a b c Thorsen, Leah. "Festus High doesn't shy away from controversial book". STLtoday.com . Retrieved 2020-12-09. The premise for this book was absolutely ingenious! A typical murder trial is getting underway. Did I say typical? Only if you think that having a certified serial killer on the jury is normal! Nature versus nurture is the glaring subtext of this story. To this end, prejudice and bigotry play a big part in the dark future of "Thirteen". On one hand, there's the overt bigotry of "jesusland", secessionist southern states and their teaparty agenda writ large. In this context, Carl experiences bigotry because of the color of his skin. He experiences bigotry because of the years he spent on the Mars colony. He experiences legislated bigotry at the hands of various nation-states and corporate entities throughout Europe and both north and south america because of his geneprint.

American Library Association (2020-09-09). "Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues . Retrieved 2021-03-06. Carl Marsalis, genetically modified (I'd say enhanced) and trained in soldiering since birth, did not inspire that sort of dissonance with me. I get this guy. I understand his mental processes. He has to explain himself over and over to the "normal" humans around him why he does the things he does, and each time I feel his frustration. The premise of the character is that he's a "variant 13", the result of manipulating the genome to express neural structures and personality traits advantageous to a hunter/gather society, but subsequently bred out in the intervening 20000 years of agricultural domestication and raised in an off-the-record creche remniscent of the movie Soldier. YALSA Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults 2008". Young Adult Library Services Association. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017 . Retrieved 22 August 2017. Thirteen is an outstanding legal thriller, so original, clever and accomplished that it should not be missed. It marks out Cavanagh as the heir apparent to John Grisham." - Express (UK)Outstanding - an intriguing premise, a tense, gripping build-up, and a spectacular climax. This guy is the real deal. Trust me.' - Lee Child Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. The story is told through alternating narrators – the serial killer, Joshua Kane, and the conman-turned-criminal-defense-attorney, Eddie Flynn. Both characters are well fleshed out, especially for a thriller. Cavanaugh managed to do this in a way that did not slow down the story.

I want to thank Flatiron Books/Macmillan for the free Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. In the book, there is no mention of Hannah's parents bringing forth a lawsuit, while in the series the school is on the receiving end of the lawsuit. [34] Th1rt3en is a highly entertaining legal thriller and cat-and-mouse game. Despite a majority of this book taking place in the courtroom, it will have you on the edge of your seat. The story is told through alternating narrators, the serial killer, Joshua Kane, and the conman turned criminal defense attorney, Eddie Flynn. Both characters are well fleshed out, especially for a thriller. The author managed to do this in a way that did not slow down the story at all. Joshua Kane has been preparing for this moment his whole life. He's done it before. But this is the big one. This is the murder trial of the century. And Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house. In the book, it is revealed that Hannah kills herself via swallowing a handful of pills. However, in the television series, there is a scene of Hannah cutting her wrists. Two years after the show's release, the graphic scene of her suicide was cut out. [32] [33]Th1rt3en is a highly entertaining legal thriller and cat-and-mouse game. Despite a majority of this book taking place in the courtroom, it will have you at the edge of your seat. You’ll need to suspend your believability! If you can....then I think you’ll walk away loving the new favorite summer thriller!