Matt Witten- "Killer Story"
Dear Reader-
I came to Cloak and Dagger about 20 years ago, pitching my cozy mystery series featuring Jacob Burns. Now, like Rip Van Winkle arising from a long forest nap, I’m back with a new novel! Actually two new novels, both of them thrillers: The Necklace, which was published last year, and Killer Story, which came out in January.
So you may ask, what did I do during those 20 years? Surely I wasn’t actually napping! In fact, what happened was I moved to LA and started writing for TV: Law & Order, CSI: Miami, House, Pretty Little Liars, and other shows. It was exhilarating, and I worked with a lot of great people, and paid our kids’ way through college.
But I did miss novel writing. Much as I enjoyed writing for these shows, there’s nothing like writing your own vision, what you’re most passionate about, on your own, without input from networks or studios.
So a couple years ago I hit my favorite coffee shop in Santa Monica and began writing The Necklace, about a diner store waitress who fights for justice for her murdered daughter; and Killer Story, about an idealistic journalist who launches a true-crime podcast to investigate the murder of an alt-right YouTuber she loved like a little sister, despite their political differences. (As Jerry from Cloak and Dagger says, I’ve “gone to the dark side of the mystery genre.)
Killer Story is inspired by all the men and women I know in their twenties who are fiercely dedicated to going into journalism despite the huge obstacles they face. Journalism is such a rapidly changing field, with newspapers dying, internet news sites unable to find workable economic models, and decent paying jobs increasingly hard to get. These aspiring young journalists have a sense of mission that I admire. Their passion refuses to be denied.
I hope you’ll give Killer Story and The Necklace a try, and thank you for continuing to support independent bookstores – especially independent mystery bookstores!
–Matt Witten
Matt Witten is a TV writer, novelist, playwright and screenwriter who has written for many TV shows including House, Pretty Little Liars, and Law & Order. His thriller novel “The Necklace” came out from Oceanview Publishing in 2022, and has been optioned for film by Leonardo DiCaprio; his latest thriller is “Killer Story”. Matt wrote four amateur sleuth novels that were published by Signet, including the Malice Domestic Award-winning “Breakfast at Madeline’s”, and he has been nominated for two Edgars and an Emmy.
Visit Matt’s website and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.