Steve Cavanagh knows how to throw a party, and where to throw it. Most of his debut legal thriller, THE DEFENSE, takes place in a courthouse over the course of an extremely long two-day stretch for attorney Eddie Flynn, who has no desire to be there. Bob Dylan got it half-right: infinity goes up on trial inside the museum, but it does so in the courthouse as well. A trial is like a football game in the sense that it consists of long, boring stretches of time punctuated by excruciating seconds of excitement. Think of this book as a football game with the tedious parts left out, guns, explosions and karate, and a series of double and triple crosses, and you’ll know what you’re getting into.

"THE DEFENSE is somewhat of a mash-up of Die Hard in a courthouse, a much darker version of The Sting, and a bit of My Cousin Vinny (without the comedy) thrown in for good measure."

THE DEFENSE starts off, interestingly enough, in a men’s restroom, where Eddie gets cornered by a deadly serious man with a Russian accent. Eddie is a highly regarded New York criminal defense attorney who is just coming off of a six-month suspension (we learn why eventually), and the Russian is Arturas, who works for Olek Volchek, the head of the Bratva, the Russian mafia. Eddie’s former law partner was defending Vochek on a murder charge (why he is no longer the counsel of record is quickly revealed), and Volchek now wants Eddie to step in as his lawyer. Eddie has absolutely no desire to do so, but Volchek gives him the best possible reason: he has Eddie’s 10-year-old daughter and will murder her if Eddie doesn’t substitute himself as counsel, and do a few other things as well.

The trial starts the next morning, there are literally boxes of evidence, and there is no way that Eddie can adequately defend Volchek. Of course, he doesn’t really have to. Eddie is a former con man, one of the best in the business, and the skill set he acquired as a grifter consists of enough moves transferable to the practice of law that he can think on his feet and move by the seat of his pants. It is entertaining to watch him work, even as the clock ticks onward. He is constantly thinking of how to keep a guilty verdict away from his deserving client, rescue his daughter, and, oh yeah, save his own neck.

Of course, Eddie is not without his own weaknesses and flaws, and those get in the way of things as well. Such are nicely counterbalanced, however, by a couple of friends who would be willing to help, if Eddie can just get to them. That’s going to be a tough move, given that he has not only the sadistic Arturas watching him but the FBI keeping tabs on him as well. He is up to it, though, and how he does what he does is a startling wonder to behold as everything comes together to bring the house --- and a few other things --- down, in a conclusion whereby Eddie snatches a delayed fuse defeat from the jaws of victory.

THE DEFENSE is somewhat of a mash-up of Die Hard in a courthouse, a much darker version of The Sting, and a bit of My Cousin Vinny (without the comedy) thrown in for good measure. While requiring some suspension of disbelief (what do you want from a work of fiction?), it is a fun book from first page to last, with a complex plot and the promise of more to come. Grab your briefs and briefcase, put on your party hat, and jump on board.