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Matt Birkbeck is an award-winning investigative journalist and critically acclaimed author.

Birkbeck's latest book, FINDING SHARON (Summerville 2018) is the sequel to his international bestseller "A BEAUTIFUL CHILD" (Berkley/Penguin 2004), which tells the remarkable, tragic story of Sharon Marshall, a brilliant young woman who was kidnapped as a toddler by Franklin Delano Floyd, a convicted felon, fugitive, and pedophile who raised her as his daughter while traveling the country using stolen identities. Birkbeck spent six hours in a Florida prison in 2003 interviewing Floyd, who had just been sentenced to death for torturing and murdering a Tampa woman. In FINDING SHARON, he tells the final chapters, including the discovery of Sharon's true identity.

His previous books including "The Quiet Don" (Berkley/Penguin 2013), which tells the remarkable story of Mafia kingpin Russell Bufalino, who built a vast organized crime empire in the decades between Prohibition and the Carter presidency and whose power and influence reached the highest levels of government. Once described by a U.S. Senate subcommittee as "one of the most ruthless and powerful leaders of the Mafia in the United States," Bufalino's legacy left a culture of corruption that continues to this day.

Birkbeck also authored "Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness, and the Mob" (Amistad/Harper Collins 2008), which tells the riveting story of Sammy Davis Jr. and the efforts to resolve his millions in debts and restore his legacy following his death in 1990. The New York Times Book Review called Deconstructing Sammy "Gripping" and "Sensational," and the Los Angeles Times called it "Epic."

Birkbeck's A Deadley Secret (Berkley/Putnam 2002 and 2015), explores the investigation into Robert Durst, the heir to a New York real estate fortune accused of killing his wife and two others. The Durst story exploded in March 2015 with the airing of HBO's The Jinx, in which Durst admitted to "killing them all." Following his arrest for murder, police searched his Houston condo where they found two copies of A Deadly Secret. Penguin re-released an updated version of the book in April 2015. The book was turned into the Lifetime TV movie "The Lost Wife of Robert Durst," which aired in November 2017.

Birkbeck is also the coauthor of Till Death Do Us Part (Atria/Simon & Schuster) in 2006 with Dr. Robi Ludwig, a noted psychologist who appears regularly on The Today Show and Larry King Live.

Birkbeck has written for the New York Times, Reader's Digest, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, Boston Magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

He is currently a senior writer at Harrison Scott Publications, covering Wall Street and financial regulatory issues in Washington, D.C.

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Andy Gallo's stories capture how he wished he'd spent his formative years, instead of how it really happened. Unfortunately for his characters, they find themselves infused with some of Andy's less noble qualities.

A hopeless romantic, Andy writes seated next to a hundred year old Smith Brothers typewriter he inherited from his grandfather. He also dreams of superheroes and wizards and sees no reason why two men with superpowers can't fall in love just like everyone else. Although not all of his stories have a paranormal bent, a touch of the supernatural never derailed a good read in his mind.

Married and living his happy every after, Andy helps others find their happy endings in the pages of his stories. He and his husband of more than twenty years spend their days rubbing elbows with other parents as they raise their daughter. Embracing his status as the gay dad, Andy sometimes has to remind others that one does want a hint of color even when chasing after their child

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When Noah Blain opens his front door, his mind is still on the aging mother he has just helped move into assisted care. But on the threshold, a horror scene awaits. 

Blood and body parts are strewn through Noah’s hallway and there is no one else in sight. At least, until Oliver Thaddeus shows up.

Having escaped California after losing his job as a private investigator, Oliver has returned to Denver, Colorado after blackmailing his ex-lover (and ex-boss) for the cool sum of $14.5M.

Eager to start his own PI agency and work crimes once more, Oliver offers Noah a place to stay and full use of his detective team to help solve the mystery of the brutal homicide.

But when it is discovered that Noah was the actual target of the killing, Oliver and Noah must go into lockdown under police guard until the perpetrator has been found.

Forced together in tragic and dangerous circumstances, complex feelings start to emerge between the two young men as their emotional scars surface. Oliver is strikingly beautiful and familiar only with being used. Noah is mildly agoraphobic and reluctant to open up. Tenderness is new – and terrifying – for them both.

