ABOUT TOM COFFEY

Tom Coffey, Author

Tom Coffey was born and raised on Staten Island, where he attended Catholic schools. His lifelong interest in writing and journalism led him to attend the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where he was also the editor in chief of The Daily Orange, the student newspaper.

Tom began his professional career at The Evening Press in Binghamton, N.Y., before working as an editor and reporter for The Miami Herald. After two years in Florida, he moved across the country to attend film school at the University of Southern California. While living on the West Coast, Tom ended up as the editor of the Weekend Magazine at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

Tom moved back East to join the staff of New York Newsday, where he was an editor on the local news desk. After that paper folded, he became the managing editor of a startup called The American before being hired by The New York Times, where he worked for 26 years as an editor, mostly in the Sports Department. After a decades-long career in journalism, Tom retired from the field in 2023. He now writes novels full time.

In 1999 Pocket Books published Tom’s first novel, THE SERPENT CLUB, to wide acclaim. Set in Southern California, the book was inspired by Tom’s experiences while he lived there. THE SERPENT CLUB received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which said that “Coffey covers a lot of legal and moral ground in this fast-paced, shocking and hypnotic debut thriller.” 

Tom joined Mystery Writers of America that year, and in 2001 Pocket Books published his second novel, MIAMI TWILIGHT, which drew on his experiences from his time in Florida. Kirkus Reviews hailed the book as a “fast-moving, solidly handled story.”

In 2008 Toby Press printed BLOOD ALLEY, which was set in Manhattan shortly after World War II. Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review and said, “Sterling prose and a pulse-pounding plot combined with an authentic picture of mob-ruled New York City make this a compelling read.” The best-selling author Michael Connelly called BLOOD ALLEY “a completely absorbing and enthralling tale,” adding that, “Coffey uses the details to create a convincing mosaic of a dark world where anything can happen.”

The independent Oak Tree Press published BRIGHT MORNING STAR, a historical mystery, in 2015. In 2023 Tom signed a three-book deal with Level Best Books. PUBLIC MORALS, which has gained four- and five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, came out that year. It was the first novel in The Devine Trilogy, which is named after the family at its center. With an eye on the fall and rise of New York City’s fortunes during his lifetime, Tom is using the series to examine the highs and lows of law enforcement in New York from the 1980s to the present.

The Devine Trilogy focuses on a family whose patriarch was a corrupt cop who believed he was always the smartest guy in the room. He ended up being destroyed by scandal. His daughter, Sheila, becomes a documentary filmmaker who has a talent for true-crime stories. His son, Michael, is a hard-charging prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney. Together and separately, Sheila and Michael navigate a world that is ethically murky and more than occasionally dangerous.

In the second book in the series, SPECIAL VICTIM, Sheila is drawn into re-examining a horrific case that turbocharged her brother’s career. Level Best Books will publish the novel later this year. Tom, who lives in Lower Manhattan with his wife and daughter, is writing the final book in the series, which is titled STOP AND FRISK.

Author Tom Coffey Holding His Book, Public Morals on Pier Next to Hudson River