The Defense by Steve Cavanaugh - 4 stars

[Theresa]

Eddie is just out of rehab and has not been in a courtroom in a long time. Eddie you see is a criminal defense lawyer and the last case he handled about a year ago left him traumatized, quiting his firm and spiralling into alcoholic forgetfulness, losing his marriage and access to his beloved daughter, Amy. [warning - when we finally learn much later in the book what caused Eddie to spiral out of control, it is horrific. Be warned.] Eddie is in the mens room at his favorite downtown Manhattan diner when a hulking Russian sticks a gun in his back, orders him to come with him because if he ever wants to see his daughter alive and undamaged again, he is going to defend the leading Russian mobster in a murder trial starting that day. Let's just say, Eddie has little choice but to step back into the courtroom, unprepared and still recovering from the past trauma. Eddie has 48 hours to do what the Russiona mob leader and his right hand man want, or else.

This is a page turner of a legal thriller, keeping me reading into the wee hours. It's set in the Manhattan criminal court system - with which I am familiar - although the actual courthouse which plays a huge part in it is not the actual NY Criminal Court on Centre Street. Which is just as well given what happens. BUT, the feeling of being in NYC criminal court is aptly captured by the author who is Irish, living, writing and practicing law in Dublin. Are there legal and practical nits to pick? Absolutely but you really don't care as the drama, complexity of the story, and action propel you through this debut.

Then there is Eddie himself. An interesting complex character, with a pre-law background as a con artis and boxer that are not so surprisingly excellent backgrounds for criminal law, especially when mobsters are your clients. I found myself having a lot of sympathy for Eddie, and I don't believe that's because I'm also a lawyer (although I don't go to court or practice criminal law). I felt real empathy with the beleaguered Eddie, flawed human that he is, who is also a hero.