The dismissal, the memo, and Comey's subsequent Congressional testimony were interpreted by some commentators as evidence of obstruction of justice and became part of a widening investigation by Robert Mueller, the Special Counsel appointed to probe Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

And as Comey demonstrates in the book, the process of collecting and analyzing this sort of digital detritus is in fact central to federal criminal investigations of pretty much all types today.This is the problem with celebrity authors - and Comey just about falls into that - in that they take short cuts to the top. On top of this, I was fascinated by Comey, firstly as someone involved in a lot of Mob prosecutions (The Irishman is an aficionado of Mob history and, as a result, I’ve learnt more about it than would have been my inclination otherwise) and later as Director of the FBI and the controversy surrounding the ending of his tenure under President Donald Trump. 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. There are various plots twists that build and keep the reader wanting to learn just a little more as they make their way through the story. He has clearly consumed a great deal of Alphabetti spaghetti with the amount of acronym after acronym which is laboriously explained so I glaze over.

Elsewhere in the book, a lawyer appears to outmaneuver his opponent in court and his internal monologue is actually presented to the reader as “How you like them apples? When I opened this book on my Kindle, my first thought was this: Please, Lord, let this be good; I really, really don't want to be the one to tell the former director of the FBI - especially one who's at least a foot and a half taller than I am - that his first-ever fiction book stinks.In the Mafia trial, when it appears that Frenchie's evidence will convict D'Amico, the mobster secretly passes a note to the prosecution team, in an effort to make a deal. Central Park West is a truly outstanding debut novel, a sophisticated and engaging legal thriller that grabs the reader from the opening scene and doesn’t let go until the surprising ending. It also, it seems to me, makes great starting fodder for a next book - to which I'm definitely looking forward. Intriguing criminal procedural mystery where the Governor of New York, Tony Burke, is found dead in his apartment supposedly killed by his wife.

Carleton’s supervisor, for instance, is a Puerto Rican lesbian who is described as a “ball of energy and humor. Maybe, just maybe, his permanent silence was a mob hit; but that's only conjecture, since his ex-wife Kyra has been charged with, and is on trial for, the killing.

Of course, I can't reveal any details without spoiling the whole thing for other readers, but I sure do recommend it to those who enjoy stories about crimes and courtrooms. Nora also has a 5-year-old daughter named Sophie, and amicably shares custody with Sophie's dad Nick. I also liked that he used female main characters and while they were pretty badass, it also didn't feel too forced. 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.

It’s undeniable that [Comey’s] experience brings a plethora of realism to his first attempt at writing fiction. The plot: Kyra Burke, the wife of Tony Burke, the disgraced former governor of NY, is accused of murdering him in their penthouse suite. But, by the time I got to the last third of the book, I really didn't care too much about how it was going to turn out.I think the author has a little way to go before he masters the art of subtlety in leaving clues as to who the bad guys might actually be, as I had guessed what was going on quite a long way before the end but this is a strong debut. I liked Central Park West, but he's got a long way to go before he's Grisham or Connolly or Lehane, and I doubt he's committed enough to it to get there. While working a case against a long time mob boss, the defendant passes along a information on a local case. The governor has something in common with Andrew Cuomo, since they both had to leave office due to sexual harassment charges.