I absolutely loved this book.
It gripped me all the way through, though I felt the ending lacked something... I will probably buy this for my mum when it is out

“BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK I WANT YOU TO KNOW THREE THINGS: 1. The police are looking to charge me with murder. 2. No one knows who I am. Or how I did it. 3. If you think you’ve found me. I’m coming for you next. After you’ve read this book, you’ll know: the truth is far more twisted...”

What an adrenaline-filled, thrill ride of a book this is!

After reading Th1rt3en last year, I knew I had to read this one when I saw is was available, and it couldn’t be more aptly named as it contains so many plot twists it’s was hard to keep up.

The writing style is so immersive that I couldn’t help but feel caught up in this story. I love the fast pace that’s set from page one and the fact that you don’t have chance to catch your breath until the very end. Just when you think you’ve figured out what’s going on, there’s another twist!

What appeals to me so much about these books is that the writing style is just what I want from a thriller - it’s all about the plot line. The scene setting and character building are important and therefore need to be detailed enough to enrich the story but I don’t want that to detract from the plot and this author definitely delivers on that front.

Another fantastic book by Steven Cavanagh and one I’d recommend to anyone who loves a good thriller!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Twisted is available from 4th April.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Orion Publishing) for providing a copy. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

A standalone book from Steve Cavanagh. I was not sure when I first started this book whether I was going to like it in the same way I have enjoyed the Eddie Flynn books BUT as the book progressed and the twists began it drew me in so I could not put the book down. So cleverly crafted and just when you thought you knew what was happening it took off in yet another direction. The characters were well drawn, particularly Sheriff Dole and his Deputy, Bloch.
Very many thanks to Netgalley/Steve Cavanagh/Orion Publishing Group for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Twisted is the story of reclusive writer of crime fiction, J T LeBeau, who has sold millions of books but his real identity is unknown even to his publishers.

This is such a clever book, satirising the world of crime fiction writing. It’s called Twisted and believe me this book lives up to it’s name. There are twists a-plenty and some of them made me gasp! The storyline is amazing and the writing is just brilliant. Just one more page, and another …. and so I got only two hours sleep last night because I just had to finish this book. Just fabulous!
A brilliant standalone thriller from an author who just gets better and better.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC in return for an unbiased opinion.

Who is JT LeBeau? A bestselling crime writer, whose words have gripped the world. The only mystery greater than his stories is his true identity. One woman thinks she’s found him – her husband has millions in the bank and a letter for the enigmatic author. But the truth is far more TWISTED…

CWA Gold Dagger Winner Steve Cavanagh returns with his first stand-alone novel, Twisted. After the huge success of the Eddie Flynn series, which includes the bestselling Thirteen, Cavanagh has a bit of fun with the crime fiction genre and his readers by playing with their expectations from the minute they open the book.

It's hard to avoid spoilers of the book so a review is difficult but what I can say is that it's about a bestselling author JT LeBeau. Despite his enormous worldwide success, nobody knows his true identity. He's a literary Banksy of sorts. The story proper begins with Paul Cooper who is married to Maria and who lives in the fictional US East Coast town of Port Lonely. Maria is having an affair with Daryl, a waiter in the nearby Country Club. One night, Maria discovers what she thinks is proof that Paul might be JT LeBeau. From there, the book twists and turns as a web of lies is revealed.

As Cavanagh said himself at the NOIRELAND International Crime Fiction Festival, Belfast 2019, the book is all about twists. The first "twist" we encounter is fictional author JT LeBeau's name appearing on the title page of the book rather than Cavanagh's, which plays with our metatextual understanding of the genre and the figures of the narrator and author. In fact, the book is introduced with a note from LeBeau saying that this will be the last thing he writes. The reason why is revealed to us by the end. This conflation of real-life author and fictional character in this way shows that the act of writing and the role of the writer is central to the book. Although I can't discuss the details, the book reveals LeBeau's creative process and how much Art imitates life in his books.

In addition, the anonymity of LeBeau raises the question of how much we need to know about our authors and how important the relationship between writer and reader is. In the age of social media, we now like our authors to be vocal. To reveal themselves to us. We want to know if we agree with their politics. Or simply, if they use a non-gendered name, if they are male or female. In the case of Cavanagh, his role of co-hosting crime fiction podcast Two Crime Writers and a Microphone with fellow crime writer Luca Veste helps to voice his opinions and to draw more readers to his work as it showcases his expertise in the genre. (On a side note, I can't recommend the podcast highly enough for all matters crime fiction, writing in general, and Will Self). In Twisted, the fact that nobody knows who LeBeau is actually adds to the mystery and seems like an anomaly in today's world.

