Books

Historical Fiction

Love in a Time of Hate
In Love in a Time of Hate, a young man from Maine fights for social equality in New Orleans after the Civil War while pursuing a serial killer, becoming enmeshed in voodoo, and falling in love.

“A Voodoo ritual?” Emmett stared dumbly at her.
A young man from Maine fights for social equality in New Orleans after the Civil War while pursuing a murderer of prostitutes, becoming enmeshed in voodoo, and falling in love.

“Education is the tool that makes us all equal, whether we are Black, white, Indian, woman, or man,” Manon said.
Much like Louisiana’s famous gumbo, Love in A Time of Hate, is a spicy dish of varied ingredients. The main theme is the struggle for social equality between the whites, Blacks, and Creoles, but flavor is added with the subplots of politics, voodoo, murder, love, and hate.
And then came the Rebel scream, a sound Emmett had not heard since near the end of the Great War.

New Orleans becomes a literal battleground as carpetbaggers, scalawags, Creoles, and recently freed slaves fight against the entrenched southern plantation notion of white superiority.

“The characterization is well done, there is no shying away from the sometimes-brutal events that challenged both sides, and Matthew Langdon Cost takes the time to build a saga that is compelling and hard to put down as Emmett finds his way through a morass of social conflict and tries to do what is right for both himself and the greater good.”—Midwest Book Review


I Am Cuba; Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution
Who was Fidel Castro? 
In the summer of 1958, 300 bearded revolutionaries, led by a 30-year-old lawyer named Fidel, turned the tides of war in Cuba by defeating 12,000 soldiers in combat. How was this possible?

If you want to understand Cuba of the last 60 years, you must first understand who Fidel Castro was, and the events of the Cuban Revolution of 1953 to 1959. 

The revolution began in 1953 with a botched insurrection in Santiago, Cuba. Fidel was imprisoned, granted amnesty, exiled to Mexico, and then led an invasion of Cuba with 81 revolutionaries aboard a pleasure yacht called the Granma. Only 18 men survived. 

How did Fidel build this small band of guerillas into an army that would sweep to power in Cuba?
Who was the rifle-toting woman who became Fidel’s most trusted advisor as well as his lover?

These questions and more are answered in the thrilling I Am Cuba, which is a historically accurate novel detailing society, politics, war, and love in Cuba in the 1950s.


At Every Hazard 
 At Every Hazard is a historical novel about one of that war’s genuine heroes, a college professor with no formal military training who, together with a small company of men, turned the tide of the battle and the war with a bayonet charge at Gettysburg. This was not the end of his exploits, however, and by war’s end, he was so respected that Ulysses S. Grant chose Chamberlain to accept the South’s surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. The novel traces his evolution from an arrogant, overbearing professor to unwitting and unlikely hero and leader of men. Interwoven are subplots including the coming of age of his young orphaned aide, a complicated marriage, and of course, lots of rousing battle scenes. The story begins with a ferocious battle scene that orphans fourteen-year-old Emmett Collins. Following the last instructions of his father, Emmett shows up on Chamberlain’s doorstep in Brunswick, Maine, where he joins Chamberlain and the 20th Maine as they embark for war in the late summer of 1862. He grows from a boy into a man over the next three years as he accompanies Chamberlain on his rise through the ranks to Major General and recipient of the Medal of Honor. 


The Goff Langdon Mainely Mystery Trilogy

Mainely Power 
Though on its surface Maine is a state of pristine beauty; one of the last frontiers left in this country, behind the scenes is a different story. Big money runs the state, colliding with the interests of many of its citizens; corporate groups vie with environmental groups. Our mystery is set somewhere at the nexus of all of this, tracing what happens when these interests come into conflict over a nuclear power plant, creating a potential Three Mile Island. Langdon is a laid back, slacker detective, happy with his work, friends, and a way of life in the town of Brunswick, Maine. To compliment his income in small town Maine's scarce private detective market, Langdon also owns a mystery bookstore. He is an environmentalist. Football fan. Red Meat Eater. He votes independent, sometimes Democrat, never Republican. When presented with a real life murder mystery, Langdon is suddenly thrust way over his head. The meticulously dressed villain Shakespeare threatens his way of life before the Widow Dumphy has even hired Langdon. Follow Langdon and his band of friends as they attempt to untangle the web of intrigue and return Brunswick to 'the way life should be'.

