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Matt Coyle is a bestselling American author that writes crime fiction novels. He attended the University of California from where he got his English degree. In the three decades that followed, he worked in a restaurant and a golf company. He also worked for a sports collectible firm before finally pursuing his publishing dreams.
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Order of Rick Cahill Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yesterday's Echo | 2013 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Night Tremors | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Dark Fissures | 2016 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Blood Truth | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Wrong Light (Short Story) | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Lost Tomorrows | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
7 | Blind Vigil | 2020 | Description / Buy | |
8 | Last Redemption | 2021 | Description / Buy | |
9 | Doomed Legacy | 2022 | Description / Buy | |
10 | Odyssey’s End | 2023 | Description / Buy |
Order of Matt Coyle Short Stories/Novellas
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The #2 Pencil (Short Story) | 2017 | Description / Buy |
Matt Coyle Anthologies
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles Presents LAst Resort | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Stop the World: Snapshots from a Pandemic | 2020 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction | 2022 | Description / Buy |
The author comes from La Jolla, California. He spent a significant portion of his childhood watching television. Though, more often than not, he had to fight his siblings for the best spot on the couch. Coyle was a sports fanatic. But it did not take him long to realize that he did not have the talent to become a professional athlete.
But he wasn’t particularly perturbed. By then, Coyle was already obsessed with crime fiction. His interest in the genre was sparked by his father who gave him ‘The Simple Art of Murder’ by Raymond Chandler.
Coyle was just 12-years-old at the time. As he matured, the author discovered Ross Mcdonald, Robert Crais, Ernest Hemingway, and their ilk, writers whose style influenced the stories Coyle would eventually tell. Despite detouring into the restaurant business, the author eventually worked his way into the publishing arena.
Coyle was initially determined to write the next Great American Novel. But by the time he was done, the author had a mystery novel on his hands. The book was the first in the Rick Cahill series. Rick, the private investigator at the heart of the series, wasn’t quite as deep when Coyle first created him.
The author knew that Rick was a former police detective that had become a private investigator. But he did not know what made him tick until the first sentence in his first Rick Cahill novel came to Coyle.
The words told the author that Rick had known great loss in his life and that he was in desperate need of redemption. This revelation compelled Coyle to explore Rick’s backstory in his first novel. The author’s writing process hasn’t changed that drastically since those early days.
He still writes his first draft without making any outlines. Coyle allows the story to flow and to lead him to new and interesting places. He isn’t afraid to write paragraphs and chapters he knows he will cut during the revision process because the mistakes he makes in his first draft always inspire unexpected twists and turns in his stories.
Coyle’s objective is to create cases that are emotionally important to Rick Cahill. Mysteries that have no personal value to his protagonist do not interest the author. He endeavors to place Rick at risk. This adds an element of tension to every case. It also gives his readers a reason to keep reading until the end.
Coyle knows that his writing process is messy. In fact, it has become messier in the years since he published his first novel. But it works for him.
Rick Coyle Awards
Coyle’s collection of awards includes the Benjamin Franklin Silver Medal, San Diego Book, and Anthony Awards, as well as nominations for Shamus, Lefty, and Macavity Prizes.
Best Rick Coyle Books
When Coyle became a published author, the amount of marketing he had to do surprised him. He was just as surprised by the attitudes of his fellow crime fiction writers, specifically their willingness to help him. Coyle’s best novels include:
Yesterday’s Echo: A lot of people think Rick Cahill killed his wife. The evidence wasn’t strong enough to convict him. However, he wasn’t necessarily exonerated. But the negative opinions of the media and the public at large do not compare to the guilt that Rick carries over the role he played in his wife’s murder.
Years later, Rick is trying to move on. Melody, a secretive reporter, is the sort of woman Rick can love. He wanted to pursue a relationship with her. But then the police arrested her for murder and Rick became embroiled in a saga that forced him to relive the trauma of his past.
Night Tremors: A lawyer wants Rick Cahill, a private investigator, to exonerate a man that was imprisoned for killing his family. The lawyer is certain that his client is innocent. Rick, who was also previously accused of a crime he did not commit, is eager to help.
However, he has to overcome a litany of obstacles, including police officers that are determined to incarcerate him and a gang that wants to kill him.
When Does The Next Matt Coyle book come out?
Matt Coyle doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Odyssey’s End and was released on November, 14th 2023. It is the newest book in the Rick Cahill Series.