Things are not right in Brunswick. Chabal is wracked by the nightmare that was the Wendigo. Langdon is hired to investigate the questionable moral integrity of one of Brunswick's favorite sons and gets thunked in the head and left to die on a boat mooring in the Atlantic Ocean. And that is just the beginning of the bad.
Judge Cornelius Remington is being fast-tracked to be a Supreme Court Justice-why? After only a five-day investigation of Remington, Langdon is pulled from the case, suggesting that the judge had already been rubberstamped and that the White House staff and FBI were just going through the motions. But there are questions about the man's past that Langdon can't shake, a past that might still live in the present.
"Welcome to Maine: The Way Life Should Be." Or so the billboard reads upon entering the state. But that was before MAYHEM, a corruption born in Brunswick that has seeped throughout the state and is threatening the entire nation.
It is up to Langdon to find and stop
MAYHEM before it is too late. And the clock is ticking.
Did Black Sam bury pirate treasure in Port Essex 300 years ago? After finding an incredibly lucrative Spanish treasure in the Keys of Florida, Black Sam Bellamy decided to leave the pirate life and return to his true love in New England. Before being shipwrecked on the way to retrieve her, he hid his booty with the Chbo So Clan in Port Essex.
"Well, Mr. Wolfe, to get straight to the point, we want you to help us find a lost pirate treasure."Clay Wolfe had been slouched in the desk chair of his P.I. office, but now he straightened up and sat forward. His normally natty attire was ruffled, stubble dotted his face, and his eyes were red. "In Port Essex?"
Clay Wolfe, devastated by the death of his grandfather, is hired by an antiques dealer to find a long-lost pirate treasure and finds himself pitted against an unscrupulous sex doll businessman, a motorcycle gang, a greedy salvage boat operator, and other mysterious entities. Also recruited for this treasure hunt is Clay's crew: Westy, Crystal, Murphy, Cloutier, and of course, Baylee Baker.
And the spark between Clay and his partner, Baylee, finally bursts into flame...
Editorial Revues of the Clay Wolfe Trap Series
"Q: What do you get when you combine the camaraderie of the gang in the Oceans Eleven series, the plotting and intrigue of a newish James Bond movie, the hard-boiled romance of an old time Humphrey Bogart flick, and the epic-action-adventure-mayhem of a Marvel comic-book?
A: this latest installment in the always-excellent Clay Wolfe detective series is sure to keep the reader entertained and engaged as the latest crime-wave to hit the sunny summer paradise of Port Essex Maine finds its way to the doorstep of the always unflappably-dapper (red-brocade waistcoat and all) Master PI."~Terri Portelli at Bookly Matters
"Libraries looking for mysteries that are solidly cemented in realistic scenarios and characters who live and breathe to problem-solve in creative new ways will find Cosmic Trap serves equally well whether purchased in conjunction or after Wolfe Trap, Mind Trap, and Mouse Trap, or as a stand-alone story. Either way, the tale shines and proves entertaining, intriguing, and vividly compelling from start to finish."~D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
Award-winning author Matt Cost brings us back to Brooklyn in the Roaring '20s and Hungarian private eye, 8 Ballo, who is hired by Theda Lazar Vogel to prove that her husband was murdered. His colorful cast of friends returns, as well as legendary figures such as Dorothy Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Bugsy Siegel, and Lucky Luciano.
8 discovers that a priceless Aquila-an ancient eagle Roman standard carried into battle 2,000 years ago-was stolen from Karl Vogel when he was killed. This provides ties to a secret German organization known as the Batavi. But Vogel was also involved in the eugenics movement centered in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island, as well as being involved with the Ku Klux Klan.
As 8 peels back layers of the underbelly of 1920s Brooklyn, the more complicated and dangerous it becomes for him and those who are important to him. What is happening at Cold Spring Harbor with Herman Wall and the eugenics movement? Who are the mysterious Germans threatening 8? And what is the identity of the charismatic Grand Cyclops?
8 must race against time to uncover the truth and put a stop to the most chilling triumvirate ever conceived.
Midwest Book Review
"Matt Cost seamlessly weaves all references into the story in a manner which imparts knowledge without interrupting the mystery’s lure. Additionally, his ability to add historical details which are intriguing, adding value to his reader’s knowledge base and experience, are part of what makes 8’s story shine…
“Cost's attention to building this tension, revealing special cultural and social details, and probing some of the underlying political clashes of the times makes for a story that is thoroughly engrossing, filled with satisfying twists, turns, and insights, and hard to put down.
