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Matt Birkbeck

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Matt Birkbeck

Goodreads Author


Born
Brooklyn , The United States
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Member Since
February 2013


Matt Birkbeck (born Brooklyn, N.Y.) is a bestselling author and journalist.
His debut work of fiction, The Wicked, was published in August 2025.

He is best known for his nonfiction books A Beautiful Child, which told the tragic story of "Sharon Marshall" and Franklin Delano Floyd, and the sequel Finding Sharon, which is a memoir about his ten-year effort, along with the FBI and National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, to find Sharon's true identity.

Both books were adapted by Netflix for the hit 2022 film Girl in the Picture, which Matt served as executive producer.

He is also known for The Life We Chose, about William "Big Billy" D'Elia, the former head of the Bufalino crime family; Deconstructing Sammy, about the life of Sammy Davi
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Matt Birkbeck Yes, Aimee. Her name was discovered in 2014. My new book FINDING SHARON tells the story of that search, and more. Will be out in July. (Sorry for taki…moreYes, Aimee. Her name was discovered in 2014. My new book FINDING SHARON tells the story of that search, and more. Will be out in July. (Sorry for taking so long to reply...( just saw your question). Best, Matt (less)
Average rating: 4.01 · 5,859 ratings · 491 reviews · 10 distinct worksSimilar authors
A Beautiful Child

4.14 avg rating — 2,474 ratings — published 2004 — 17 editions
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The Life We Chose: William ...

4.12 avg rating — 788 ratings7 editions
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The Quiet Don: The Untold S...

3.80 avg rating — 851 ratings — published 2012 — 16 editions
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A Deadly Secret: The Bizarr...

3.81 avg rating — 759 ratings14 editions
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Finding Sharon

4.39 avg rating — 385 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions
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Deconstructing Sammy: Music...

3.72 avg rating — 440 ratings — published 2008 — 20 editions
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'Till Death Do Us Part: Lov...

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3.24 avg rating — 172 ratings — published 2006 — 19 editions
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The Wicked

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings3 editions
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Without a Trace

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More books by Matt Birkbeck…

A Debut Novel That Will Steal Your Breath

From the author of A Beautiful Child comes a heart pounding new thriller.
By Alan R. Warren

Matt Birkbeck, best known for his gripping nonfiction bestsellers like 'The Life We Chose', 'Deconstructing Sammy', and the haunting 'A Beautiful Child' (which was adapted by Netflix for its acclaimed Girl in the Picture), makes a stunning leap into fiction with The Wicked—and what a leap it is.

The novel op Read more of this blog post »
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Published on August 12, 2025 04:48

Matt’s Recent Updates

A Beautiful Child by Matt Birkbeck
"such a sad story and I feel awful for Tanya and Michael but DNF bc I don’t care about the abuser"
A Beautiful Child by Matt Birkbeck
"I really enjoyed this book and it gave me a great full in depth view of the crime. The timeline was also explained extremely well in this book for such a complex case. "
A Beautiful Child by Matt Birkbeck
"Completely creepy true crime take that was well-written. The dedication of the folks seeking to unravel the mysteries was admirable. Although the truth would not be revealed until after this book was written, it is still well worth the read"
A Beautiful Child by Matt Birkbeck
" Hi Trelana, Tough story but glad you liked it. The characters in the book wanted to talk about Sharon/Suzanne, which was a big help. My next book, The ...more "
Matt Birkbeck is now following Ky and Kim McCabe
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The Wicked by Matt Birkbeck
The Wicked
by Matt Birkbeck (Goodreads Author)
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" For those of you who enjoyed my previous work including A Beautiful Child, The Life We Chose and Deconstructing Sammy, my debut work of fiction THE WI ...more "
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Polls



Ok Ladies - time for the Nov/Dec nonfiction book poll. We have an abundance of choices this month. We bypassed our mandatory 10 books almost overnight. So be sure to get in there and vote for your choice.

This poll will stay open until the end of the day on October 23rd.

Good luck to all the nominators...

(PS if you haven't already and it is still open be sure to vote for the Members Choice tie breaker too! Thanks )

 
  9 votes, 19.6%

 
  9 votes, 19.6%

 
  6 votes, 13.0%

 
  5 votes, 10.9%

 
  4 votes, 8.7%

 
  3 votes, 6.5%

 
  3 votes, 6.5%

 
  2 votes, 4.3%

 
  2 votes, 4.3%

 
  1 vote, 2.2%

 
  1 vote, 2.2%

 
  1 vote, 2.2%

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