Cole Steele

Cole Steele is an American author of crime fiction, mysteries, suspense, and high-concept thrillers.

Writing under the pen name Cole Steele, he creates stories that range from murder investigations and courtroom battles to archaeological mysteries, scientific breakthroughs, emerging technology, and discoveries capable of changing our understanding of the world.

Steele's desire to become a storyteller was inspired in large part by authors Michael Crichton and Robin Cook. Their ability to take fascinating ideas, ground them in believable worlds, and build stories that became increasingly difficult to put down left a lasting impression on him. There was something special about starting one of their novels, becoming completely absorbed in the story, and reaching the final page already wanting to find the next book.

That is the experience Steele strives to give his own readers.

He approaches writing with the same enthusiasm he once brought to discovering a new favorite novel: enjoying the process of creating characters, mysteries, conflicts, and worlds while always remembering the person on the other side of the page. His goal is simple—to write stories that pull readers in quickly, keep them wondering what happens next, and make putting the book down increasingly difficult.

His crime fiction includes the Roman Lee Series, featuring a former professional football player turned detective, and the Willow Darby Series, centered on a single-mother detective whose investigations unfold against the sometimes complicated and often entertaining relationships between three generations of Darby women.

The Nashville Justice Series follows attorney Lori Tolliver and her brother Sean, an ex-convict who becomes her investigator, while the Knoxville Justice Series ventures into a world where murder, medicine, law enforcement, and the justice system collide.

Steele also takes readers beyond traditional crime fiction. His thrillers explore ancient mysteries, dangerous expeditions, science, technology, human ambition, and the consequences of discoveries we may not be prepared to make. Element begins with an extraordinary discovery beneath a South Dakota family farm. Helix journeys into the remote Alaskan wilderness, where an impossible scientific experiment has remained hidden from the world.

Although his stories may travel from American towns and courtrooms to remote wilderness and distant corners of the world, Cole Steele lives in the United States, where he continues doing what those authors who inspired him once did for him—creating an escape through story.

Because the greatest compliment a storyteller can receive may be one of the simplest:

“I couldn't put it down.”

And when a reader finishes one Cole Steele story, he hopes they'll immediately go looking for the next.