Get a sneak peek at former FBI director James Comey's debut novel
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
You'd think James Comey — whose bestselling 2018 memoir A Higher Loyalty detailed the former FBI director's political career and role in pivotal scandals involving Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, among others — would be a stickler for the truth. But after a second non-fiction book, 2021's Saving Justice, Comey is trying his hand at a novel.
courtesy of James Comey
Central Park West: A Crime Novel comes out next spring. According to the book's publisher, Mysterious Press, the story follows federal prosecutor Nora Carelton, whose case against a powerful mobster finally comes together as a critical witness takes the stand. But a secret note creates an unexpected turn that thrusts Nora into a high-stakes investigation at the upper levels of government, all while balancing her obligations as a single mother and discovering the woman she really is.
"The story opens with the murder of a disgraced former governor in his Central Park West penthouse and follows a federal prosecutor as her world collides with that killing," says Comey 61. "Readers will get an insider's view of the famous United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, in a case that depends upon the FBI's extraordinary capabilities and technology, as well as the talent of a legendary mafia investigator."
Ben Mark Holzberg/CBS Television Studios/SHOWTIME
Comey, who was played by Jeff Daniels in the 2021 Showtime miniseries The Comey Rule, based Nora on his two daughters: Maurene, who is chief of Violent and Organized Crime in the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney's office, and Abby, who, like Nora, is gay.
"It's a legal thriller in the strictest sense, but it's much more than that: an exploration—and explanation—of the criminal justice system and also a drama involving what I hope are richly drawn and complicated characters," says Comey.
Central Park West will be out May 30, 2023.
