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Public Morals: The Devine Trilogy
It’s 1982, and everyone is trying to “Escape From New York.” Terence Devine, a charismatic Vice cop with one eye on removing his family to Florida, is caught on tape taking money from a pimp. Forced to cooperate with the district attorney's investigation into his own unit, Devine's position becomes even more precarious when he's linked to the murder of a sex worker whose customers include some of the most powerful men in the city. Despite his fevered efforts to deflect the inquiry into the woman's death, Devine receives a life sentence for killing her.
Forty years later his long-estranged daughter, Sheila, a documentary filmmaker, reaches out to him in prison. When they meet, Devine insists he's innocent. Sheila is reluctant to delve into her family's troubled history and ridicules her father's claims, although she sees the box-office potential in making a movie about him. But as she examines his case she starts to question his guilt, and the pointed questions she asks place her own life in danger.
PUBLIC MORALS is the story of people trying to right the wrongs of a world corrupted by power and greed. It is also about the elusive nature of justice and the difficulty of escaping the past, even when your life depends on doing just that.
Forty years later his long-estranged daughter, Sheila, a documentary filmmaker, reaches out to him in prison. When they meet, Devine insists he's innocent. Sheila is reluctant to delve into her family's troubled history and ridicules her father's claims, although she sees the box-office potential in making a movie about him. But as she examines his case she starts to question his guilt, and the pointed questions she asks place her own life in danger.
PUBLIC MORALS is the story of people trying to right the wrongs of a world corrupted by power and greed. It is also about the elusive nature of justice and the difficulty of escaping the past, even when your life depends on doing just that.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 21, 2023
1 person is currently reading
831 people want to read
About the author
Tom Coffey
11 books23 followersTom Coffey grew up on Staten Island, where he attended Catholic schools. His first novel, THE SERPENT CLUB, was published in 1999 by Pocket Books. His second novel, MIAMI TWILIGHT, came out two years later. In 2008 Toby Press printed BLOOD ALLEY, which also earned a starred review from PW. In 2015 the independent Oak Tree Press published BRIGHT MORNING STAR.
In early 2023, Tom signed a three-book deal with Level Best Books. PUBLIC MORALS, the first novel in The Devine Trilogy, was published later that year, followed in 2024 by its sequel, SPECIAL VICTIM. Both books have received strong reviews.
Tom graduated from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and attended film school at the University of Southern California. After a long career in journalism that included stints at The Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and New York Newsday, Tom retired in 2023 from The New York Times. He lives in Lower Manhattan with his wife and daughter.
In early 2023, Tom signed a three-book deal with Level Best Books. PUBLIC MORALS, the first novel in The Devine Trilogy, was published later that year, followed in 2024 by its sequel, SPECIAL VICTIM. Both books have received strong reviews.
Tom graduated from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and attended film school at the University of Southern California. After a long career in journalism that included stints at The Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and New York Newsday, Tom retired in 2023 from The New York Times. He lives in Lower Manhattan with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 22, 2023
Public Morals is dark and seedy story that somehow was also wholesome. It is about corruption, revenge, helplessness, opportunism, parental damage, and inherent love. I could not fathom putting this book down because I needed to see the other side of the this decades long rabbit hole. The writing was raw and primal and soiled that it made you have to look to see if you got any of it on you when you crawled out.
Sheila is such a powerful and rewarding character. You were right there in everything she was going through. Her torment, pain and fear was yours. Devine, well, he was completely someone you would loved to hate but sometimes he would make you dance a little to long on the side of love with him. I recommend this sordid, painful, redeeming novel to everyone. Must read!
Sheila is such a powerful and rewarding character. You were right there in everything she was going through. Her torment, pain and fear was yours. Devine, well, he was completely someone you would loved to hate but sometimes he would make you dance a little to long on the side of love with him. I recommend this sordid, painful, redeeming novel to everyone. Must read!
February 23, 2024
Public Morals, the Devine Trilogy, by Tom Coffey
Warning, there will be spoilers! To be specific, the book is broken up into two parts.
Public Morals begins in the year 1982 and ‘Part 1’ is a story about an undercover New York City cop named Devine who is serving in a vice division called Public Morals. The problem with this cop is that he’s dirty. Acting as a collector on the side for extra cash by shaking down the pimps, this guy plays both sides. He’s married, but certainly not faithful and he holds no honor to anyone. He gets in over his head with his dirty dealings and winds up in trouble, finding himself in need to cut a deal with the Internal Affairs Division. He's made an offer that he can’t refuse; spy on his fellow officers and blow the lid off Public Morals. During all this, he also winds up as the last person to be seen with a murdered prostitute, one that he’d shaken down just before the murder to collect money that the girl’s pimp owed him. This becomes a problem for Devine.
Between his own shakedowns, his actual job, and the cooperation investigation he realizes that there’s more corruption going on in the city than what he’d realized, and much of it higher up on the ladder than just the street detectives. In working on the IA investigation, each time that he speaks to a street worker he receives more info about the dead prostitute.