Velma Gone Awry is a FINALIST for the IPNE Award! Write on.
Award-winning author Matt Cost brings us back to Brooklyn in the Roaring ’20s and introduces us to Hungarian private eye, 8 Ballo, who is hired to find the daughter of a wealthy businessman. The search will lead him to cross paths with Dorothy Parker, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, Bugsy Siegel, Babe Ruth, and many more as he tries to uncover why Velma went awry.
8 Ballo’s mother was certain he was going to be born a girl, but when he comes out a boy, she writes down simply the number 8, as he has seven older siblings. She meant to change it to a real name at some point but never got around to it.
Now, in his mid-thirties, 8 is a college educated man, a veteran of the Great War, jilted in love, and has his own private investigator business. He enjoys his friends, a good book, jazz music, and a very simple life. When he is hired to find the young flapper daughter of a German businessman, life suddenly becomes much more complicated.
Praise for Velma Gone Awry
"Before you're done, you'll find a mountain of entertainment, a book filled with action, suspense, plot twists, and a sense that you're actually living back there in the fantastic world that author Matt Cost brings so vividly to life. Velma may have gone awry. But don't let her get away. Read the book."-- William Martin, New York Times Bestselling Author of Back Bay and December '41
"The fact that readers, too, won't realize the outcome until they are nearly there makes
Velma Gone Awry a powerful tale of intrigue, redemption, and discovery that comes full circle from Velma's circumstances to her family's history. Libraries looking for full-bodied mysteries that display equally captivating elements of historical and social intrigue will find Velma Gone Awry just the ticket for a more literary and complex inspection than a simple whodunit alone."~Diane Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
"Velma Gone Awry is a smooth, captivating, twist-y mystery from Matt Cost - blending his penchant for history, crime and observations on changing social attitudes. Set in the 1920s in New York City and Brooklyn, the tale includes an intriguing mix of actual persons, historic events and places as well as a series of conundrums that keep the reader guessing: Whodunit? What's at stake? What's the truth? 8 Ballo, the gutsy investigator, is a grand combo of brawn, intellect, empathy and fast wit."~Jule Selbo, screenwriter and author of five award-winning novels including the Dee Rommel Mystery Series (10 DAYS, 9 DAYS and the upcoming 8 DAYS).
What reviewers say about the Clay Wolfe/Port Essex series
"Clay Wolfe and crew are back with another round of hijinks, thanks to author Matt Cost. I have liked this series because of the shenanigans, the budding romance, the action sequences, the sexy scenes, and the fun, ridiculous narratives."
~The Traveling Cloak Reviews
"A fast-paced, sexy, and intriguing read! Exciting twists and turns and added thrilling lures will ensnare readers and keep the pages turning!"
~InD'tale Magazine
"Clay Wolfe, the nattily-dressed, roguishly-charming, ex-Boston-homicide-cop-turned-PI, is unfurling - expanding his reach (both emotionally and professionally) into thornier, darker and more challenging arenas - a fascinating budding shift for this already top-notch PI crime series."
~Terri at BooklyMatters
"With a fine cast of characters and always a sprinkling of humour here and there, I was engrossed from the very beginning until the final word. Thrilling and exciting, this one comes highly recommended and easily earns all five glowing stars."
~Grace J. Reviewerlady
"The reader is hooked into the story from the first page with the possibly innocuous, yet nonetheless, chilling words "Sometimes bad genes need to be stamped out and good ones need to be fostered. There's really no difference between mice and human beings when it comes to genes."
~I Read What You Write: Book Bites
The Clay Wolfe/Port Essex series follows the highly lauded Mainely Mystery series by Cost. Acclaimed author Gerry Boyle selected the first in that series, Mainely Power, to be the Maine Humanities Council Read ME fiction book of the year. “I settled in with the colorful cast of this midcoast tale and felt that pang that good crime fiction gives you—you bear down on the resolution with the reservation that part of you doesn’t want the story to end.”—Gerry BoyleNew Paragraph
Matt Cost was a history major at Trinity College. He owned a mystery bookstore, a video store, and a gym, before serving a ten-year sentence as a junior high school teacher. In 2014 he was released and began writing. And that’s what he does. He writes histories and mysteries.
Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. Four dogs round out the mix. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.