Matt Kruze

Biography

Matt Kruze is a fiction writer with a penchant for crime and mystery thrillers. Following a well-received short story, The Villager, set in his home village, Matt has since published his debut full length novel, Pursuit.

Matt lives in Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom and is always happy to chat to aspiring and established writers.

Smashwords Interview

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
A maelstrom of ideas, some great, which I will probably never put into practice, and some terrible which I will explore and then abandon. But, among the tangled vine of concepts which seem to sprout during the night, there are always one or two which, I hope, lead me to better writing or give me something interesting and useful to pass on to others.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Trying to work out how to make my life, and that of my family, an adventure. I love to travel and immerse myself and my wife and children into the cultures of other societies, to learn enough of a new language to get by in a new country. Oh, and I do a lot of thinking. About new writing concepts, certainly, but also about new ways to reach out to the world and find something interesting to say. (And no, I don't always succeed!)
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Matt Kruze online

Books

Pursuit
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 92,160. Language: English. Published: August 16, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller
(4.33 from 3 reviews)
The perfect crime is in the making. A heist so flawless in its design, not even the perpetrators know the vast implications.
The Villager
Price: Free! Words: 14,480. Language: English. Published: July 8, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Military, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Action & suspense
(3.00 from 2 reviews)
A tranquil village at the centre of an international conspiracy, and a predator who will stop at nothing to meet the demands of his corporate paymasters.

Smashwords book reviews by Matt Kruze

  • From Thine Own Well on Dec. 03, 2013

    In 2012 the Canadian government signed an agreement aimed at encouraging foreign investment. Twenty five years on and the catastrophic effects of this contract are felt far and wide, and it becomes clear that the government has effectively sold out on its people, offering outside corporations the chance to plunder the country’s vast natural resources, polluting the ecosystem in the process. We are introduced to a band of friends, brought together by a common aim to end the dangerous mining practices which are ravaging their country, who elect to fight back against ‘The Coalition’, an oppressive regime abusing its power over Canada’s citizens. The characterisation is compelling, with the small but determined friends each given an appealing depth of personality and individual traits, which makes their fight against the Coalition all the more engaging. Relationships are cultivated and resolves are tested under the weight of violence and tragedy. The villains of the show are the various members of the Coalition and their supporters, including the menacing Chong and the hateful band of militia at his disposal. These antagonists are not your usual clichéd bad guys, but a disparate band of personalities, all flawed in their individual ways. Some are power hungry, some are weak-willed, others, at times, are invested with an ounce of benevolence; such interesting variations ensure the board meeting scenes are ever tense and gripping - there is always conflict, and without fail that conflict manifests itself as bad news for the small gang of heroes whose role it is to defy the Coalition and seek the salvation of their country. The author manages to evoke a setting with an almost post-apocalyptic flavour; life as we know it seems to have changed irrevocably, and the population, as well as the environment, are under grave threat. Perhaps pre-apocalyptic would be a better definition then…there’s certainly that tension, the foreboding that a great and catastrophic disaster is about to befall the country. The only question is: can this tiny group of friends, against the might of an all-powerful regime, fend off the seemingly inevitable? You’ll have to read From Thine Own Well to find out, and if you like political thrillers, eco thrillers, pre-/post-apocalyptic themes, you’ll like this. For all I know though, since I am not familiar with Canadian environmental issues, it might just be up your alley if you’re from that neck of the woods! A sensitive topic, spiced up and delivered with insight and originality, as tense as it is thought-provoking.