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 and became a #1 bestseller in Ireland.

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 and became her second Irish number one bestseller. 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.

Edel’s third novel In Glass Houses, was published on the 12th February 2026 and quickly became her third number 1 bestseller in Ireland. A propulsive, sophisticated thriller with a decades-long mystery at it’s heart it also examines themes of class, female autonomy and the societal pressures that force people to behave in desperate ways.

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

Praise for In Glass Houses

“With more twists and turns than a Kerry boreen, Coffey’s third novel is wonderfully propulsive, page-turning stuff”

John Walshe, The Irish Independent

“A smart, twisty thriller of power, class and lies”

Irish Country Magazine

“a propulsive plot that looks at the long-lasting damage inequalities in power and privilege can bring.. Big and even twister twists await...

Henrietta McKervey, The Irish Independent

“What a rollercoaster - twists and turns at every corner, characters you'll love to root for, a mystery you'll want to solve, all in a glossy, glamorous New York setting. Utterly sublime”

Andrea Mara, author of SOMEONE IN THE ATTIC

“A whip-sharp, tension-filled mystery brimming with twisty intrigue, that offers perfect escapism whilst keeping you guessing right to the end!”

Carmel Harrington, author of THE STOLEN CHILD

“Edel Coffey does it again as she transports this reader to the Sky Building in New York . . . This is an utterly intriguing and wildly entertaining mystery by the latest star in the firmament of Irish psych thriller writers. I loved it. Bravo!”

Liz Nugent, author of STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND

“Shattered dreams fuel this New York-set propulsive page turner, as Edel Coffey brings us the wonderful Eddie, a working class investigative journalist who risks her career to expose dark secrets in the world of the "untouchable" elite. In the towers of power, money papers the cracks until the truth surfaces in the most shockingly twistiest of twists. An utterly compelling thriller - you will not see the end coming!”

Sam Blake, author of THE KILLING SENSE

“An intelligent, elegant and beautifully written novel set in the glamorous glass box world of Manhattan's elite where you can get away with almost anything if you have enough money. A gripping, intricately layered plot that reels you in from the first page, a rich cast of complex relatable characters, and lots of compelling strands that Coffey deftly weaves together without a seam in sight. A perceptive, topical exploration of class and morality”

Michelle McDonagh, author of SOMEBODY KNOWS

“A terrific, memorable and enthralling story . . . With terrific characters and a rollicking plot, In Glass Houses is a page-turning thrill ride and a sure-fire hit”

Gill Perdue, author of THE NIGHT I KILLED HIM

“Edel Coffey at her absolute best! A compelling page turner with twists you won't see coming - and that ending!!”

Michelle Dunne, author of THE IMAGINARY FRIEND

“Totally compelling and tantalising, with a twist that will floor you. This novel makes us question, how important is the truth, and can you build a life in the foundations of a lie?”

Hannah King, author of THE BLINDSPOT

“Immersive, crackling with astute observations about society and the devastating impact of secrets. It's an engrossing and twisty plot, with brilliantly drawn characters”

Amy Jordan, author of THE DARK HOURS

“A cracking, page-turning, who-dunnit that delves into the toxic worlds of privileged élites. Set against the glitz of the Upper West Side, the reader is once again reminded that all the glistens is not gold”

Siobhan MacDonald, author of GUILTY

“I loved the New York setting, the glitz and glamour, the damaged characters and the excellent twists! In Glass Houses is an elegant and clever read”

Fiona Gartland, author of ORCHIDS AND LIES

“A peek through stylish glass walls into privileged lives. In Glass Houses is a sophisticated page-turner that exposes the rotten underbelly lurking beneath the sleek, glamorous surface. Smart and insightful, it's a must-read”

Mary Watson, author of THE CLEANER

“A story that reads at breakneck pace and brilliantly twisty . . . I hurtled towards the very delicious, twisty end like I was strapped into a speeding car”

Tanya Sweeney, author of ESTHER IS NOW FOLLOWING YOU

“Pacy and sinister with jaw-dropping twists that will keep you tearing through the pages. I really rooted for Eddie throughout, as she worked her way through a web of lies spanning decades. Nothing is quite as it seems in this fantastic novel”

Jennifer Bray, author of THE LIES BETWEEN US

“Set within glamorous New York society, in a glassy high-rise apartment building that illuminates transparency, nothing is exactly as it seems, least of all the main players. Compelling and page turning, In Glass Houses will keep you guessing to the end, with a tantalising twist you won't see coming”

Louise Phillips, author of THEY ALL LIED