Devine hooks up with a local journalist, Quinn, whom he promises a good story in the end if they work together. Devine sets up his superiors in various uncompromising circumstances which makes for a good story for Quinn, and more evidence for Internal Affairs. Ultimately, Devine ends up testifying at the Grand Jury against many of his fellow officers and becomes the star witness during the eventual trial. Obviously, his career crumbles and he’s ostracized, but that isn’t the worst of his problems. As a bonus, he winds up being convicted of the murder of the dead prostitute and finds himself on death row. Obviously, a payback for what he’d done to his fellow officers and the department.
‘Part I’ of the book reads as if I were watching the movie, Serpico, only from the dirty cop’s point of view. It’s a gritty tale that I truly enjoyed before moving on to ‘Part 2’.
‘Part II’ jumps ahead 40 years to 2022. We find Devine’s children grown and their father still sitting in prison on death row for the murder of the prostitute. His daughter, Sheila, is now a documentary filmmaker and has become associated with an organization that works with people who have been wrongly convicted. His son, Michael, is now a prosecuting attorney. Sheila finds herself working on her father’s story and she seeks out Quinn, the journalist, who’s still alive. He puts her onto the trail of the mistress that her father had been seeing all those years ago. He also tells her what he knew of the murdered prostitute whom he’d met before she was killed.
Sheila begins to visit her father in prison regularly. She finds out that his old mistress has also been making frequent visits. Sheila convinces her brother to pull their dad’s old case file, and he does. Between the two, they put the pieces together and believe that their father was, in fact, innocent of the crime. Her next move is to interview anyone who’s still alive who knew her father and the case including former cops, prosecutors, and streetwalkers. Sheila also visits the dead hooker’s old apartment and between this visit and her contacts, she discovers key pieces of evidence from the 1982 murder. Sheila is ultimately connected to a person who may have witnessed what occurred on the night of the murder, and information that was purposely left out of the investigative reports. Ultimately, both Sheila and Michael will be stalked and threatened the closer they get to the truth about their father and the murder.
I won’t give up the ending only to say that the reader will not be disappointed. As expected, there are twists and circumstances that will satisfy and surprise. In ‘Part 2’ Sheila, and to a lesser extent her brother, wind up being the detectives, just as their father was in 1982.
Overall, Public Morals is an enjoyable, gritty detective story. The author has an eye for detail and knows how to make the reader feel as if they’re standing right beside Devine and Sheila as the story unfolds and the action take place. As a retired law enforcement officer myself, I believe that anyone who enjoys the genre of mystery and detective novels will not be disappointed with this read.
Highly recommended!
~ David Wilson, Author
Warning, there will be spoilers! To be specific, the book is broken up into two parts.
Public Morals begins in the year 1982 and ‘Part 1’ is a story about an undercover New York City cop named Devine who is serving in a vice division called Public Morals. The problem with this cop is that he’s dirty. Acting as a collector on the side for extra cash by shaking down the pimps, this guy plays both sides. He’s married, but certainly not faithful and he holds no honor to anyone. He gets in over his head with his dirty dealings and winds up in trouble, finding himself in need to cut a deal with the Internal Affairs Division. He's made an offer that he can’t refuse; spy on his fellow officers and blow the lid off Public Morals. During all this, he also winds up as the last person to be seen with a murdered prostitute, one that he’d shaken down just before the murder to collect money that the girl’s pimp owed him. This becomes a problem for Devine.
Between his own shakedowns, his actual job, and the cooperation investigation he realizes that there’s more corruption going on in the city than what he’d realized, and much of it higher up on the ladder than just the street detectives. In working on the IA investigation, each time that he speaks to a street worker he receives more info about the dead prostitute.
Devine hooks up with a local journalist, Quinn, whom he promises a good story in the end if they work together. Devine sets up his superiors in various uncompromising circumstances which makes for a good story for Quinn, and more evidence for Internal Affairs. Ultimately, Devine ends up testifying at the Grand Jury against many of his fellow officers and becomes the star witness during the eventual trial. Obviously, his career crumbles and he’s ostracized, but that isn’t the worst of his problems. As a bonus, he winds up being convicted of the murder of the dead prostitute and finds himself on death row. Obviously, a payback for what he’d done to his fellow officers and the department.
‘Part I’ of the book reads as if I were watching the movie, Serpico, only from the dirty cop’s point of view. It’s a gritty tale that I truly enjoyed before moving on to ‘Part 2’.
‘Part II’ jumps ahead 40 years to 2022. We find Devine’s children grown and their father still sitting in prison on death row for the murder of the prostitute. His daughter, Sheila, is now a documentary filmmaker and has become associated with an organization that works with people who have been wrongly convicted. His son, Michael, is now a prosecuting attorney. Sheila finds herself working on her father’s story and she seeks out Quinn, the journalist, who’s still alive. He puts her onto the trail of the mistress that her father had been seeing all those years ago. He also tells her what he knew of the murdered prostitute whom he’d met before she was killed.
