1--What is the title of your latest release?
THE MURDER SHOW
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A television showrunner looks for next season’s story by investigating the real death of a high school friend.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I set most of my books in the upper Midwest. It’s the place I know best, which means I can write with authenticity and do as little research as possible.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Definitely. We have a few things in common.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Honest. Hard-working. Second-guessing.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Happy endings are two-sided. Solving the mystery may not be the best outcome.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I do edit as I draft in the beginning. It’s important for me to feel the those first several chapters are solid. Once I’m happy with them, I tend to write straight through to the end and then edit on the second pass.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Dark chocolate peanut butter cups
9--Describe your writing space/office!
A lot of books. A TV because sometimes I like sports to be on in the b.g. I don’t pay much attention to it but the sounds are comforting. Same with music so I have a full stereo. There’s a couch with is mostly a glorified dog bed. There is a dog bed in case the dogs are too lazy to climb up onto the couch. A few awards and framed articles. Several pair of headphones. And most importantly, a recliner. That’s where I sit when I write with a laptop on my lap. I abandoned having an actual desk years ago.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Kate Atkinson. She creates wonderful characters and has a fantastic narrative voice.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
The Big Sleep. I’d been reading crime fiction in preparation to move from writing TV comedy to TV drama. When I read Raymond Chandler for the first time, I saw how I could do both (except in books not TV). Philip Marlowe narrates dark stories with a comedic voice, which helped me realize how I could use the comedic voice I’d been developing for twenty-five years to tell crime stories. I never did write that drama script. I wrote a book instead, and it changed my life.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was in Los Angeles at the park across the street with my dog. That’s what I did every morning before going to my TV writing job. It was about 8:00 a.m. LA time. The call came from my agent in New York. Forge had made an offer. A two-book deal. I will never forget it.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Literary fiction
14--What’s your favorite movie?
My Life as a Dog
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Quietly. I never tell anyone it’s my birthday. Only family and a few close friends know.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The Diplomat on Netflix
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Asian. Especially Thai and Vietnamese food.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Hang out with my family. Fly fish. Golf. Play squash.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
A book tentatively titled Riverwood. It will be published by Minotaur in April of 2026.
Showrunner Ethan Harris had a hit with The Murder Show, a television crime drama that features a private detective who solves cases the police can’t. But after his pitch for the fourth season is rejected by the network, he returns home to Minnesota looking for inspiration.
His timing is fortunate — his former classmate Ro Greeman is now a local police officer, and she's uncovered new information about the devastating hit and run that killed their mutual friend Ricky the summer after high school. She asks Ethan to help her investigate and thinks that if he portrays the killing on The Murder Show, the publicity may bring Ricky's killer to justice.
Ethan is skeptical that Ricky's death was anything but a horrible accident, but with the clock running out on his career, he's willing to try anything. It doesn't take long for them to realize they've dug up more than they bargained for. Someone is dead set on stopping Ethan and Ro from looking too closely into Ricky’s death — even if keeping them quiet means killing again...
The Murder Show is a pulse-racing novel about secrets, old friends, and how the past never leaves us by New York Times bestselling and Emmy Award winning author Matt Goldman!
Thriller | Suspense [Forge Books, On Sale: April 15, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9781250325723 / eISBN: 9781250325716]
New York Times bestselling author MATT GOLDMAN is a playwright and Emmy Award-winning television writer for Seinfeld, Ellen, and other shows. He brings his signature storytelling abilities and light touch to the Nils Shapiro series. Goldman's debut, Gone to Dust, has been nominated for the Shamus and Nero Awards and was a Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List selection. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and whichever children happen to be around.
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