Mainely Fear 
Though on its surface Maine is a state of pristine beauty; one of the last frontiers left in this country, behind the scenes is a different story. When an ice storm ravages the state—leaving many homes without power for more than two weeks—tragedy strikes. A group of teenage boys take to robbing and vandalizing isolated houses deserted by the owners in favor of heat, light and water. They are arrested in the town of Brunswick, caught red—handed. The mother of one of the boys—Leroy Jones—hires Goff Langdon to investigate. Langdon is a laid back, slacker detective, happy with his work, friends, and a way of life in the town of Brunswick, Maine. To compliment his income in small town Maine's scarce private detective market, Langdon also owns a mystery bookstore. He is an environmentalist. Football fan. Red Meat Eater. He votes independent, sometimes Democrat, never Republican. The mystery lies not within whether the boys burglarized and vandalized, but why? Did Uncle Eddie put them up to the deed? Does the hatred stem from an old secret buried deep in the prep school the boys attend and play basketball for? Is the widow whom she claims to be? It is up to Langdon and his band of friends as they attempt to untangle the web of intrigue and get to bottom of a situation that has festered for too long.

Mainely Money 
What would happen if a US Senator was blackmailed?
When Goff Langdon is hired to find out who is blackmailing a US Senator for risqué behavior outside of marriage, Brunswick, Maine, becomes a hotbed of unrest. A complicated dance involving Russian gangsters, murderers, mercenaries, and lobbyists ensues.
Who is killing coeds in Portland?

Langdon must find the Old Port Killer, save his marriage from the ravishing Delilah Friday, and protect his family and friends from unseen enemies. Thus, when he is pegged for the murders, he must go on the run to make sure his friends and family are safe.

In this third installment of the Mainely Mystery series, Goff Langdon and his colorful group of friends pull out all the stops to make sure that life stays the way it should be in Maine.

Mainely Angst
In Cost’s fourth installment in the Mainely Mystery series, Mainely Angst, Langdon is hired to find a kidnapped boy. A man with a Salvador Dali mask threatens to execute the lad if the governor of Maine doesn’t ease up business restrictions and mask requirements due to the pandemic. 

Goff Langdon leads an ideal life in Brunswick, Maine. Happily married, good friends, mystery bookstore owner, PI, and a dog—the way life should be. And then angst erupts disturbing everything and threatening not only the way of life, but life itself. 

“Somebody stole my wife,” the man said. Did Annika Morin leave her husband or was she taken? 

“I was sexually harass’ by my boss and then fire’ when I refused his advances.” Raven’s dark eyes flashed a promise of anger and vengeance. 
Local brew pub owner Rick Strong is accused of sexual harassment, which seems likely, but is he guilty of much more? Or is it entirely fabricated?

“Where is my boy?” Jill asked, her words anguished. 
And then the boy is abducted, and the kidnapper attempts to hold the entire state hostage. If the governor refuses their demands, the kidnapper promises to execute the child on Halloween. 


The Clay Wolfe/Port Essex Series

Wolfe Trap
Wolfe Trap is Cost’s debut novel in a new series surrounding a PI, Clay Wolfe, in the fictional coastal town of Port Essex, Maine. Instead of a large white shark threatening the populace, it is heroin being smuggled through lobster traps that is endangering the town.  

What evil lurks in Port Essex, Maine?
Clay Wolfe is a former Boston homicide detective who has left the police department to return home to Maine to care for his elderly grandfather and open a private detective agency. Haunted by being orphaned at an early age, and jaded by the corruption of the big city, Clay is happy to hit pause and investigate minor crimes.