The book also makes us question what it is about the genre that we really love and why we love a good twist so much. Just as readers of the genre also love to be scared, they love to be surprised, to be manipulated. This is at the very core of Cavanagh's book. And, just as fans of the genre know the plot points at which the twists usually occur, Cavanagh throws in multiple surprises, often at unexpected times, making us pay attention. Making us distrust our own expectations.

In the end, Twisted doesn't really solve why we are so fascinated with the author but, in my opinion, that's not its job. What it does do successfully is to make us question this relationship in the first place. It also doesn't reveal why we love to be manipulated by our crime fiction authors. But the book does present plenty of surprises that any seasoned reader of crime fiction will appreciate and won't see coming. This is a thriller written by a master of the genre for fans of the genre with a thoroughly impressive ending with a twist on the very last page. Cavanagh pushes the boundaries of the genre and makes readers and other writers question what crime fiction is capable of.

It's really difficult to review this book without giving anything away, so I'm just going to say Twisted is:

T - Twisted (like a tornado - warning: readers may experience whiplash)
W - Wicked (some of the characters are just plain nasty)
I  - Intricate (the plotlines and characters are intricately woven together)
S - Surprising (expect the unexpected and several clever surprises along the way)
T - Topsy-Turvy (the reader will start the book believing one thing, change their mind mid-way and then again towards the end)
E - Engrossing (following the various characters and trying to work out who, why, what, when kept me engrossed throughout.
D - Disorientating (another symptom the reader may experience once finishing the book)

Steve has done it again! Well written and kept me gripped throughout! Many twist and turns to keep you guessing

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve got to say, I love Steve Cavanagh, his books are unique (not an easy claim in such an over saturated genre), complex, brilliantly written and a joy to read. Twisted was not so much a ‘joy’ to read but ping ponged between riveting, uncomfortable and downright disturbing, not that that’s a bad thing.

J.T. LeBeau is a renowned author the world over, his work is highly acclaimed and constantly on the best seller list. There is a twist to J.T LeBeau though, no one knows his real identity. Anyone who did, well, they’re no longer around. So what’s with J.T LeBeau, why all the secrecy, is it a ploy to sell more books, or is it something altogether more sinister?

As hinted at in the title the twists come thick and fast in this book and FYI don’t get too fond of anyone, the body count is HIGH. A real page turner, kudos to you Mr Cavanagh, great fun and I certainly didn’t ‘see it coming’ (that’s pretty much all of the ‘it’s, there are most certainly more than one).

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

My thanks to Orion Publishing Group for an eARC via NetGalley of Steve Cavanagh’s stand-alone thriller, ‘Twisted’, in exchange for an honest review.

As the title suggests ‘Twisted’ takes the concept of crime novel plot twists into the stratosphere.

I will give no summary so as to not reveal anything about this devilishly twisty thriller. Even the publishers seem happy to tease its potential readers.

I was completely hooked from the start. Certainly a book to read ‘cold’ and then urge all your crime novel loving friends to read so that you can discuss it without spoilers.

There is also a thread of wry humour throughout that is well integrated with the darker aspects. Cavanaugh seems to have had a blast writing this. It also seems to subtly be sending up aspects of the publishing world, celebrity, and the crime fiction genre while delivering a very satisfying thriller with strong characterisation. This would make a cracking good film.

Highly recommended.

Note: The social media campaign under #WhoIsJTLeBeau and #ThisBookIsTwisted is hilarious and just brilliant and underlines the satirical aspects of the nove

Another amazing book from cavanagh. As the title says it certainly holds many plot twists that I simply enjoyed the book and forgot trying to guess the ending. It was hard to feel any empathy for the characters though except the hard working police cop Dole who has spent his career trying to find who his Jane Doe was. Maybe all a little far fetched at times but being set in the USA was truly believable most of the times. Definitely a page turner and one I would recommend to others.

