William J. Coughlin Books In Order

Publication Order of Charley Sloan Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

William J. Coughlin was one of the notable authors from America who used to write his books based on the legal thriller and mystery genres. He was best known for writing the Charley Sloan series of books. Along with being a popular author, Coughlin was also an administrative judge in the United States. He used to work outside of Detroit. Author Coughlin gained a major success in his writing career after he created the character of Charley Sloan. He started his writing career in the year 1968 with the release of his book titled, The Dividend Was Death. Author Coughlin was born as William Jeremiah Coughlin on February 26, 1929. As a defense attorney, he worked for a period of twenty years in Detroit. During the later stages of this field, he even became a judge. And when he decided to become a writer after retiring from his former job, his vast experience in dealing with the legal world turned out to be very useful. Author Coughlin set the plots of all his thriller books based on the background of his experience as a lawyer and a judge. Altogether, he wrote 16 books in his career, all of which were highly praised by the critics and reviewers. Author Coughlin used to reside in Gross Pointe Woods, located in Michigan. He was married and had a beautiful wife. Coughlin’s wife too is an author and a renowned book critic. For writing some of his books, author Coughlin used to make use of the pen name of Sean A. Key. A number of reviewers and critic believe that the experience that Coughlin received being a judge might have given him the inspiration to try his hand at writing thrillers based on the themes of law and courtroom. The death of author Coughlin occurred on April 15, 1992. His popular character, Charley Sloan, featured in a total of 4 novels.

Coughlin described him as a lawyer living in Michigan. Charley takes up criminal cases and likes to carry out his own investigations to get to the bottom of the truth. He is seen for the first time in the book, Shadow of a Doubt. At the beginning of the series, Charley Sloan is described as a former alcoholic and an attorney fro Detroit. Due to his drinking habits, he lost his wife, his law practice, as well as his fortune. However, he gets one last chance to correct his mistake and make a comeback in the form of his ex-lover named Robin Robin Harwell. She approaches Charley as a desperate widow and stepmother of her teenage daughter, who is charged with the brutal murder of his multimillionaire father. When Charley studies Angel Harwell’s case, he finds that it is damned by witness testimony, forensic evidences, and reports of mental problems. And the fact that she has confessed to have committed the crime makes her defense even more difficult. Charley thinks that if he believes in the innocence of Angel, as claimed by Robin Harwell, then the risk will be far more personal than he could ever imagine. Seeing this case as the last opportunity to prove his worth, Charley Sloan decides to move ahead with Angel’s defense. Being a high profile case, the media involvement is huge, which becomes a difficulty for Charley to focus on preparing the defense. Soon, the rivals begin to shadow him with the intention of destroying his leftover law career. Charley feels as if he is trapped in a deep trap of deadly love affairs, bitter secrets, terrible lies, and family ties. He uses his sharp mind and experience to emerge victorious and save young Angel from getting convicted wrongly.

The Charley Sloan series written by William J. Coughlin is comprised of a total of 4 books, which were released between the years 1991 and 2002. One of the initial books of this series is entitled ‘Death Penalty’. It was published by the St Martin publication in 2004, after being originally published in 1992. At the beginning of this book, author Coughlin has once again showed Charley Sloan as a Detroit based lawyer. Previously, he faced many downs in his life owing to heavy drinking. He failed three times in marriage and lost almost everything in life. But, he repaired everything in time and got back into the game. One of his latest clients is the infamous and twisted mercy angel known as Doctor Death. Charley learns that the patients of Doctor Death end up dying in peculiar situations strangely. And when the case comes at his desk to defend him, he thinks of it as a good opportunity of doing some good. But, the stakes seem to be very and related to life and death. As the case progresses, Charley discovers that corruption related to the case has reached up to the topmost levels. Even his own mentor, who he used to respect a lot, has fallen prey to the luring corruption. But, Charley how to play his game and control the situation. He uses his experience to tackle the difficult situation and come out victorious once again.

Another exciting book in the series was published under the title of ‘The Judgement’. This book was released in 1997. The book opens by showing that dead bodies are discovered in rural Detroit covered in snow. All the bodies appear to be neatly washed and covered with plastic. It appears that the killer has laid them out as sleeping angels in a methodical manner. What seems more shocking is that all the victims are young girls. Around 40 miles away from this place, an honest deputy police chief gets framed in corruption charges. He asks Charley Sloan to take up his case and free him from the false charges. Charley is already working on the first of the mysterious dead bodies and after getting this one, he is pulled in two different directions. Eventually, he faces the difficulty in dealing with both the cases at one time. He gets indulged in interviewing the witnesses, finding out clues, and putting together the missing links. It appears that Charley is about to learn the difference between a dangerous guilt and true innocence. The story described in this book by author Coughlin went on to be appreciated by one and all. It received huge praises from readers all over the world. Coughlin was also applauded by prominent critics of thriller novels. They particularly praised his unique style of writing and including illustrations from his real life experience. It helped the novel to become very successful and eventually motivated author Coughlin to focus on the next books in the thriller series.

One Response to “William J. Coughlin”

1. Joseph Burke: 3 years ago

   Coughlin is one of those rare authors who allows you to live a life different from your own. This is a rare gift to his readers.

   Reply