Fun Crime Thriller That Could Have Been So Much More. First, I first accepted this book as an Advance Review Copy because it sounded interesting… before I found out that it is book *nine* in an ongoing series. So for those who cannot stand to have any remote thing about any prior book spoiled… start at book 1 here. For those like me with a long time history of finding series via reading books deep into them first… this one actually works rather well. The world feels “lived in”…. because it is!
For the actual events of this particular book, it is one hell of a twisty crime thriller. A shadowy killer presented in a certain tone that many authors have tried and few have pulled off quite this well. The series’ team of investigators and lawyers that make this series effectively a “police procedural” without a precinct to be found. And both are about to be set against each other in quite explosive manner.
Now, don’t let anyone fool you. This is a *crime* thriller – *NOT* a courtroom thriller. Despite the presence of lawyers as some of the lead characters, the actual courtroom drama here is really contained to the last 20% or so of the book, and even there, there’s still quite a bit of actual crime thriller happening even as the courtroom drama unfolds. If you’re looking for more pure courtroom drama, you’re looking for John Grisham, Randy Singer, and similar. Not this book (and seemingly not this series).
But really the biggest missed opportunity… well, it may get to spoiler level territory to really discuss. Suffice it to say that with everything presented here, this could have become truly legendary, yet with everything presented here, it winds up much closer to earth in the range of great.
Very much recommended.
This review of Two Kinds Of Stranger by Steve Cavanagh was originally written on April 2, 2026.