A famous author is dead. One who is highly successful and sells by the millions. His books always have twists in them adding to his notoriety. A man is standing with a gun ready to take out one of the four people in the world who know who the author really is. Marie is having an affair with Dylan a local waiter. Her husband is rather controlling and although she thought he was “the one” early on, this has now changed as things are so good between her and Dylan. One evening when her husband is away, yet again, she goes in to his office with Dylan to try and find his secret stash of cigarettes she knows he keeps there. What they discover is far more than they ever expected. Paul, a marketing executive, has been keeping a secret from Marie, a huge life changing one and now she isn’t sure what to do about it other than she wants the benefit from it, almost at any price. Paul has his own secrets from his past and will do anything to make sure they stay there. He is a very private person and even Marie knows little about his life before they met.This is a different plot from Steve’s other two books I have read (the others are courtroom based) but he does manage to slip in a mention to Eddie Flynn who features in them. You are grabbed by intrigue early on from more than one aspect and then taken on a ride as only Steve knows how. That said this didn’t slip through my fingers quite as easily as Steve’s other books as it was more complex and at times I had to stop and think about things. It is a tense read all of the way through and one to test the grey matter. Twisted just doesn’t cover it- prepare to be blown away!
(rest of links as part of blog tour)

Like many readers I loved „Thirteen“. So I got very excited when I saw that Steve Cavanagh wrote another thriller. It sounded like something right up my alley.

The story is a bit complicated and you should not know too much about it. There is Paul who moved with his wife Maria to a small town. Paul has to leave Maria for work reasons, or so he tells her. Maria is bored in this dull little town and so she starts an affair with a local waiter. One day she finds out that Paul is hiding something from her. Obviously he has a big secret which earns him a lot of money. Together with her lover Daryl she forms a plan to get her share of that money. But of course there is more to it than you think. And there is this elusive writer LeBeau who writes bestsellers and is a household name but nobody ever met him.

The book is called “Twisted” for a reason. Not only is this the name of the book the mysterious author J.T. LeBeau is currently writing. It is also a very twisted story. Everything is there – but why did I only rate this book with 3 stars? Because I was almost bored to death while reading it. I am shocked about myself while I type this down but it is the truth. There is something very important missing in this clever and complicated story: tension. There is a lot of writing about unimportant things. The story is told from alternating point of views which is nothing bad. But in this book it slows it all down. The twists begin to feel forced. It is like: the book is called Twisted, it is advertised as a wicked twisted story, the author LeBeau is known for his killer twists nobody sees coming so this actual book has to have twists. So I just kept waiting for the next one while forcing myself through so many pages with repetitive stuff. The characters are all a bit flat and not everything in the story adds up. But I would have not mentioned it, would have overseen it if the book just would have gripped me. But it did not. Unfortunately I am a bit underwhelmed with “Twisted”. I am sorry but for me it only adds up to 3 stars.

There is no doubt that this author is incredibly imaginative but I think this one was a little bit too Twisted, even for me.

The story centres around the secret identify of author J.T. LeBeau and the lengths that they will go to in order to keep their identity a secret.

I did finish the book, but I might have skim read a few pages. The second half of the book was a bit more interesting and explained the who’s and whys. There were plenty of twists and turns but they just pushed my boundary for believability a bit too far.

There were so many characters here who were depraved and lacking in moral fibre that I found it too unbelievable. I know that this may be the case, after all it is a work of fiction but I could not like any of these characters and therefore did not really enjoy this as much as I had hoped, sorry!

Absolutely frigging Briliant novel!
I loved this one from the first page to the last. The opening paragraph says it all!
It intrigues and makes you want to immediately read to figure out why it opens like that..
THis book is not one I feel I can describe easily and so I wont - I feel it is best if you just read it.
It you like intrigue, suspense, fast paced, twists and like to wonder what on earth is going on - then read it - you will love it!

This is the synopsis of the book which grabbed my interest before reading.
The police are looking to charge me with murder.
No one knows who I am.
Or how I did it.
If you think you've found me. I'm coming for you next.
After you've read this book, you'll know: the truth is far more twisted...

‘Twisted' is a seriously good name for this book and the twists are enough to give the reader ‘whiplash’. I have read some of the author’s Eddie Flynn series and found them gripping. This is a very different type of book. I loved it and wanted to keep reading every chance I got. It was so gripping. I was pleased with the final conclusion Would highly recommend.