“I want you to find the person who sold the drugs that killed my grandbaby.” 
When he is hired to find out who sold the drugs that killed a six-month-old baby girl, he has no idea of the evil that he is going to uncover in the underbelly of his hometown. 

Wolfe Trap is a thrilling ride set in a small Maine town with rich characters and shocking plot twists that will keep the reader rapt until the final pages.

Acclaimed psychological thriller author, Joseph Souza, on Wolfe Trap. "WOLFE TRAP introduces us to an eccentric and interesting cast of Maine characters…This gripping plot moves with lightning speed until it’s explosive and thrilling conclusion. Here we have murder, drug-smuggling lobstermen, heavy drinking, art theft and budding romance. Despite our hero’s hard-drinking and prolific womanizing, Clay Wolfe is a sympathetic and likable character. Cost’s jam-packed plot should appeal to all lovers of private detective fiction. I eagerly look forward to next book in this series.”

Mind Trap
Mind Trap is the second novel in the Clay Wolfe/Port Essex mystery series. It delves into a radical cult threatening a small coastal Maine town. When Clay Wolfe is hired to find a missing girl, the events come tumbling down in rapid fashion.   

“You say your daughter is missing?” Clay Wolfe asked. The man in front of him was slightly disheveled. Red eyes. Fear creased his features. 

What is the End Game?
It was as close to ecstasy as the woman had ever been in her life. It was enlightenment. She was no longer Martha Abbott. She was a warrior of Marduk engaged in a war of purity.

What is going to happen on Leap Day?
“We have allowed sin to fill our homes, and it is our divine labor to cleanse that filth from our streets.” Marduk’s voice boomed through the cavernous temple.

Something evil is lurking in the streets of Port Essex. A missing girl. Violent attacks. It is up to Clay Wolfe, his partner Baylee Baker, and a colorful assortment of friends to get to the bottom of these odious occurrences before it is too late. 

Mouse Trap
When Clay Wolfe is hired to find out who tried to steal a mouse, he thought it was akin to a fireman getting a cat out of a tree. It wasn’t.

“Sometimes bad genes need to be stamped out and good ones need to be fostered,” Bridget Engel said. “There’s really no difference between mice and human beings when it comes to genes.” She wore a gray suit, and her blonde hair was cut short in the style that Hillary Clinton had made popular.

When Clay Wolfe rekindles an old romance, the summer is looking bright. It wasn’t.

He woke in the middle of the night, gathered his things, and slipped away. After Clay left, Victoria rose from the bed and went into the bathroom, carefully removed the condom from the Kleenex it was wrapped in and put it in a plastic baggie.

Who is the mysterious man who clubs Westy with a hammer and threatens the lives of everybody Clay Wolfe holds dear?

Now, Clive Miller was a fixer. He took care of problems that arose. Once given a task, his hands weren’t tied, and he was well-paid for his troubles. There were two simple rules. Eliminate the problem. Don’t draw attention.


Cosmic Trap: Publication date December 21, 2022
From award-winning author Matt Cost comes a thrilling mystery about Unexplained Aerial Phenomena (UAP) spotted in the skies over Port Essex, Maine.

The man—about forty, forearms like small oak trees, with a thick beard—told the bartender at the Pelican Perch, “It came right up out of the ocean, hovered just above the water for about ten seconds, and then was gone.”

When Clay Wolfe and Baylee Baker are hired as the local liaisons for a government task force investigating the recent UAP sightings, things get complicated at lightspeed.

They’re also hired to find the missing Alice Smith, whose disappearance increasingly appears to have something to do with the UAPs—the source of which might just be a governmental defense contractor named Seagull Aviation.

But the more they investigate, the more questions pop up. Who is the assassin gunning for Wolfe and Baker? Who is the mysterious man code-named Arrow? When each witness who has seen one of the UAPs is reported missing, the stakes become sky-high.


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