After Nora drops Sophie off at school, she hurries to her office at Manhattan's St. Andrew's Plaza..... COMEY: Yeah. It's not a hobby for me. I need to have a job. And I found this harder than nonfiction but a lot more fun. And it would be wonderful if I could do this until I'm old and foolish, so I've already written the sequel. There must have been an element of nostalgia in locating this novel in the New York law courts where you once worked?

Both a fascinating procedural and a courtroom drama, there is much to like about this novel, and how it rings with authenticity." Manila BulletinKELLY: All right. Well, let's talk about this one. And I'll start by asking you to introduce us to Nora, who is your protagonist. She is a young prosecutor. I gather she may have more than a little bit of your daughter in her. James Comey’s latest book—his first work of fiction—is “Central Park West,” a gripping and fast-paced legal thriller inspired by Comey’s long career in federal law enforcement, including his years in Manhattan as a mob prosecutor and later the chief federal prosecutor. He takes the reader deep inside the world of lawyers and investigators working to solve a murder mystery while navigating the treacherous currents of modern politics and the mob. The perfect crime? Hardly. The killer was greeted by the doorman and caught on videotape. The case sparks a media circus. At the time of his death, the former governor was denying multiple accusations of sexual abuse leveled by women willing to break his notorious nondisclosure agreements. Now “Killer Kyra” faces life in prison for putting down “the Harvey Weinstein of politics.” The Daily News screams, “LUV GUV SLAY TRIAL.” COMEY: ...To her being good on her feet. And she calls him Mr. Rough. I drew that from the regular routine that I had with Kenny McCabe. I do. My wife is my ideas person. Her view is that it’s too close to write about now. I have in mind doing a trilogy [of novels] based in New York. And I’d like to write a trilogy based in Virginia, where I was a prosecutor for many years. And then I’d like to take readers inside the White House and the FBI and the justice department of the CIA. I’ve spent a lot of time in those places.

KELLY: ...And spoke to my colleague Ailsa Chang about your last book. And you told her the best thing that could happen to Donald Trump would be for him to be ignored, to be standing on the front lawn at Mar-a-Lago in his bathrobe, shouting at passing cars. Do you stand by that? James Comey’s intimate knowledge of law enforcement makes Central Park West a winning legal thriller, but the book is so much more than an insider’s account. 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." Harlan CobenA nonstop thrill ride! Central Park West is a masterful blend of legal thriller, police procedural and psychological drama. And it’s populated with some of the best heroes and most evil villains to come along in years. Bravo!” as president, or after being the most powerful man in Congress, or years as secretary of state or director of the FBI, the tales they produce—the fantasies I was curious about Former FBI Director James Comey’s novel (Central Park West), and when I saw the blurb describing it as “…a masterful blend of legal thriller, police procedural and psychological drama,” I was REALLY intrigued because those are among my very favorite genres for escapist fiction. COMEY: Because an editor of nonfiction nudged me to, and at first, I resisted. And the farther I got from the work, easier it became to think about giving it a shot. And so I decided to try and found it addictive. And now I want this to be my job.

Desperate to stop the mobster walking free, Nora investigates the darker side of the city to find out how everything connects. The more she uncovers, the deeper the corruption runs. And Nora knows better than most that the truth is a fragile thing –especially in court. A terrific legal thriller…. Comey knows this world and brilliantly shines a light on the machinations of justice." Criminal Element I would never, as you said, run for office. It’s just not something that suits me. And I think I’ve disqualified myself from other [legal] roles, because I intentionally became a political partisan after I got fired, because I thought the existential danger to democracy was so great from Donald Trump. So I’m going to try to write novels until I’m old and foolish, and also try to be, as some of my coffee mugs already claim, the world’s greatest grandfather. Yes, I saw it so early that I resisted that sense to begin with. But something I was seeing was reminding me of scenes from my prosecutorial life. Those impressions can be misleading. But this one was dead on.

Central Park West” starts promisingly enough: The philandering former governor of New York, Tony Burke, is confronted by his estranged wife, Kyra, in their luxury apartment. At gunpoint, she forces him to write a brief suicide note, apologizing to all the people he’s hurt. Then she kills him with a syringe full of insulin. COMEY: Yeah. I mean, he'll have set it up that any result would be unjust. And so you have to just push that noise to the side and look at the kind of jurors who are on a case like that, the kind of evidence they saw and the verdict that they returned in that civil case. They didn't find him liable for the top civil allegation, which was a forcible sexual assault, a rape, and found him liable for the lesser charges. So how is that a runaway jury that can't give Donald Trump a fair trial? That's nonsense. When I aheard that former FBI director, James Comey, had written a crime novel I was intrigued. I mean, who is better placed and knowledgeable about the US legal system. I was pleasantly impressed with Central Park West, it has all the elements of a great crime/legal thriller and it all worked so well together. I am a fan and hope he will continue to write fiction. In the thrilling first crime novel from the former director of the FBI, a murder investigation reveals deadly connections between high-ranking politicians and the mafia Half-way and I am still unimpressed by the author's first fictional output. The non-stop description of everything and anything hasn't helped, other than to fluff out the story. The trial scene was an exception, as it appeared to be written with the benefit of knowledge and experience."

KELLY: James Comey. He is former director of the FBI and now crime novelist. His debut novel is "Central Park West." Jim Comey, it was a pleasure. Thank you. James Comey combines his insider knowledge of every level of the justice system with a natural storytelling voice to create a winning debut in Central Park West. More books, please." Alafair Burke I was very impressed with Mr. Comey's memoir, A Higher Loyalty. He proved himself to be a fine storyteller, with a life that had given him plenty of fodder for stories. Therefore, I find the assertion he's been making all over cable television fairly believable. In short, he was approached by an editor saying, " Give fiction a try." Name recognition and curiosity alone will sell enough books to recoup investment.

Drawing on James Comey's thirty years in federal law enforcement, Central Park West is a fast-paced thriller, bursting with tension and authenticity – perfect for fans of John Grisham. will be tried for murdering her estranged husband Antonio "Tony" Burke, the former governor of New York. Tony was a sexual predator who was rumored to do favors for 'bad people', and Nora is on CCTV entering Tony's building right before he was killed. Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House” and New York Timesbestselling author of Eighteen Acres