Kudos, Mr. Cavanagh, for keeping me entertained and highly in tune with the world of legal thrillers. The Accomplice is a contemporary mystery-thriller novel about two long-time platonic friends, Owen, and Luna, and all their past and present baggage. It was fast, fun, and kept my interest from the beginning to the end. The way Lutz structured the story gave it so much intrigue, as almost every chapter left you on a cliffhanger, but not for too long, as I had time to think about what was happening before more information was given to me, changing my thoughts and opinions in such a subtle way. With his wife on trial, Daniel Miller is forced to come out of hiding to save her from a life sentence. He will kill to protect her and everyone involved in the case is a target. This appears to be my first introduction to Lisa Lutz (although her book The Passenger sounds very familiar and it came out long before I was reviewing books, so it's entirely possible that I read it and just don't remember. 🤷‍♀️), but I must say, I was impressed! This is one of those books where I kept changing my mind on "whodunnit" and every single character's extent of involvement - my favorite kind of read!

I was so happy with how this concluded. It left me with an evil little grin on my face and we all know, I love that!He has created an amazing character, Eddie Flynn, and his books are each one better than the other! When he meets Carrie, he sees a woman heavily weighed down by a sense of grief and guilt, her suffering persuades him that she is innocent, although he can feel Carrie has not told him everything as he sets out to defend her. He and his hardworking and talented team, consisting of ex-judge, mentor and now consultant Harry Ford, partner Kate Brooks, investigator Bloch and his over-qualified office manager, Denise, are the only ones who believe Carrie is innocent, and simply another victim of the Sandman. They are joined by Gabriel Lake, once a former FBI agent before someone tried to kill him, he believes everything the FBI knows about serial killers is false, and he is a man who wants revenge. Interspersed throughout the narrative is the perspective of the Sandman, intent on saving and freeing his much loved wife, he is once again killing to protect Carrie, and everyone, including Eddie and his team are a target.

Her lawyer, Otto Peltier, is in over his head, so when he can’t cut a deal for his client, he implores Eddie’s team to take over. His partner Kate believes that Carrie is another of her husband’s Victims, and that she is innocent- and she wants the case! You know what's the worst thing that will happen to you once you finish the last Eddie Flynn book by Steve Cavanagh? Wonder how to cope until the next one!!! 😱😫In 2019, Owen and Luna are neighbors and married to other people. When Owen’s wife Irene is murdered, both are once again in the spotlight. Nazi-hunting in 1962 Buenos Aires. It was the setting that made me want to read it. I grew up in Montevideo, on the other side of the river, where weekend trips to Buenos Aires are a common occurrence. And it was fun to be able to really picture the setting (e.g. a truly excellent action scene in the Recoleta cemetery). What’s this horrifying secret Luna hiding from everyone? Not actually everyone: their mutual friend-pot provider Mason already knows who she is but he keeps his mouth shut. What happens if someone learns and tells the people? Gabriel Lake used to be a federal agent, before someone tried to kill him. Now, he's an investigator with a vendetta against the Sandman. He's the only one who can catch him, because he believes that everything the FBI knows about serial killers is wrong. The intrigue of the story only built up over time, not faltering once. This is both impressive and entertaining, as I was fully-focused at all times due to Lutz’s gripping writing.

I was really hoping that it was going to be a thriller and I kept waiting for something exciting to happen. The couple of twists were not exciting and the path to get there was very SLOW. The serial killer dubbed “The Sandman” is one of the most cunning and cruel murderers that the FBI has ever faced. After brutally killing his Victims, he removes their eyes for his souvenirs replacing them with sand-and takes their jewelry for Carrie. This is a charming and well-written mystery that centers on a lifelong friendship between Luna and Owen, a boy and a girl who have had a close-knit but (mostly) non-romantic love for each other since college. Told in two alternating timelines, one in college and one in 2019, we learn that the two have been the subjects of not one but two murder investigations. What are the chances — unless at least one of them is a murderer? This is a cozier mystery than I usually read, but I was captivated by the unique and funny friendship between Luna and Owen. I was extremely impressed with Lisa Lutz’s writing style and skill. The witty banter between Luna and Owen is what made this story for me. A quirky pair with an even quirkier friendship who you will want to root for, even as your suspicions shift from one to the other for both the recent and the older murder. The plot is equally well-written with a satisfying amount of twists and interesting links between the present and the past.The Accomplice examines the bonds of shared history, what it costs to break them, and what happens when you start wondering if you ever truly knew the only person who truly knows you. Explore more: Typical that is until the tiny "Reader's Guide" at the end, where the "topics and questions for discussion" include: The book, set in 1962, opens in Hamburg with an ageing Auschwitz survivor (Max Weill) trying to persuade his CIA desk analyst nephew Aaron to take on Max’s post war quest to bring Concentration Camp Nazi’s to justice – his expose of a child-murderer Pudulski gained him a Time-Cover feature alongside the (real-life) Wiesenthal. So, although there are some pretty frighteningly gruesome scenes to be had in the early stages, it’s always the courtroom scenes in any Eddie Flynn book that are the most riveting and this is certainly the case here. It doesn’t seem to matter how nailed down the prosecution’s case appears, Eddie always seems to be able to come up with a zinger or two to scuttle a witness’ testimony. It’s not so much the fact that he does it, it’s the way that he does it that’s so entertaining. Book 7 in the Eddie Flynn series based in the lawyers hometown of New York, this one was an absolute blast.

Told in two timelines, the past when the two first met in college and present, when trying to piece together this latest murder. As it turns out, Irene's isn't the first mysterious death Luna and Owen have been close to. A girl they knew in college once died under mysterious circumstances. They stood firmly together then as well. Owen Mann and Luna Grey met under some unexpected circumstances. Both college students, they were hunkering down in the library. Owen, handsome and a smooth talker, tried to engage Luna. She wasn't buyin' what he was sellin'. But all of a sudden, Luna collapses to the floor in an epileptic seizure. Owen never left her side.....ever. I found this book to be extremely interesting. Luna and Owen were both complex characters. While they seemed a bit aloof with most people, with one another, they were completely different. The plot as fast paced and on occasions it’s belting along at warp speed making it exciting and completely gripping. At times I yell ‘Nooooo’ which gets a few odd glances but that’s how involved you get. It’s almost like you’re there and living it with them.

As always with Steve Cavanagh books, we have a roller coaster ride on the way to a thrilling conclusion. I wanted to both devour and savour this book, it was so very well done. There’s no one in crime fiction more inventive than Lisa Lutz, and The Accomplice is her greatest sleight of hand yet. Wry and menacing, with the gravity-defying grace of a skipped stone, The Accomplice is at once a suspenseful thrill ride, a deep and disquieting meditation on friendship, and a Wes Anderson comedy rolled into one. After this, I’d read her grocery list.” —Amy Gentry, bestselling author of Good as Gone and Bad Habits