After being removed from his position as FBI director by Donald Trump in 2017, James Comey became a writer and there was a huge amount of interest in his book. People hoped he would shed light on what it was like in the corridors of power during Trump’s first presidency and he delivered with a persuasive autobiography. In 2023, his writing took on a new dimension with Central Park West and the creation of fictional prosecutor Nora Carleton. Capitalising on his experience building cases and prosecuting law breakers, he continued her story with Westport and has become an author of note in the legal thriller sub-genre.
Now James Comey returns with the third Nora Carleton novel and her latest case takes us into the tricky territory of free speech in a time of growing extremism in the United States – with a podcaster using his platform to broadcast disinformation and promote discrimination. Who better to reflect on this than one of America’s best-known attorneys? We invited James Comey to join us for cross examination on the site, and this is what he said…
You told the Washington Post that you wanted thriller writing to become your job, and FDR Drive is your third novel. So how is it going in your new job?
I think it’s going okay. People seem to like the books and are buying them. I love getting lost in a story as I write it, waking up in the morning thinking about it. I suppose there’s a bit of escapism for me in that – not that there’s anything going on in America from which I would like to escape.
And what will crime fiction lovers love about FDR Drive?
I think they will find the investigation and trial quite exciting, with lots of twists and real life courtroom drama.
This is Nora Carleton’s third appearance and like you once were, she is a prosecutor in New York. Where did the idea for this character come from and how have you developed her as the series progresses?
I was inspired to create her as I tried to write my first book with the protagonist as a bit of a mini-me. At that same moment, my oldest daughter was prosecuting Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s partner in abusing girls, and it dawned on me she was doing it in the very same Manhattan courtroom in which I prosecuted major mobsters when she was a little girl. So I switched to Nora, basing her on my daughter, with pieces of my other four kids thrown in. That unlocked something for me and the writing became a joy. The mini-me was gone, happily.
Who is Samuel Buchanan and what’s his role in the story? How does his story intersect with Nora’s?
Buchanan is a prominent right-wing podcaster in Manhattan, spouting inflammatory rhetoric about race, immigration and gender, and moving his followers to violence against his targets. Nora and her colleagues begin investigating the violent attacks tied to his rhetoric and work to build a criminal case holding him responsible for the acts of listeners he has never met.
I guess one of the main challenges with a legal thriller is connecting the storytelling that happens in the courtroom and law offices with action taking place in the ‘real world’. How have you handled this dynamic in FDR Drive?
I wrote FDR Drive not knowing what America would be like in spring 2025. I actually worry it may feel too real to some readers. But it’s a gripping story that is true to life, which is my goal in writing books.
Treating certain types of speech – such as that inciting violence – as a crime gets to the heart of the US Constitution. How have you tried to explore this theme in the novel?
The line between speech and crime was a consistent feature of my government work in terrorism cases. We dealt with it in Islamist terror investigations when fatwas were connected to violence. But the loudest and most concerning voices in America today are those connected to domestic terror by individuals looking to target disfavoured groups. I thought it would make a cool story to put Nora and her team on that line between protected speech and criminal violence as they try to stop innocent people from being hurt.
What other themes of modern America have you tried to explore here and how will we see them come to life in the story?
I’ve tried to introduce readers to the challenges involved in a major feature of the American justice system – the practice of using criminals to testify against other criminals. These so-called ‘cooperating witnesses’ are essential, but pose a direct threat to the integrity of the justice system.
How much of your thrillers come from your experience as a lawyer, and how much from your experience leading the FBI?
All of my stories are drawn from both my career as a lawyer and my time at the FBI. I hope to do two things at the same time – tell a gripping story and keep it precisely true to life so readers see what it is really like inside these worlds.
What crime books and/or authors have influenced you as a writer?
I have read very few crime books in my life because it was hard to do so during my career, so I’m not sure I can say any particular author has influenced me. And now I try to limit what I read in the genre so I don’t accidentally take someone else’s ideas.
The political atmosphere is charged like never before. How have readers been responding to your books? Are they delighting some and ruffling the feathers of others?
I’m not sure. FDR Drive is the first that touches right-wing rhetoric in America. I suppose it could be that some fans of right-wing rhetoric won’t like it, but I doubt many of them are buying my books (or any books, really).
What’s next for James Comey and what’s next for Nora Carleton?
Nora and I are together again as I finish the fourth book, due out in May 2026. Nora will be confronting a very challenging Russian espionage case in Manhattan.
FDR Drive is published on 5 June. Order your copy using the buttons below.
