Witness 8: An Eddie Flynn Novel

Cavanagh sacrifices plausibility for plot surprises in his disappointing eighth thriller featuring New York City con man–turned–attorney Eddie Flynn (after The Accomplice). A prologue introduces 22-year-old maid Ruby Johnson, whose financial troubles have reduced her to working in the kinds of Upper West Side homes she once lived in. Ruby sees an opportunity for a new life after witnessing an unnamed man she recognizes gun down one of the residents on the street where she works. Ruby retrieves the gun the killer abandoned in a garbage can and uses it to frame Dr. John Jackson, one of her employers, for the crime, then takes credit for tracking him down. Jackson retains Flynn to fight the ensuing murder charge—a difficult proposition, considering Ruby managed to plant his fingerprints on the gun. Meanwhile, Flynn tries to dodge a hit put out on him by an unknown enemy, which draws out-of-town gunmen to New York once Flynn’s mob boss friend ensures that no one local accepts the contract. Cavanagh stretches both plots quite thin, with reveals that are equal parts outlandish and underwhelming. Here’s hoping the next installment is a return to form. Agent: John Wood, RCW. (Mar.)