James Comey is publishing his second murder mystery novel – and insiders say the details and the timing are especially eerie this time around.
The former FBI director is slated to publish his latest fictional whodunit in May – this time about a make-believe hedge fund called Saugatuck Associates, billed as the world’s largest.
“A red canoe sits abandoned on Seymour Rock, right where the Saugatuck River hits the Long Island Sound,” reads a little-noticed teaser for the book, which hasn’t yet been circulated widely by publisher Mysterious Press. “The elegantly dressed corpse of a woman lies inside….”
The book is called “Westport,” a posh Connecticut town which, it turns out, is not only where the headquarters of the fictional Saugatuck hedge fund lies, but also that of Bridgewater Associates, the giant hedge fund founded by billionaire Ray Dalio.
And while the protagonist of Comey’s book is a woman, she previously worked as a federal prosecutor before becoming general counsel at Saugatuck – just like Comey did before he became general counsel at Bridgewater
It also turns out that the former FBI boss, loathed by Democrats who partly blame him for tipping the 2016 election to Donald Trump, was feared at Bridgewater, according to the bombshell book “The Fund” by Rob Copeland released this month.
As Dalio’s top lawyer from 2010 to 2013, pulling down $7 million a year, Comey quickly earned the nickname “The Godfather” for his willingness to find, interrogate and fire anyone who disagreed with Dalio’s management style, according to Copeland’s book.
That included a “trial” Comey once staged in an office to look into a woman who was accused of bringing bagels to the office on the wrong day.
While no murders have ever been alleged at Bridgewater, some insiders say it’s nevertheless a mystery why Comey chose to write a fictional book about a firm that mirrors Bridgewater so closely.
There are plenty of towns in Connecticut with hedge funds, and since it’s fiction he could have set it in a fictional town, one insider noted.
Some speculate that writing books that embarrass former bosses and stir up enough controversy to sell copies has become Comey’s “schtick.”
“He’s a true icon of stage and screen,” said one source, who claimed Comey still hasn’t been cured of his need for the limelight.
Comey created a media firestorm after publishing “A Higher Loyalty,” a juicy, tell-all memoir that dished on everything from Trump’s obsession with a dossier alleging he had made a “pee tape” to whether or not his hair was real.
Comey’s next book, “Central Park West,” was a novel about the prosecution of a mob boss based that appeared to be based on his experience as US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“Central Park West” didn’t catch fire the way his Trump tell-all did. But as Comey looks to make a comeback with “Westport,” some critics may even grudgingly admit the new title looks harder to resist.
“It’s your classic summertime hedge fund murder mystery beach read,” said one source, admitting he has already pre-ordered the book.