Where to Start with Bill Loehfelm’s Novels
If you want to experience Bill Loehfelm at his best, the recommended starting point is The Devil She Knows, the first book in the Maureen Coughlin series. This novel serves as the perfect introduction to Loehfelm's signature writing style: raw, atmospheric, and deeply grounded in character. While Loehfelm has written standalone novels, it is the Maureen Coughlin series that showcases his talent for building long-term character arcs and capturing the soul of the cities his characters inhabit.
For readers who prefer self-contained narratives before committing to a series, his award-winning debut standalone, Fresh Kills, is a fantastic alternative. It offers the same urban grit and psychological tension but wraps up its story in a single volume.
The Maureen Coughlin Series in Order
The Maureen Coughlin series is a chronological journey that tracks the main character’s growth, starting with her life as a cocktail waitress on Staten Island and following her relocation to New Orleans, where she joins the police department. Reading these books in order is highly recommended, as Maureen's personal and professional evolution is the driving force of the series.
- The Devil She Knows (2011): The series opener introduces us to twenty-nine-year-old Maureen Coughlin, who is working a dead-end job as a cocktail waitress at a Staten Island dive bar. When she accidentally witnesses a late-night encounter involving a powerful local politician, her coworker ends up dead, and she is forced into a fight for survival. This book sets the gritty, noir-tinged tone of the series and establishes Maureen as a resilient but deeply flawed protagonist.
- The Devil in Her Way (2013): Seeking a fresh start after the traumatic events on Staten Island, Maureen moves to New Orleans. She decides to rebuild her life from the ground up by entering the police academy. This volume follows her grueling training and her transition into the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) as a recruit.
- Doing the Devil's Work (2015): Now a rookie patrol officer, Maureen is out on the streets of New Orleans. She faces the harsh realities of police work, from standard neighborhood disputes to institutional corruption. Loehfelm captures the muggy, high-tension atmosphere of the city as Maureen struggles to maintain her integrity in a system stacked against her.
- Let the Devil Out (2016): In the fourth installment, Maureen is called to a double homicide in a neighborhood already boiling with racial and social tension. As she investigates, she is caught between community hostility and department politics, testing her street smarts and moral compass to their absolute limits.
- The Devil's Muse (2017): Also published under the title Can the Devil Catch Fire?, this novel takes place over the course of a single, chaotic Mardi Gras night. Maureen is assigned to patrol the French Quarter during the city's wildest celebration. When a shooting occurs, she is thrust into a fast-paced hunt through the crowded, neon-lit streets. The setting of New Orleans is practically a main character in this high-octane installment.
Standalone Novels
Before launching his signature series, Bill Loehfelm established himself with two gritty standalone crime thrillers set in the northeastern United States:
- Fresh Kills (2008): Loehfelm’s debut novel won the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Set in Staten Island, it is a dark, psychological family drama exploring the aftermath of a murder and how crime ripples through a working-class neighborhood. It is praised for its authentic portrayal of Staten Island’s unique atmosphere.
- Bloodroot (2009): A fast-paced crime thriller set in New York and New Jersey. It focuses on the tense relationship between two brothers who find themselves ensnared in a dangerous criminal underworld. It is a story of loyalty, bad decisions, and survival.
Other Works and Anthologies
In addition to his novels, Loehfelm has contributed to several collections and published early non-fiction work:
- Heroes & Villains - Osama bin Laden (2003): An early, juvenile non-fiction biographical work written by Loehfelm for Lucent Books, detailing the life, radicalization, and rise of bin Laden.
- Staten Island Noir (2012): A crime anthology edited by Patricia Smith. Loehfelm, drawing on his Staten Island roots, contributed a short story that showcases his talent for short-form noir.
- Year Zero (2007) & Life in the Wake (2007): Early collaborative and anthology projects capturing voices from post-Katrina New Orleans and contemporary struggles.
What to Know Before You Start
Bill Loehfelm's transition from Staten Island to New Orleans mirrors his own life experiences; he grew up in Staten Island and relocated to New Orleans in 1997, where he worked as a bartender. This real-life background heavily influences the setting, dialogue, and working-class realism of his novels. Maureen Coughlin’s transformation from a waitress to a cop feels authentic precisely because Loehfelm understands the service industry and the urban landscapes he writes about.
While the first book is a classic northeastern noir thriller, the subsequent books pivot to the sweaty, vibrant, and complex landscape of New Orleans. If you enjoy atmospheric, character-driven crime fiction where the city itself plays a massive role in the narrative, Loehfelm's books are a must-read.