Two Kinds of Stranger

I loves me a great thriller, but I am surprisingly new to Steven Cavanagh's books (having only read Witness 8). I eagerly dove back into his books with this ninth book in the Eddie Flynn series when the publisher gave me an advanced copy.

This legal thriller centres around Elly, a social media influencer who is known for posting about her Random Acts of Kindness to her millions of followers, but when she posts a live feed that unexpectedly catches her new husband in bed with her BFF, she catches the eye of a con man who sets her up for a double murder -- the murders of the two people who betrayed her. Elly enlists Eddie Flynn and his team to represent her in a case that takes them on a fast-paced race to catch a quick-witted and manipulative killer readers will love to hate. 

I enjoy a series where the main character has an interesting backstory and we get that with Eddie, a former con artist turned attorney who knows how to get around the law and play dirty when needed. That comes in handy when his firm finds itself in the middle of two court trials with a lot at stake. Eddie is a strong character, but this well-drawn secondary cast of -- Bloch, Gabriel, Harry and Kate -- are equally compelling! 

This was an intricately plotted thriller with twists, turns and lots of moving pieces --- but IT WORKS! I eagerly plan to read more in this series' backlist and recommend this book to fans of Robert Dugoni's Keera Duggan legal thriller series.

Final Thoughts: Clever, page-turner, twisty!

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher, Atria Books, for the complimentary digital advanced copy of this book that was given in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Steve Cavanagh

Genre: Suspense

Series: Eddie Flynn 9

Type and Source: ebook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Atria Books

First Published: March 24, 2026

Read: Mar 7-15, 2026

Book Description from GoodReads: SHE HELPED A PERFECT A STRANGER. SHE DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS THE PERFECT KILLER...

Ellie 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, Ellie 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.