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WORK TITLE: Last Call
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1957
WEBSITE: https://paulamatterbooks.com/
CITY:
STATE: PA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1957; married; children: a son.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and young adult novelist. Previously worked as a catering server.
WRITINGS
Contributor to anthologies.
SIDELIGHTS
Paula Matter (last name rhymes with otter) grew up in the Miami, Florida area. Matter was working as a catering server when she lost her job. Instead of getting another job, Matter, who has contributed short crime fiction to anthologies in the United States and Germany, decided she would go back to work on her mystery novel. The result is Last Call: A Maggie Lewis Mystery.
Matter’s debut takes place in small, fictitious town in northern Florida called North Desoto. “I wanted to show a different side of what people imagine Florida to be,” Matter noted in an interview for the Mysteristas website, adding: “North DeSoto is far from beaches and attractions.” The novel introduces readers to Maggie Lewis, who is working as a bartender at a Florida VFW post. Maggie who is somewhere in her late forties, is known for her bad attitude and has been called out about it a number of times. Still, people are surprised when Maggie becomes a suspect in the murder of Jack Hoffman, a Korean War veteran and longtime visitor to the north DeSoto VFW post.
Maggie, who narrates the story, works the late shift at the VFW and was known to have had words with Jack more than once. So when his body is found covered with blood in his truck parked outside the VFW from the night before, Maggie becomes a suspect after one of her hair ties is found on the truck’s floor. Police chief Bobby Lee decides to question Maggie downtown at the police station. At the same time, Maggie is suspended from her job without pay.
It turns out that Maggie’s husband, Rob, was murdered two years earlier while working on the Victorian fixer upper. The police never did find the murderer, making Maggie suspicious that Bobby Lee will not be able to find the real culprit in Jack’s murder and clear her name. It was not as though Jack had not had run ins with a lot of other people in town. It seems that everyone knew Jack kept a collection of notebooks in which he wrote about the misdeeds and transgressions of the bar’s staff and customers. Maggie decides to hire Michael Bradley, an ex-cop trying to get into the detective business and who rents half of Maggie’s Victorian duplex.
Maggie and Michael work together to find out who the murderer is, with Michael teaching Maggie about detective work in the process. Initially, the police and the two think their effort reflect rank amateurism, but soon Maggie and Michael start to uncover some information that places Maggie in serious danger. Commenting on the novel’s protagonist, Matter noted in the interview for the Mysteristas website: “Maggie and I hit it off immediately. She was a somewhat minor character in another novel I’d written several years ago. Beta readers commented how much they liked her, so I decided to give her a larger role.”
Maggie soon discovers that she really does not know the truth about all the people that she though she knew very well. The case also causes Maggie to examine her own life and what she is capable of doing. “There’s a gradual transition in her demeanor from passive to passive-aggressive to assertive, and Maggie, whose personal and professional conflicts render her real and relatable, begins to feel herself coming alive in ways that she hadn’t expected,” wrote John Valeri in a review for the Criminal Element website. Eventually, Maggie comes to realize that the murderer is someone she knows well.
“Curious readers will look forward to her further adventures,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. A Kirkus Reviews contributor remarked: “Matter’s debut provides mystery lite and forgettable suspects but a heroine who’s not only feisty, but sometimes downright funny as well.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2018, review of Last Call: A Maggie Lewis Mystery.
Publishers Weekly, May 28, 2018, review of Last Call, p. 76.
ONLINE
Criminal Element, https://www.criminalelement.com/ (July 8, 2018), John Valeri, review of Last Call.
Mysteristas, https://mysteristas.wordpress.com/ (July 9, 2018), “Guest Mysterista: Paula Matter,” author interview.
Paula Matter website, https://paulamatterbooks.com (August 2, 2018).
PAULA MATTER
Author of the Maggie Lewis Mysteries
ABOUT
Paula Matter (rhymes with otter) is the author of the Maggie Lewis mysteries which take place in a small town in North Florida. Paula’s short crime fiction stories have been published in USA and German anthologies. After losing her job as a catering server, Paula decided instead of getting yet another job as a waitress/bartender/activities director/etc., she’d tackle her mystery novel again.
Originally from Miami, FL, Paula kept moving north until she settled in north central Pennsylvania. A proud mom of one son, she lives with her husband The Saint, and worthy-not-spoiled rescue dog in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains.
July 9, 2018
Guest Mysterista: Paula Matter
The request was pretty routine: would it be possible to get debut author Paula Matter in as a guest at Mysteristas? Our schedule was pretty tight around her release date, July 8. But then we met Paula at Malice Domestic and it was decided.
We had to find a way to get her in.
Paula is delightful and funny, and her debut from Midnight Ink, Last Call, set at a VFW post bar is sure to entertain. We offered Paula the opportunity to be a “Mysterista for a Day” and we each asked a different question. She was brave enough to accept.
