Edel is an Irish journalist and broadcaster. She lives in Galway with her husband and children.

Edel began work as an arts journalist and editor with the Sunday Tribune. She has since worked as a presenter and reporter with RTE Radio, editor of the Irish Independent Weekend magazine and as Books Editor of the Irish Independent.

Edel’s debut novel Breaking Point was acquired by Darcy Nicholson, Editorial Director at Sphere in September 2020 after a multi-publisher auction and was published in January 2022

Breaking Point tells the story of Susannah, a frighteningly successful doctor with a husband and two young children. One morning, she leaves her youngest in the car, only realising when it is too late. From this harrowing beginning, unfolds a gruelling court case where Susannah is tried for negligence in the court room and for daring to try to have it all in the media – it is a modern witch hunt. Edel’s debut is at once a thrilling suspense novel with the requisite twists and turns and a rumination on what it means to be a successful woman with children in the world today.

Her second novel In Her Place was published by Sphere on 21st March 2024. After devoting years to her mother's care and in a bid to escape grief and the emptiness of her old flat Ann finds happiness in a chance meeting. Justin is also grieving, but his wife is very much still alive. So just who is the other woman? That's for you to decide…Edel Coffey has written a sharply contemporary moral dilemma, that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Praise for Breaking Point

“Breaking Point is raw, compelling, and ground-breaking; Coffey puts the life of working mothers under a microscope. To say I loved it is an understatement, I expect it will be a huge success”

Liz Nugent

“A gripping, compulsive page turner about what we expect from women, especially mothers. It’s going to be a massive hit”

Marian Keyes

“This very human story examines the heavy burden on working mothers, spinning the innumerable plates of parenting and career. Are working women set up to lose, to fail their children, and to fail themselves? Shocking, thought-provoking, and necessary, Breaking Point will change hearts and minds”

Frances Macken, author of You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here

“It's a knockout, you're going to love it”

Ryan Tubridy ― RTE

“This novel about modern motherhood stretched beyond capacity merits bestseller status. And a movie too”

Sunday Independent

“Breaking Point has all the hallmarks of a future bestseller. Written in an economical, stripped-back style, it has the pace, setting and glamour of a Hollywood thriller… Coffey gives us an outstandingly good portrait of a woman on trial who discovers too late she is entirely the wrong person to win sympathy from others”

Jane Casey, The Irish Times

“Hugely compelling - I devoured it in a day . . . a compulsive debut that keeps you turning its pages”

Sunday Business Post

“Gripping, unswerving, heart-breaking, you'll read this book through parted fingers - and learn a crucial lesson as you go.”

Celia Walden, author of Payday

“Really enjoyed this terrifyingly plausible debut, with much to say about parental guilt and how society treats working motherhood.”

Katherine Faulkner, author of Greenwich Park

“An incredibly powerful thriller with real emotional depth - and a chillingly relatable storyline.”

TM Logan, author of The Holiday

“A rare treat, an emotional thriller steeped in humanity. I read it in a single sitting!”

John Boyne

“Skilfully explores what it means to be a woman trying to juggle it all - and the consequences when tragedy strikes. You won't be able to put this down”

Image Magazine

“It grips from get go”

The Gloss

“Expect this book to be a mainstay of bookclubs in 2022”

The Irish Sunday Business Post

“You won't be able to put this one down”

Stellar Magazine

“This is not only a gripping page-turner and gripping courtroom drama, it also has a lot to say about the expectations and judgement put on women when they become mothers. Prepare to feel devastated and enraged all at once”

Crime Monthly

“A heart-in-mouth type of novel that will have you wonder how you'd react if in similar circumstances”

Belfast Telegraph

“The book promises to be one of the most talked-about of the year”

New European, Faces to Watch for 2022

“This debut novel from Edel Coffey craftily spins out that nightmare scenario of a clock you can't turn back, a situation you can't fix and how quickly envy turns to universal hate”

Sunday Life Magazine

Edel Coffey on The Ryan Tubridy Show

https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/highlights/1275797-edel-coffey-on-the-ryan-tubridy-show/

Edel Interview; The Irish Independent

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/edel-coffey-working-parents-are-so-stressed-and-distracted-were-at-the-limit-41259987.html

Feature and Extract: The Irish Examiner

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40789329.html

Praise for In Her Place

“Edel Coffey is like an Irish Jodi Picoult! In Her Place examines "the other woman" conundrum from two different perspectives. It's propulsive, thought-provoking and unputdownable”
Marian Keyes

In Her Place has so many twists and turns, I genuinely didn’t know what was going to happen next. It’s a thought-provoking thriller with a brilliant premise – this one is going to be a Book Club favourite in 2024!”

Louise O' Neill

“An incredible read of despair, love, hope and betrayal. I thoroughly enjoyed it”
Liz Nugent

“Page-turning, twisty, captivating”
Sinead Moriarty

“Non-stop pace, a stellar example of dilemma-noir. Clever, fresh, dark and thought-provoking”
Andrea Mara

“Goes right to the heart of human relationships. Emotionally complex, compelling and thought-provoking”
Jane Casey

“Gripping”
Elaine Feeney