Matt Birkbeck

Matt Birkbeck is an award-winning investigative journalist and critically acclaimed author. His books include A BEAUTIFUL CHILD (Berkley/Penguin 2004) and the sequel FINDING SHARON (Summerville 2018), which tell 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. The books were adapted by Netflix for the hit documentary "Girl in the Picture," for which he was executive producer. He also wrote THE QUIET DON (Berkley/Penguin 2013), which tells the remarkable story of Mafia kingpin Russell Bufalino, who built a vast organized crime empire 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. The critically acclaimed DECONSTRUCTING SAMMY: MUSIC, MONEY, MADNESS and the MOB (Amistad/Harper Collins 2008), 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." And his book A DEADLY 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 book was adapted by Lifetime TV for its 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.