So without further ado…
Mia: What was it like for you when you received The Call (that your book had sold)?
Cover Last CallPM: It was an email that stated she (Terri from Midnight Ink) needed some info so she could bring the manuscript to the weekly acquisitions meeting. My reply: “Wait, what? You liked it?” and I promptly sent the info she’d asked for. A few days later, I was offered the contract.
Becky: What kind of research did you have to do for this book?
PM: Mainly names for characters. I didn’t want any of my former VFW patrons to be able to see themselves in Last Call. And they won’t because they’re all a great group of people. Mostly.
Kait: What was different about this book that made the difference? How did you know it was “right”?
PM: Maggie Lewis, my protagonist. Also, writing in first person POV, I think. Maggie and I hit it off immediately. She was a somewhat minor character in another novel I’d written several years ago. Beta readers commented how much they liked her, so I decided to give her a larger role.
Liz: The age old question: plotter or pantser?
PM: Definitely plotter. Big time. I need to know the beginning and the ending, and work my way through the middle. I’ll know some of the middle, but not all of it when I get started.
Peg: How long does it take you to write your first draft, and what’s your revision process like?
PM: Years. Agonizing. Seriously? I’m a slow writer and I revise as I go. That’s how I’ve always written my short stories. I’ve learned I need to change that process with novel writing. Must. Get. Faster. Any tips for me? I’m looking at you, Becky Clark.
Sue: How important is setting in your book?
PM: Last Call takes place in a very small fictional town in north Florida. I wanted to show a different side of what people imagine Florida to be. North DeSoto is far from beaches and attractions. Being from Miami, but living for many years in north Florida, I wanted readers to see the differences.
Barbara/Katie: As an author, do you read reviews? Critically or for fun? Do you look for comments on any key topics in reviews? What reflections or comments would you like reviewers to include in impartial reviews? (Of course other than I LOVED THE BOOK!!!!!!)
PM: I’m a debut author, so this is the first time I’ve had reviews to read. Reading reviews has become an obsession. OBSESSION. Like checking Goodreads and NetGalley several times a day. And these are for the ARCs. I can’t imagine much time I’ll be checking sites once the book’s released. Yikes! One reviewer was responsible for one little addition during the editing process, so very helpful. I have been loving the comments about Maggie’s development, how she changes. I especially loved this from Publishers Weekly: “That she also has to reevaluate herself and her capabilities adds depth to her character.” PW totally gets Maggie.
Thank you, Mysteristas, for inviting me to your fabulous blog. Answering your questions was challenging and lots of fun!
*****
Author photoPaula Matter (rhymes with otter) is the author of the Maggie Lewis mysteries which take place in a small town in North Florida. Paula’s short crime fiction stories have been published in USA and German anthologies. After losing her job as a catering server, Paula decided instead of getting yet another job as a waitress/bartender/activities director/etc., she’d tackle her mystery novel again.
Originally from Miami, FL, Paula kept moving north until she settled in north central Pennsylvania. A proud mom of one son, she lives with her husband The Saint, and worthy-not-spoiled rescue dog in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains.
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Print Marked Items
Matter, Paula: LAST CALL
Kirkus Reviews.
(Apr. 15, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Matter, Paula LAST CALL Midnight Ink/Llewellyn (Adult Fiction) $15.99 7, 8 ISBN: 978-0-7387-5782-7
A bartender at a Florida VFW post who's already been written up more than once for her bad attitude gets
called out once again when she's suspected of murdering one of her customers.
Maggie Lewis isn't much to look at, and she'll never see 40 again, or even 45. But that's no reason she
should get railroaded when the body of Jack Hoffman, a Korean War vet who'd long been one of the
mainstays of the North DeSoto VFW post where Maggie handles the night shift, is discovered inside the
truck he'd parked outside the night before. Sure, Maggie had had words with prickly Jack from time to time,
just like everyone who knew him. And it's definitely one of her hair ties that North DeSoto police chief
Bobby Lee plucks from the floor of Jack's truck. But such wispy evidence is hardly enough reason for
Bobby Lee to take her downtown for questioning or for the board of the post to suspend her without pay
pending further developments, like a confession from somebody else. Unable to trust Bobby Lee, who was
never able to solve the murder of Maggie's husband, Rob, to do any better on this one, and eager to clear her
name before she dies of old age, Maggie asks her tenant, not-yet-licensed private eye Michael Bradley, to
give her a hand looking under rocks for possible motives and suspects in Jack's killing even though she
wonders how she'll ever be able to pay him with no money coming in. Romance doesn't bloom, but there
are definite sparks, and alert readers will win bar bets of their own if they bank on hearing more about this
couple down the road (maybe even solving Rob's murder in a future installment).
Meantime, Matter's debut provides mystery lite and forgettable suspects but a heroine who's not only feisty,
but sometimes downright funny as well.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Matter, Paula: LAST CALL." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A534375277/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ff66e769.
