Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

by Michael Ledwidge

In the full-throttle, noir-soaked tradition of Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly, the acclaimed young author of Bad Connection unleashes an ambitious and edgy new thriller pulsating with raw, urban energy. Decorated NYPD Officer John Coglin always thought his picture on the front page of the newspaper would be one for the scrapbook. That was before he had the bad luck to be forced into a witness-free, kill-or-be-killed confrontation with a drug-dealing thug. It's of no help to him that the incident took place during the run-up to a bitter mayoral election campaign, and that his adversary was sixteen years old and black. Now, instead of another commendation, Coglin is staring down the barrel of a media- and politics-stoked murder rap. But on the eve of his sure conviction arrives a fateful telephone call. It's not the governor, but his long-lost uncle, Aidan O'Connell. A veteran of the IRA and a recently released guest of San Quentin Penitentiary for armed-to-the-teeth robbery, Aidan offers his nephew a pardon that has nothing to do with lawyers. Coglin is about to find out that the type of amnesty Uncle Aidan is proposing is the kind that involves a beautiful but dangerous Mafia widow, a car trunk full of M-16s, and thirty million dollars in jewels smack dab in the middle of Rockefeller Center. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a highly entertaining, deliciously gritty, super-fast thriller that takes us on a cutthroat ride into an urban realm where criminal intent collides head-on with the vagaries of fate and the inscrutabilities of the human heart.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Crime

320 pages, Hardcover

First published December 24, 2002

About the author

Michael Ledwidge is the son of Irish parents and was born and raised in the Bronx. A graduate of Manhattan College, he is married and has two children.

As the co-author of a series of some of James Patterson’s most profitable books to date, Ledwidge has risen from an admired but, it’s fair to say, mostly unread author, to co-writing some of the most widely read books in the world. He’s made real money doing it, too, enough to change his life completely.

Reviews

[Marlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read - got this as he has written with Patterson. Just had to remember that it was almost 20 years ago.

[Poetforlost · Rating 1 out of 5]

The concept was grand, the execution poor af. Waste of two days, but time would've passed anyways.

[Carl Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

complicated plot, great action & characters

Our main character John has nothing but bad luck it seems. He’s a good cop, but basically everything he touches turns to crap. He’s got a shady uncle that gives he even more grief. It’s a story of grief, back stabbing from perceived friends, and dirty politics at its worst.

[John Calia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Devil Knows Before You’re Dead is a razor-sharp, high-octane thriller that delivers nonstop action and tension from start to finish. Michael Ledwidge masterfully balances suspense, smart pacing, and vivid settings, keeping the reader fully engaged without ever feeling lost. The characters are sharp and believable, and the plot twists come just when you think you’ve figured things out. A fast, satisfying read for fans of tightly written thrillers—Ledwidge knows how to keep you turning the pages.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having really enjoyed the Michael Ledwidge/James Patterson collaboration on the Michael Bennett series and others, I was interested in reading Ledwidge's solo efforts, and this one certainly didn't disappoint. While unrealistic (a cop-turned-perp and his former IRA uncle successfully escape from half the NYPD, the FBI, the CIA, and Special Ops who are all hunting them), it was chock full of suspense.

John Coglin is a NYPD cop based in the Bronx and days away from a promotion to detective when one night while off duty on his way home, he spots a bunch of gang-bangers beating up an old man on the stars of the elevated subway. What ensues is the death of the head of this gang, and the subsequent use of Coglin as the mayor's scapegoat to ensure the black vote in his next election. When Coglin realizes that he is a day away from a certain guilty verdict and 20 to life in prison, he accepts an invitation from his errant uncle to get together for drinks. An offer follows to participate in a robbery and get a cut of the proceeds, and to subsequently join his uncle in fleeing the country. Everything goes according to plan until something totally unanticipated occurs, after which Coglin finds himself to be a murder suspect once again, although he has never fired his gun. This time, though, the stakes are much higher - Coglin's very life is at risk.

Great book - and I'm looking forward to reading his others!