But what secrets in Noah’s past have caused him to make a deadly enemy? And can Oliver’s team find the killer before their lives go from hope to despair

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When Luciano Sforza comes to town, Marco Fontana is thrilled to spend time with his seldom-seen uncle. Their reunion, however, turns deadly. Luciano is in a tough position as the chair of a contentious committee which will decide the authenticity of a purported Botticelli. Battle lines are drawn and tempers flare. When one of Luciano’s assistants becomes the victim of a hit and run, Marco suspects she was targeted. A day later, Luciano is discovered standing over the body of Morgan Cooper, his old enemy and committee rival. The police only focus on investigating Luciano, forcing Marco to prove his uncle’s innocence before an arrest is made. But the answers Marco needs are complex and seem wrapped in closely guarded secrets. Does the informal competition over finding forgeries by the infamous Vermilion play a part in the murder? Or, is the contest for a prestigious museum directorship at the heart of it all? Or is it the disputed Botticelli painting? Every facet of the case makes the search for the killer seem impossible. At the same time, Marco contends with knotty personal issues and problems among his friends and the members of his male strip troupe. Aided by friends Luke, Nina, his inimitable secretary Olga, and his cousin Vinnie—angling to become his PI partner—Marco juggles everything in his own way. But will he be able to save his uncle before the man is arrested or will The Vermilion Secret claim another victim?

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Gabriel Rotello (born Feb. 9, 1963) is an American writer, producer and director. He was raised in Danbury, CT, attended Knox College in Galesburg, IL, Carlton College in Northfield MN, and was an exchange student at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal.

After graduating from college he moved to New York City where he became a keyboard player, musical director and producer, working with many prominent rock and R&B artists.

In 1989 at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Rotello founded OutWeek Magazine in New York and became its editor-in-chief. OutWeek quickly became a focus of gay and AIDS activism, sparking many controversies and breaking important national stories. During his tenure at OutWeek, Rotello hired many young lesbian and gay writers who went on to become well-known authors and editors, including Sarah Pettit, Jim Provenzano, Michelangelo Signorile, Victoria Starr, David Kirby, Dale Peck, James St James and Karl Soehnlein. In 1992 Rotello became the first openly gay op-ed columnist for a major American newspaper, New York Newsday, for which he received the GLADD Award in 1995 as Outstanding Journalist. He was also a long-time columnist for The Advocate and has contributed to many publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice, The Nation, The New Scientist, and the Huffington Post.

In 1997 Dutton published Rotello's seminal study of AIDS epidemiology and prevention, "Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men." He also co-authored Mel Cheren's memoir of the disco era, "My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep On Dancin'".

Since 1999 Rotello has written, produced and/or directed dozens of documentaries and television programs, often working with the award-winning World of Wonder Productions (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and more recently Flight 33 Productions (Life After People). His work has appears on networks such as HBO, Showtime, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, Cinemax, AMC, Bravo, Oxygen, VH1 and Comedy Central. 

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 The Last Goodbye shows a complex relationship between twenty-five-year-old Sonny Noir, a gay man feeling beaten by the system, and forty-two-year-old Jacqueline Svenson Skylar, a newly transplanted wealthy New York socialite who recently moved to Chicago carrying a lifetime of unhappiness on her shoulders. Sonny Noir’s Story opens with a riveting quadruple homicide at the Miami International Airport on February 13, 1981, which the news media quickly labeled as the “Friday the 13th Massacre at MIA.” It circles back in time with him telling his life story from his teen years to the day he and Jacqueline witness the unfolding scene at MIA. He searches to find a balance between his love life as a gay man, desperately tries to understand the mounting complications of his friendship with a straight woman whose life has fallen apart, and the struggles of social injustice against the lesbian and gay community he encounters along the way. Through all his ups and downs, he fights to stay true to his own identity. He’s not exclusive to surrounding himself with men. He also cherishes the comfort of women as friends. Sonny and Jacqueline find a connection within the first few minutes of meeting while attending The Oak Park School of Hairstyling, even though they come from opposite ends of society and the money spectrum. Sonny is driven and worked hard to achieve a great education to pull himself up from his lower middle-class roots. But after five years in his computer career, he became disheartened and began to lose hope in the American Dream. He encounters many disappointments in his life, but he’s a fighter. Sonny and Jacqueline’s lives are filled with never-ending trials and tribulations, alcoholism, and cheating. It leaves you asking the question many times over—Why can’t they part and go their separate ways?—leading up to the realization that saying goodbye may be their only way to survive. 

