“Cavanagh’s crackerjack pace and his hero’s lack of self-pity compellingly dramatize the chaos of Mike’s life.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“With the clarity of Robert B. Parker and the complexity of Michael Connelly, Prodigal Son disturbs and charms at the same time.”
— Booklist
“…a classic page-turner. Cavanagh…manages to give us both tight, spare prose and strong, interesting characters…the brisk action keeps Prodigal Son humming along smartly at a pulse-quickening pace. We await the next Mike Garrity adventure.”
— St. Petersburg Times
“Cavanagh…avoids cliches as he infuses “Prodigal Son” with a strong sense of humor and exciting twists in both plot and character.”
— South Forida Sun-Sentinel
“If you enjoy good crime fiction with more plot twists than the Busch Gardens Python, you’ll love Cavanagh’s Prodigal Son. It’s sharp, witty, loaded with action and so well-plotted that it will keep you guessing right through to its surprise ending.”
— WGCU-FM
“This is a quick and exciting read. I’m looking forward to Book 3.”
— Omaha World-Herald
“Prodigal Son is an action-filled novel with numerous plot twists that will keep the reader wondering what could possibly happen next. The manner in which the book ends offers an excellent opportunity for a sequel. I am eagerly awaiting more works from this talented author.”
— Armchair Interviews
“I have a problem with novels written by Thomas B. Cavanagh. The first is that I can’t seem to put them down. Every novel of his, I find that I need to finish them as quickly as I can. They interfere with sleep, lunch, and anything else that I may be doing. Once started, I discover that I keep turning them over in my mind. The second problem is that he writes about characters that you actually like, using dialog that is appropriate for the time and the character. As soon as I was notified that Cavanagh had released a new novel, I knew that I had to read it. The latest novel by Thomas B. Cavanagh is Prodigal Son. Like his previous novel, Head Games, which introduced the Michael Garrity character, this book picks up shortly after Head Games ends. However, you do not need to read Head Games to enjoy this novel. The main character, Michael Garrity, ex-cop, twice divorced, and the father of a teenage daughter, returns to the streets of Orlando, Florida, looking for a job. Since his cancer is in remission, he now finds that he needs money to keep living as he was planning on dying. As an ex-cop, a job as a private investigator seems to be a natural for him. On the surface, the two cases that he lands don’t seem like much; find a child, given up for adoption years ago and investigate the apparent suicide of a popular high school student. But Mike finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time, charged as a “person of interest” in a particularly grisly murder. If having the police breathing down your neck isn’t enough, Cavanagh adds some family issues, a relationship with a cancer survivor with a bad prognosis, and a hurricane. It all adds up to fast paced, well written Florida mystery. Cavanagh’s Garrity character is one of the finest in fiction. He is a beautifully written character, with realistic flaws. The fact that he is a cancer survivor adds an interesting twist, but it also allows for a good, continuing subplot. Death is never far from Mike, and it lends a sense of urgency to everything that he does. As he did in Head Games, Cavanagh keeps the action tight and believable, infuses some excellent plot twists, and introduces a cast of very good supporting characters. He has created a world that I want to visit again, and the ending leaves that option open. This book is a ‘must read.’
— Gregg Eldred Blog Review
Thomas B. Cavanagh 