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed book. New York City cop shoots a mugger while off duty. The DA presses charges and the word filters down that the jury is going to convict. The night before sentencing, our cop gets a call from a cousin with a shady pass. The cousin is planning one big caper before he leaves town. When the robery goes bad, not only are the local cops on his tail, but so are the FBI, Secret Service and NSA. A fast paced, edge of your seat read.

[Tom Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

...features an intense and fast-paced story that would be perfect for a cinematic adaptation. The novel hinges on a number of clichés prominent in crime-thillers but features a number of jarring twists to keep you hooked and ploughing through.

[Connie C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not good

I got through 55% and couldn’t even fathom finishing it. So I went to the last few pages and REALLY didn’t like the ending.
However, I had just read two of his newest books and LOVED THEM. So, Michael Ledwidge is a great writer, I just didn’t like this one!

[Aayah Papaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely kept me hooked. It’s kind of depressing just how unlucky the main character is, and how that rubs off on the people around him. Almost everything that could go wrong went wrong, and he ended up going down the deep end after being set up. It makes him hard to be labeled as either good or bad because of it.

I will admit, though, unlike most of the books I read, I didn’t feel any sort of connection with the characters. Maybe because the book was quite short, but still. Maybe I felt something for Coglin, but the rest, not really

[Cindy Su · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

I liked the characters. It was a good story, with action, chases, gunfights. And dirty cops and politicians who want to get re-elected. I was kind of disappointed that we didn't hear about Coglin's mother in the end. I'm sure she would have wanted to hear from him.

Some of the text kind of dragged, and I skimmed over paragraphs in a few sections.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrible Language

I always loved the books with James Patterson, but he must have been the influencer against the language. Not sure whether to try another book again. At least not one I have to pay for in advance.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atypical

Over long stretches of the story I did not know whether i liked it, but the book always drew me in, not knowing how things would turn out.

Now that I’m done …. I like it!

I’ll read more of the author‘s books.

[Kyle Haack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read with a noir twist on who is good and who is bad.

[Linda LaDuke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast Read

Interesting plot and characters. Totally a big fairy tale but enjoyable as hell to read.It's always fun when the good guys are the bad guys and the bad geare good!!

[Susan Kuhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before the Devil you know

This is definitely a nail bitter. It keeps you at the edge of your seat till the last page. Absolutely 5 stars.

[Sharon Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

Fast moving good read. Great characters. Language no sex. Well written. Lots of action. Some surprises I didn't see coming

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

John Coglin, a 5 year veteran of the NYPD, sees a gang of teens beating a man and although he is off-duty he gives chase through an empty elevated train station. Torrential rain has caused dangerous footing and John falls from the station roof onto the concrete below landing on his gun. The young thug begins to drag John towards the tracks as they both hear a train nearing the station but John is able to free his gun and fire a shot into the gangster's leg; unfortunately this causes the thug to fall into the oncoming train, killing him instantly. John knows he is not at fault but he suddenly finds himself indicted for murder when a supposed eyewitness states that John taunted the helpless young man before shooting him and throwing him from the station platform.

Had this been the main focus of the book I might have enjoyed it much more but the author took the story in a completely different direction. Fearing that he will be convicted John hooks up with his Irish ex-IRA militant uncle and his gang of hoodlums who are planning to stage a jewelry heist at Rockefeller Center. The robbery goes horribly wrong and John is now being chased by his former police cronies. Even this is fairly exciting, although it seemed extremely out of character, but the author's constant use of the "F" word, and I do not exaggerate 'constant', made the whole thing a big mess in my eyes. A blurb on the book's jacket compares Ledwidge to Connelly and Lehane and that is the biggest insult that could be levied at two accomplished authors.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

completely implausible but tremendously entertaining!
Good cop is about to go down BIG TIME for a crime he didn't commit and he turns to the dark side and becomes a bank robber!! Things go really wrong from there and it becomes like the shoot-out scene out of HEAT

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure about my rating on this one if i could have rated it about 3.75 i would have.

[Elizabeth Moore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a read to read, so sad when this happens.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the last 100 pages to be redeeming for this story. Very likable protagonist but the beginning premise not my cup of tea. Got to love Aidan. The ending was surprising.