Fifty Fifty - Steve Cavanagh

 

Two sisters on trial for murder. Both accuse each other.

Who do YOU believe?

Alexandra Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body, and needs the police right away. She believes her sister killed him, and that she is still in the house with a knife.

Sofia Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body and needs the police right away. She believes her sister, Alexandra did it, and that she is still in the house, locked in the bathroom.

Both women are to go on trial at the same time. A joint trial in front of one jury.

But one of these women is lying. One of them is a murderer. Sitting in a jail cell, about to go on trial with her sister for murder, you might think that this is the last place she expected to be.

You'd be wrong.

Description taken from Goodreads.

*

I, like most people, came to know of Steve Cavanagh because of his hugely popular book, Thirteen. I read it a couple of years ago and thought it was absolutely fantastic, and it made me super excited to read more of the author's work. [If you're interested, you can read my full review here. When I saw a great deal for Fifty Fifty, I was really excited, because I think Cavanagh is great at coming up with interesting plots. 

As soon as I started reading, I was struck again by the sheer ease of reading in Cavanagh's writing. Fifty Fifty was a fast-paced and easy to read thriller with a great idea for a plot. I don't think it was as great as Thirteen, although it had a lot to live up to so I don't think that should be held against it. If you're a thriller fan, I would still definitely recommend this book.

Rating: ✫✫✫✫

The Story

The one thing that I think Steve Cavanagh is really good at is coming up with really unique plot ideas that really draw the reader in. With Thirteen, it was the idea that the criminal was actually on the jury - something that I've never seen before. Fifty Fifty sees two sisters on trial for the same murder, and we have no idea which one of them is guilty. 

I loved the concept for the story, because it was also something I'd never seen before. I think the problem with thrillers as a genre is that a lot of them  similar patterns, and so they can be a little dull, unexciting or predictable. Fifty Fifty had an entirely new dynamic that made the courthouse drama really interesting. 

One thing that makes the book so great to read is Eddie Flynn, the lawyer who features in a series of different thrillers written by Cavanagh. Although not really anything unique, I think Flynn is a great narrator through which to read about law, morality, and the difference between right and wrong. There are some really interesting conversations in the book which make you consider what justice really means; whether that's following the letter of the law, or assessing each situation individually.

However, as well written as I think the book was, putting two sisters against each other means you have very limited options for where the story is going to go. My only problem with this story was that it was quite predictable. Don't get me wrong, there were some shocking plot twists that I really did not see coming, but the main plot wasn't open-ended enough to keep my interest. About halfway through the book, I had pretty much worked out what was going to happen at the end, and that meant I wasn't on the edge of my seat like I was really hoping to be. 

The Verdict

Overall, this is a really great book. It puts a different spin on the traditional thriller, and I love being able to explore really interesting plots and unique ideas. I also think Eddie Flynn is a really fantastic character to follow; he's fun, honest and generally a likeable character.

That being said, I do think the plot was a little bit predictable this time. I really wanted it to have that oomph that I've seen in some of Cavanagh's other novels, but it fell just slightly flat for me. It's a shame, but I still really loved it and would recommend it to other thriller fans.