About

Jeffrey James Higgins is a retired supervisory special agent who writes suspense and thriller novels, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays. He has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents.

Jeffrey received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. CNN, Fox News, and The New York Times have interviewed him, and he’s appeared on CNN Declassified, National Geographic’s Narco Wars, ABC News, and Discovery ID. He has a BS in Journalism and an MS in Criminal Justice.

He’s a #1 Amazon bestselling author who’s won the Claymore Award, PenCraft’s Best Fiction Book of the Year, and a Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal. His debut novel, Furious, is one of Black Rose Writing’s bestselling thrillers, and The Forever Game was selected as one of the Best Medical Thrillers of the 21st century. Severn River Publishing launched four books in the Nathan Burke international thriller series, and Library Journal selected The Havana Syndrome as one of the best books of 2025.

Jeffrey owns Elaine’s Literary Salon in Alexandria, VA, where he counsels writers, interviews authors. He hosts Elaine’s Literary Salon podcast, which reaches 1.5 million people per month and is #1 on both Apple and Spotify for literary salons. Jeffrey is an Authors Guild ambassador for the DC area and a frequent panelist at conferences and book festivals. Jeffrey’s an active member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, The Northern Virginia Writers Club, and the Royal Writers Secret Society.