Matt Richtel

Sara Peyton interviewed Matt Richtel, author of Hooked, for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

A couple of their exchanges:

Q: Tell us a little bit about "Hooked." Did you write the story you wanted to read?

A: In a nutshell, the story is a fast-paced mystery about Nat Idle, a medical journalist who narrowly survives a cafe explosion. The note warning him to leave the cafe before it explodes appears to be written in the hand of his deceased ex-girlfriend. He goes on a frantic hunt to discover what is going on. I definitely wrote the story I wanted to read. I've always liked stories -- whether books, movies, etc. -- that save key information or twists until the end.

Q: Did your characters surprise you? If so, which ones?

A: Yeah, they did. But I'm loath to say more because I don't want to give away the forces of good and evil in the book. I'll just say that I expected one of the main characters to wind up as a force for good. But the narrative demanded something different -- maybe something different than I would have idealized or romanticized. How's that for cryptic?

Read the entire interview.

The Page 99 Test: Hooked.

--Marshal Zeringue