Accessed 14 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A534375277
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Last Call
Publishers Weekly.
265.22 (May 28, 2018): p76+.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Last Call
Paula Matter. Midnight Ink, $15.99 trade paper (312p) ISBN 978-0-7387-5782-7
Maggie Lewis, the grumpy narrator of Matter's lively debut and series launch, is barely scraping by,
cleaning houses and tending bar at the VFW club in the small town of North DeSoto, Fla. A widow, she
remains upset that her husband's murder is unsolved after two years. She has even more cause to be angry
when someone tries to frame her for the stabbing murder of Korean War vet Jack Hoffman, an especially
unpleasant patron of the VFW bar whose body was found early one morning in his truck in the VFW
parking lot, covered in blood. Maggie asks former cop Michael Bradley, a would-be-PI who rents half of
her Victorian duplex, for help in solving the case. Along the way, she's forced to reassess the people she
thought she knew, including the dead man. That she also has to reevaluate herself and her capabilities adds
depth to her character. Matter sprinkles in lots of clues, some of which appear to be laying the ground for
Maggie's next outing. Curious readers will look forward to her further adventures. Agent: Jill Marsal,
Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Last Call." Publishers Weekly, 28 May 2018, p. 76+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A541638807/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=568140f8.
Accessed 14 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A541638807
Review: Last Call by Paula Matter
BY JOHN VALERI
July 8, 2018
Last Call
Paula Matter
Maggie Lewis Mystery Series
July 8, 2018
Last Call by Paula Matter is a debut novel and the first book in the new Maggie Lewis Mystery series.
I’ll admit it: I’ve been eagerly awaiting Paula Matter’s debut since the weekend we shared space at a writers retreat in 2008. I don’t recall having gotten to read her Work in Progress—we were separated into small groups and only saw a handful of writing samples—but I do remember thinking that her personality alone made her worth knowing. Flash-forward a decade (and some short stories included in anthologies published domestically and in Germany), and Matter has finally delivered Last Call, the first book in her mystery series featuring protagonist Maggie Lewis.
As the story opens, readers find temperamental, middle-aged Maggie tending bar at a Florida VFW. A recent widow, she’s still mourning the death of her husband, Rob, who was killed while working in their fixer-upper of a duplex—a murder that remains unsolved. Struggling to make ends meet, Maggie has moved upstairs, demolished the mudroom where Rob was killed, and rented the lower level to former cop and PI-in-the-making Michael Bradley and his young daughter, Chris. It’s all a bit tedious but tolerable, given the comfort that can come with commonplace. And then, Maggie unwittingly finds herself at the epicenter of another murder—but this time as a person of interest.
The victim is Jack Hoffman, a Korean War veteran discovered dead in his truck in the parking lot of the VFW. A frequent patron, Jack was known for diligently chronicling the misdeeds of the bar’s customers and staff in a collection of notebooks. Along with his body—punctured by stab wounds—is a scrunchie belonging to Maggie. Consequently, North DeSoto Police Chief Bobby Lee, who Maggie still resents for not having closed her husband’s case, has no choice but to bring her in for questioning. They both know the evidence is flimsy, but procedure must be followed. The small-town gossip is both immediate and inevitable, and Maggie is soon suspended from her job pending a vote by the high-ups. Unable to afford to sit around and wait, she decides to clear her own name—and potentially solve a murder in the process.
Equal parts emotional and emboldened, Maggie finds a willing accomplice in Michael, who teaches her the tricks of his trade. And while her first efforts are bumbling at best, a series of increasingly unfortunate events indicates that somebody, or somebodies, unknown sees her as a threat and may be willing to kill again to put an end to her amateur sleuthing. There’s a gradual transition in her demeanor from passive to passive-aggressive to assertive, and Maggie, whose personal and professional conflicts render her real and relatable, begins to feel herself coming alive in ways that she hadn’t expected. As heady a realization as this is, it’s sobered by the knowledge that the killer(s) must be a member of her insular group of friends and acquaintances.
There’s lots to like here, not the least of which is Maggie herself—a feisty, flawed, fun, and occasionally foul-mouthed femme fidèle. (Sure, Maggie can get a bit repetitive in her ruminations and exclamations—I mean, sheesh!—but it’s forgivable.) Further, Matter surrounds her with a cast of complex, and perhaps conspiratorial, characters who command attention, even when they only occupy a scene or two. Clues are dropped like breadcrumbs throughout, and the mystery itself sustains interest, becoming more emotionally resonant as we learn about the victim’s tragic past and how it may, or may not, have influenced the present.
Last Call is an accomplished debut that—ahem—more than meets the bar and perhaps even raises it. The plot satisfies as a standalone but also serves up open-ended questions and tantalizing tidbits that hint at things to come. Overall, it’s a potent brew that hits the spot, like an ice cold beer on a hot summer night. Raise a glass to Paula Matter—and to Maggie. They’re two women worth getting to know. Cheers!