Central Park West: the unmissable debut legal thriller of the year

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Whatever the future holds, I will keep an eye out for more by Comey, as he is surely at the top of his game in this crowded genre. The gripping crime fiction debut from former FBI director James Comey takes readers deep inside the world of lawyers and investigators working to solve a murder while navigating the treacherous currents of modern politics and the mob.

Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District Nora Carleton is currently prosecuting a case against Dominic D’Amico of the Gambino Mafia Family.My eyes go to the ceiling on several occasions as he repeatedly gives us the style of characters pronunciation of certain words so it becomes ga-bidge. Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Dominic “The Nose” D’Amico has penetrating green eyes. The key witness against D'Amico is a thief nicknamed Frenchie, who stole high-end artworks for The Nose. James Comey made many headlines during the lead-up to the 2016 US presidential election, and the fallout with former President Trump. Comey was a registered Republican for most of his life, but has recently described himself as unaffiliated.

At times a little ‘wordy’, it was easy to forgive for the entertainment factor and twists kept me invested right up the exciting ending. It also, it seems to me, makes great starting fodder for a next book - to which I'm definitely looking forward.Carleton eventually convicts the hitwoman in court, and in the process Burke appears to have been exonerated. Memorable characters, a gripping plot, and breathless pacing combine for a truly outstanding debut—one that announces a bold new talent in the mystery genre. In the same vein, after Burke escapes conviction by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, the junior FBI agent, who is Black, observes, “Innocent white people getting prosecuted? Now, Comey has moved into writing fiction and hoped to make a splash, ending up on the New York Times bestseller list and away from a place above the fold.

I’d be interested to know how much os this book was plotted and written by Mr Comey himself and how much help he had but overall I enjoyed it. The federal investigation forms the centerpiece of the book’s narrative, and it eventually leads to a legendary mob hitwoman who appears to have killed the former governor after disguising herself to look like Burke.We meet prosecutors, investigators and FBI agents and get an insight into how the law has to work across different departments who can come into conflict and how politics is never very far away from the surface of decision-making. Comey imparts quite a bit of knowledge about investigative techniques and putting a criminal case together. In an interview with NPR, Comey acknowledged, "An editor of non-fiction nudged me to, and at first I resisted. Whilst the case against Kyra goes ahead, Nora and others strengthen their efforts to get to the truth.