What a breath taking thriller, this book had my head in a spin from the very first page until the very last line. There were so many twists and turns I just couldn't predict what was going to happen next. A really thrilling, suspenseful book that had me holding my breath throughout. In my opinion this is the best Steve Cavanagh book yet!
#Twisted #NetGalley

This will be my second foray into Steve Cavanagh books and although they were completely different plot and characters they were equally as captivating.

Twisted takes place in Port Lonely (which is a wonderful name for a town) where Maria discovers that her enigmatic husband is actually world-famous reclusive author J.T Lebeau. Despite his penny-pinching ways, it turns out that he has amassed six million in the bank and hasn’t told her. Reeling from the shock of this betrayal, Maria and her lover decide to blackmail her husband to gain his millions. (Of course, her infidelity is not a betrayal because she is genuinely in love and it’s her husband’s fault she is unhappy.)

But the truth is a tangled web and Maria finds herself caught up in a far deadlier game than she ever realised.

Despite Maria and her lover being extremely self-centred unlikable characters, they are so well written that they do not come off as stereotypes. In fact, all of the characters may be highlighted by their one primary characteristic (the stoic Detective, the old-timer Captain, the spoilt wife, etc) but they are so well developed that you can see them as real people.

The two police detectives did a good job in piecing things together and getting it brilliantly wrong but understandably so and then realising their error and trying to work out just what had gone wrong.

I loved the way the book showed you the dull parts of police work without actually feeling boring. The addition of those scenes made the book realistic enough to make sense but deliberate enough to capture your interest.

In point of fact, the entire book had enough descriptive language to draw you in without bogging you down with minor details. This enabled the book to flow beautifully and made it very hard to put down.

As for the twists, did you see them coming? Yes and then no and then yes and then no and then hell no! Where in the heck did that come from?

At one point I was thinking “Well, this is a bit predictable,” and then the next page was more “Whoa, what? Ok I did NOT see that coming.”

As someone who does like to guess and can usually see where things are going it was a refreshing change to be surprised and continually be surprised right to the last page.

As a result of this and the amazing Thirteen, Steve Cavanagh is definitely on my list of authors to read and recommend.

Outstanding.

OMG the title says it all. The plot is twisted, the characters twisted and I didn't want to put this book down. A group of characters that are well written and their lives and deaths twist together.
Paul has a secret from his wife, he has 20 million hidden from his wife. How, why and what will happen when his wife finds out? Read and find out. A great book, enjoy.

Well bloody hell, Steve Cavanagh has done it again! I became a fan of his last year after I ripped through his most recent instalment of the Eddie Flynn series Th1rt3en and it was the same this time around for Twisted which is his first stand alone thriller. When I say ripped through it, I mean it was a one dayer read that was a nail-bitting, edge of seat, chin on floor read. I can't even fault it, i'm in complete awe. I'm going to tell you why!

Twisted is a five star read that will have you questioning everything that you read, the storyline is clearly exceptionally planned out and written. I felt that parts of the narrative was borderline noir thriller The characterization was on point, you could definitely identify with one or two of them, their personalities etc although I could have strangled them! The storyline is that of a multiple narrative (which many of you may know by now that I love them!), these types of narrative opens up the story while creating a more suspense filled structure. I'm not going to go into details because the way this tale is woven is that as soon as one thread has been seen, the whole thing will be unravelled. Want to know what I mean? BUY THE BOOK!

If you enjoy thrilling reads that will leave you with a whiplash feeling book hangover Twisted is definitely the book for you! Is what it says on the tin; this book is Twisted in all forms of the word; twisted characters, storyline and even twisted twists! Another five stars from me for yet another fine book from Mr Cavanagh

This is a very clever story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The title is very apt for this book as there are plenty of twists to get your head round.
It’s a hard one to review as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else so I’ll just summarise the first part of the book.
J.T. LeBeau is a very successful crime writer but no-one knows who he is. The book starts with an Author’s note from J.T. LeBleau which day ys this will be the last book written by J.T. LeBleau.
When Maria Cooper finds a bank statement in her husband’s study she sees money paid in from LeBeau enterprises, showing there is millions in the account.
She thinks her husband is LeBeau and starts plotting ways to get access to the money.
Things don’t go quite to plan and this is when the story goes up a notch and doesn’t let go until the end.
This is a highly addictive book that I couldn’t put down.
I love the way Steve Cavanagh writes and look forward to more of his books.
Thanks to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.