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When the phone of police artist and interview specialist Sergeant (Ret.) Michael W. Streed—The SketchCop—rings, it’s because police need his help solving their most difficult and heinous cases. During his thirty-five-year law enforcement career, Streed has provided signature images for some of America’s most notorious murders, rapes and kidnappings. His sketches decorate walls inside detective squad rooms from Los Angeles to Baltimore, a stark reminder of the evil that lurks among us.

In SketchCop: Drawing a Line Against Crime, Streed takes readers on a thrilling ride across a landscape littered with crime scenes and violent criminals, including anecdotes from historical cases, such as the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He’ll share the compelling true crime stories from his portfolio, detailing how he used his specialized skills as The SketchCop to turn memories of monsters into justice. His descriptions of the psychological impression this important investigative tool leaves on victims helps to round out the book in a way that guarantees after reading SketchCop, you’ll never look at another face the same way again . . .

“Michael Streed is as passionate about being an artist as he is about being a cop. It’s that passion that fuels his ground-breaking work.”—JuJu Chang, ABC News correspondent

“As insightful as it is fascinating . . . A must-read for true crime fans.”—Gary C. King, author of Love, Lies, and Murde

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I know what you are. Five words scrawled on a note, and Heath knew his life was now in jeopardy. He had no choice but to confront the blackmailer and find out what proof he had. But what then? Pay up and risk demands for future payments? Or not give in and throw his life away?

The decision’s made for him when the blackmailer turns up dead. Is Heath a murderer? Even he isn’t sure, thanks to several double martinis. Other suspects include a voluptuous neighbor, a smarmy grocer, a ruthless gangster, Heath’s cousin Liz, who was once married to the blackmailer, and Miss Caldwell, a wily librarian who has eyes for the blackmailer’s current wife, Alice. Heath tries to read between the lines to solve the case of a death overdue before he’s arrested for the crime. 

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In 1953, Dr. Charles Wilson, a government scientist, died when he “jumped or fell” from the ninth floor of a Washington hotel. As his wife and children grieve, the details of the incident remain buried for twenty-two years.

With the release of the Rockefeller Commission report on illegal CIA activities in 1975, the Wilson case suddenly becomes news again. Wilson’s family and the public are demanding answers, especially as some come to suspect the CIA of foul play, and agents in the CIA, FBI, and White House will do anything to make sure the truth doesn’t get out.

Enter agent Jack Gabriel, an old friend of the Wilson family who is instructed by the CIA director to find out what really happened to Wilson. It’s Gabriel’s last mission before he retires from the agency, and his most perilous. Key witnesses connected to the case die from suspicious causes, and Gabriel realizes that the closer he gets to the truth, the more his entire family is at risk.

Following in the footsteps of spy fiction greats like Graham Green, John Le Carré, and Alan Furst, Paul Vidich presents a tale—based on the unbelievable true story told in Netflix’s Wormwood—that doesn’t shy away from the true darkness in the shadows of espionage.

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On April 21, 1930—Easter Monday—some rags caught fire under the Ohio Penitentiary’s dry and aging wooden roof, shortly after inmates had returned to their locked cells after supper. In less than an hour, 320 men who came from all corners of Prohibition-era America and from as far away as Russia had succumbed to fire and smoke in what remains the deadliest prison disaster in United States history.

Within 24 hours, moviegoers were watching Pathé’s newsreel of the fire, and in less than a week, the first iteration of the weepy ballad “Ohio Prison Fire” was released. The deaths brought urgent national and international focus to the horrifying conditions of America’s prisons (at the time of the fire, the Ohio Penitentiary was at almost three times its capacity). Yet, amid darkening world politics and the first years of the Great Depression, the fire receded from public concern.

In Fire in the Big House, Mitchel P. Roth does justice to the lives of convicts and guards and puts the conflagration in the context of the rise of the Big House prison model, local and state political machinations, and American penal history and reform efforts. The result is the first comprehensive account of a tragedy whose circumstances—violent unrest, overcrowding, poorly trained and underpaid guards, unsanitary conditions, inadequate food—will be familiar to prison watchdogs today

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