for the wrongful death of her husband, a murder carried out by a corrupt cop with powerful connections. From the beginning, Eddie faces resistance from the NYPD and intimidation from dangerous figures determined to bury the truth. When Internal Affairs approaches him, the stakes escalate, and what follows is a thrill ride filled with twists, threats, keeping me on the edge of my seat!
 
This was my first Steve Cavanagh read, and I’m glad I started with this prequel novella to the Eddie Flynn series. The story hooked me immediately and I listened straight through in one sitting!  I was worried for Eddie, his client, and his family as he pursued what seemed like an unwinnable case at high personal risk. Yet Eddie proves himself a formidable and cunning opponent and watching him outmaneuver his enemies was both thrilling and deeply satisfying. I’m eager to dive into the rest of the series!
 
The audiobook narration by Adam Sims was a perfect match for Eddie’s character. His subtle New York accent captured Eddie’s grit and charm. I also appreciated the author’s note, read by Steve Cavanagh himself, which provided fascinating insight into the real-life inspiration behind the story.

5 Stars

Book Description:

A race-against-time audio thriller from the author of the “unguessable and unputdownable” (Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author) Kill for Me, Kill for You.

Cross-examination isn’t a war of words. It’s not a legal battle. It’s not about who shouts the hardest or loudest. Cross-examination is daylight robbery; you go in hard and fast, grab what you need, and get the hell out.

Eddie Flynn, ex con-artist-turned-defense attorney, has an impossible choice to make. His client, the widow of a man who died in a confrontation with a police officer, is seeking justice for her husband. The victim himself was accused of killing a man in a robbery gone wrong outside the St. Regis Hotel—his widow swears it’s not true, and the story’s not adding up to Flynn, either. But with his small and scrappy law firm on the brink of financial collapse, taking this to trial and losing could put them under for good.

As Flynn digs deeper into the case, a complex web of deceit and corruption begins to emerge with farther-reaching implications than he ever imagined. After a whirlwind twenty-four hours chasing leads all throughout New York City, it all comes down to the cross-examination: will he risk his life to expose the truth?