The Library is honored to host a Read ME Maine Humanities Council 2021 virtual program with author Matt Cost discussing his mystery series debut Mainley Power. Read ME is a statewide summer reading program offered by the Maine Humanities Council and Maine State Library that gets Maine’s adults all reading the same books. Each year a well-known Maine author recommends two titles by lesser-known Maine authors. 2021’s featured books—recommended by Gerry Boyle—are Mill Town by Kerri Arsenault and Mainely Power by Matt Cost.

Gerry Boyle on Mainely Power by Matt Cost:

“It sometimes strikes me that as we look far and wide for suspense that will captivate us for the duration of a novel or a Netflix series we should look in our own backyard. Fact is, the ingredients of a good crime story—compelling characters, authentic setting, a twisty plot, and a liberal sprinkle of fun—are in our midst. Matt Cost knows this and he offers us new literary acquaintances who lead us around a tweaked version of a place we know well. What better place for a private detective than Brunswick, and what better day job for that detective than a mystery bookstore? In Mainely Power things get very complicated very fast. I settled in with the colorful cast of this midcoast tale and felt that pang that good crime fiction gives you—you bear down on the resolution with the reservation that part of you doesn’t want the story to end. And if it does, you hope there’s a bookstore in Brunswick where you can find Goff Langdon and a cup of coffee and go over the story yet again.”

Over the years, Cost has owned a video store, a mystery bookstore, and a gym. He has also taught history and coached just about every sport imaginable. During those years, since age eight actually, the true passion has been writing. I Am Cuba: Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution (Encircle Publications, March, 2020) was his first traditionally published novel. Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper, their four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. and a chocolate Lab and a basset hound round out the mix. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.

Matt’s book is available to pre-order from the Library for $17. The Library will benefit from a portion of book sales. To purchase the book and to indicate inscription details, call 207-244-7065 or email programs@swhplibrary.org. For more information about the program or questions, call the Library at 207-244-7064