This was topical and thought provoking. Many aspects hit a little too close to home, especially with the horrors/reality of Trump’s 2nd presidency. I really enjoyed reading it and didn’t want to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I recently read FDR Drive by James Comey. This is a complicated story involving terrorism in New York. Told as a legal thriller, it is a slow burn. There are plenty of characters to meet and legal terms to learn, with revelations along the way. Taking much from recent past and current politics, shades of Comey's real-life shine through. A bit slower in the beginning as the reader learns the situation and those effected but the pacing increasing as the bulk of the story starts to unfold. If you like the legal world and thrillers, as I do, this is for you. An interesting read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Mysterious Press for an advanced copy.

As a fan of the previous books in this series, I was happy to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. Reading this book just after Trump's 2nd inauguration was scary for me. Many of the "villains" in this book seemed very much like Trump and his media cronies, and it made the fictitious events in the book look like they could become reality. There are a lot of ethical issues that arose in the book that made it quite thought-provoking. I think it could be an interesting choice for book discussions groups. I enjoyed reading more about the continuing characters, although this book focused less than the others on their personal lives. There were a lot of new characters to keep track of, and there were too many acronyms for the average layman. Nevertheless, I appreciated Comey's insight and knowledge. I think this is must-read! I continue to be impressed with Comey's skills as an author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the advanced reader copy.

3.5 stars

No matter what I may think of James Comey, from his federal law enforcement days, he can write a solid political thriller. Nora Carleton is a fun character to follow and in this latest iteration she's back in NYC, with her mother and daughter, trying to stop a domestic terror attack. Comey does a nice job of letting the reader peek behind the Quantico curtain and in making very complex happenings feel sufficiently simplified. My two pecadillos with FDR DRIVE are that we see one glimpse of Demi, Nora's police chief girlfriend, in a scene that likely could've been cut for the little that it brings to the overall story or even character development. The second is the awkwardness of the dialogue, which often comes across as wooden and definitely pulled me out of the flow of the story a lot. But those are small quibbles; I'll certainly pick up the next Nora Carleton story from Comey.

FDR Drive comes out May 20, 2025

Thanks NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I wanted to love this book. I really enjoyed the other ones in the series, and I was excited to see the same characters again. It started off strong in the first chapter, but then seemed really slow moving with the introduction of lots of smaller characters. It also seemed quite repetitive. I found myself less invested in the book and skimming until the very end. This book was not for me, but there are some great reviews, and it’s definitely worth checking out to see if it's for you. Released in May 2025.

Another topical and riveting suspense thriller filled with background
and Intel that only a former FBI director could authentically include.
And Coney does it so well.
Nora Carleton, a NYC based federal prosecutor, along with her investigator Benny, is attempting
to unravel and prevent a terrorist attack in NYC. Acting on drawn from a right wing conspiracy theory promoter national podcaster with millions of followers, she and Benny, along with FBI partners, are
on a race against the clock.
Only what clock and what target are the mystery. questions they are searching frantically to bundle the answers yo.
Great suspense and so full of in depth descriptions of both job and position info that it is easy to
place yourself right into the midst of the plot and story telling.
Coney may have left the FBI but it definitely has not left him.
Another great read.

Was so excited to receive this ARC since I absolutely loved James Comey’s previous books. This one was very different to me even though it is part of his ongoing series. Loads of acronyms, stilted vocabulary, and pedantic legal references diluted this book. Too much of the story was political / social commentary and too little of the story focused on the wonderful characters developed in the prior novels. The ending of the book made me remember what I loved about the previous ones but was too little too late. Thankfully the door is open for this fabulous series to continue. More of the first two, please! Perhaps would be loved by trained lawyers and law enforcement personnel but wasn’t entertaining to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I enjoyed Comey’s first 2 books in this series of novels, featuring Nora Carleton. I can only say how disappointed I am in this following-up, far too technical and far too many names and acronyms for a layperson to plod through. I found it not to be a legal thriller, but a legal BORE-er. This was a drag, with too little that was a novel and too much that was about Comey’s feelings about the ultra right wing, financed by the wealthy, that creates a danger to America.

Nora and Benny, and their many, many law enforcement minions try to prosecute a radio personality Buchanan, whose spewed words of hatred lead his followers to maim and murder those he mentions. I saw him as a Steve Bannon surrogate, funded by the radical right.

There are a few pages about Nora, her daughter Sophie and her mother with Benny. I’m not sure why the human element that made his earlier novels were sorely missing here. So much time was devoted to the excruciating details of the Buchanan trial, with the little cast of stereotypes surrounding it, that instead of enjoying another engrossing novel, I was ready to close the book

So, thank you Netgalley for this ARC which didn’t live up to my expectations.

This is the third installment in James Comey’s superb Nora Carleton series after “Central Park West” and “Westport.” Nora has ended her more lucrative private hedge fund career that was riddled with corrupt characters in Connecticut (at least retaining a northern love interest), and returned to the Southern District of New York/SDNY as a Deputy US Attorney/DUSA (Comey’s generous usage of government acronyms is back, too). This book can be read as a standalone and the recurring characters are re-introduced without nagging questions about their pasts.

This courtroom thriller begins with a bombing at the UN plaza that has injured Nora’s right hand man, Benny, but then immediately goes back a year in time to a trial indicting a radical internet personality for stochastic terrorism — inciting his rabid followers to go after people he’s doxxed. There are 6 victims, 3 murdered, 5 covered by the Hate Crimes Act (the white professor doesn’t “count” even though he’s as dead as the others). The perpetrators who were caught, all considered “White Identity Extremists,” were addicts of Sam Buchanan’s rantings and felt he was instructing them to rid the world of his perceived enemies. Nora and company want to stop Buchanan by charging him similarly as the Blind Sheikh case was handled.

Until we return to the fiery scene on FDR Drive at the UN, this is the kind of legal thriller that will be stuffy for some with all its proper processes and legalese, but it’s probably catnip for armchair lawyers and CourtTV/C-SPAN addicts. There’s a sketchy jailhouse informant to deal with; jurisdiction disputes are common. Comey shows immense respect for all sides in the courtroom — the defense counsel would love to retire with his reputation intact, but instead he is saddled with a co-counsel worthy of the rumors that surrounded less than stellar made-for-TV attorney Alina Habab. Nora and the judge are fair. Comey is very aware that everyone is walking a thin political line (including this novel), including differing views of J6 defendants (like dissensions whether police attackers deserve imprisonment and condemnation as if they were terrorists, but stupid crowd members/sheeplike wanderers into the Capitol don’t deserve the same judicial treatment).

I think Comey is living vicariously through DUSA Carleton - she’s very tall for a woman (“five-twelve”) and he’s known for his 6’7” stature. My biggest surprise while reading the first Nora Carleton thriller, “Central Park West,” was how well written the female characters all were — intelligent, balanced, clever, brilliant, complicated, not petty or overly emotional, and engaging. It’s a talent that James Comey has continued through his series.

Plus, we get treated to FBI trivia again: “special” (as in Special Agent) actually just means armed instead of a promotion from plain Agent; the site of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force team in New York is in the former bakery building where the Oreo was born; Hogan’s Alley in the FBI training site in Quantico has an operating Subway sandwich shop; and the FBI shops for hams at Costco.

Comey is an author whose past life definitely helps him develop realistic plot lines with satisfying conclusions. The story is action-packed and the character team deserves another future thriller! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Sean has hooded green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But how nice to have a wedding at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Thank you to Mysterious Press/Penzler Publishers/Scarlet and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!