Klein, Matthew 1968–

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Klein, Matthew 1968–

PERSONAL:

Born 1968; married; wife's name Laura. Education: Graduated from Yale University, 1990; attended Stanford Graduate School of Business.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Rye Brook, NY. Agent—Philip G. Spitzer Literary Agency, 50 Talmage Farm Lane, East Hampton, NY 11937.

CAREER:

Writer and entrepreneur. Founder of Release Software Corporation and TechPlanet, Inc. (technology firms), during 1990s; founder of Collective 2, a trading technology company.

WRITINGS:

Switchback (novel), Orion Books (London, England), 2006.

Con Ed (novel), Warner Books (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Matthew Klein is the author of Con Ed, "a propulsive, noirish tale, as well as a smart allegory on the false promise of the Internet bubble," observed a critic in Kirkus Reviews. The owner of a trading technology firm, Klein drew on his own experiences for the novel: he presided over the demise of a computer service company during the 1990s, "a very public, spectacular failure," he told New York Times contributor Kate Stone Lombardi. Con Ed centers on Kip Largo, a middle-aged con artist who has just been released from federal prison after serving a term for securities and mail fraud. While working at a menial job, Kip is approached by Lauren Napier, the wife of a billionaire casino mogul, who proposes an elaborate scam to bilk her husband. Kip reluctantly agrees to the plan, in part to help his son, Toby, who is being hounded by Russian mobsters over a gambling debt. "As with all good capers and con games, the author is always a few moves ahead of the reader," noted Otto Penzler in the New York Sun. Library Journal critic Susan Clifford Braun stated that "there are enough twists and turns in this story to keep the reader firmly engaged and totally surprised at the end." Writing in the New York Times, Janet Maslin described Con Ed as "a bright swindling-scam comedy set in the world of the Internet nouveau-riche. It's not a groundbreaking book. It's just funny, full of tricks and very, very hard to put down."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 2006, Thomas Gaughan, review of Con Ed, p. 26.

Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 1, 2007, Nancy Fontaine, review of Con Ed.

Guardian (London, England), December 9, 2006, Matthew Lewin, "The Road to War," review of Switchback.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2006, review of Con Ed, p. 1191.

Library Journal, January 1, 2007, Susan Clifford Braun, review of Con Ed, p. 95.

New York Sun, March 14, 2007, Otto Penzler, "Con You Top This?," review of Con Ed.

New York Times, March 8, 2007, Janet Maslin, "Out of Jail, Out of Options, Out on a Limb," review of Con Ed; March 11, 2007, Kate Stone Lombardi, "If Life Imitates Art, He's in Big Trouble."

Publishers Weekly, January 8, 2007, review of Con Ed, p. 32.

USA Today, March 29, 2007, Carol Memmott, review of Con Ed.