Sheila begins to visit her father in prison regularly. She finds out that his old mistress has also been making frequent visits. Sheila convinces her brother to pull their dad’s old case file, and he does. Between the two, they put the pieces together and believe that their father was, in fact, innocent of the crime. Her next move is to interview anyone who’s still alive who knew her father and the case including former cops, prosecutors, and streetwalkers. Sheila also visits the dead hooker’s old apartment and between this visit and her contacts, she discovers key pieces of evidence from the 1982 murder. Sheila is ultimately connected to a person who may have witnessed what occurred on the night of the murder, and information that was purposely left out of the investigative reports. Ultimately, both Sheila and Michael will be stalked and threatened the closer they get to the truth about their father and the murder.
I won’t give up the ending only to say that the reader will not be disappointed. As expected, there are twists and circumstances that will satisfy and surprise. In ‘Part 2’ Sheila, and to a lesser extent her brother, wind up being the detectives, just as their father was in 1982.
Overall, Public Morals is an enjoyable, gritty detective story. The author has an eye for detail and knows how to make the reader feel as if they’re standing right beside Devine and Sheila as the story unfolds and the action take place. As a retired law enforcement officer myself, I believe that anyone who enjoys the genre of mystery and detective novels will not be disappointed with this read.
Highly recommended!
~ David Wilson, Author
January 25, 2024
In Tom Coffey’s “Public Morals” you plunge into the dark side of New York in 1982. The gritty backdrop of 1980’s New York is painted with grimy realism, capturing the seedy underbelly and soaring ambitions of a city on the edge. Coffey leans into the darkness, crafting a narrative that’s as raw and unfiltered as a shot of cheap whiskey.
The first half grabs you by the collar and drags you on a wild ride with Terence Devine, a Vice cop whose charm is as sharp as his morals are questionable. The investigation into his alleged corruption unfolds like a slow-burning fire, drawing you in with its twists and turns and leaving you wondering who to trust.
But hold on tight, because the second half is where “Public Morals” truly explodes. The pace ramps up like a runaway train, hurtling into a labyrinth of conspiracy, betrayal, and secrets that would make your hair stand on end. Coffey seamlessly integrates Coffey’s daughter, Sheila’s perspective, adding a new layer of intrigue and emotional depth to the story. Just when you think you have a handle on things, the rug gets ripped out from under you, leaving you gasping for air and desperate to keep turning the pages.
The twists and turns in the second half are masterful, each one landing with the force of a gut punch. You’ll find yourself scrambling to piece together the puzzle, questioning everything you thought you knew, and on the edge of your seat waiting for the next surprise to drop. Coffey keeps you guessing until the very last page, leaving you shaken and breathless but ultimately satisfied. “Public Morals” is a knockout blow of a book.
The first half grabs you by the collar and drags you on a wild ride with Terence Devine, a Vice cop whose charm is as sharp as his morals are questionable. The investigation into his alleged corruption unfolds like a slow-burning fire, drawing you in with its twists and turns and leaving you wondering who to trust.
But hold on tight, because the second half is where “Public Morals” truly explodes. The pace ramps up like a runaway train, hurtling into a labyrinth of conspiracy, betrayal, and secrets that would make your hair stand on end. Coffey seamlessly integrates Coffey’s daughter, Sheila’s perspective, adding a new layer of intrigue and emotional depth to the story. Just when you think you have a handle on things, the rug gets ripped out from under you, leaving you gasping for air and desperate to keep turning the pages.
The twists and turns in the second half are masterful, each one landing with the force of a gut punch. You’ll find yourself scrambling to piece together the puzzle, questioning everything you thought you knew, and on the edge of your seat waiting for the next surprise to drop. Coffey keeps you guessing until the very last page, leaving you shaken and breathless but ultimately satisfied. “Public Morals” is a knockout blow of a book.
December 8, 2023
What do you do when the justice system has decided that you are guilty of murder? What do you do when those putting you behind bars are the actual crooks, all busy protecting each other? Well, in the case of Terence Devine, you spend 40 years in prison trying to make the best of the situation.
Thought provoking story of people trying to show that power, greed and personal gain make the justice system a very biased system where not all are treated equal.
Thought provoking story of people trying to show that power, greed and personal gain make the justice system a very biased system where not all are treated equal.
January 17, 2024
I fear there is a lot of truth in this often dark and nihilistic book, which I hesitate to classify as a thriller as it really cuts across genres. It is a study of “the system” as well as an exploration of relationships. As a child of the 80s, I loved how this book took me back to that time and then placed me in the modern era. It was cleverly and seamlessly done and made for a very evocative reading experience.
January 13, 2024
This book had me hooked instantly and didn't let up!!! It was interesting and easy to follow, while somewhat expected at parts. Downside - I had about a hundred questions at the end of book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews