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Still Among the Living
Matt Jacob, a drug-abusing Boston janitor, turns private detective to investigate mysterious break-ins at his therapist's office and to discover what is causing his best friend's wife to have such horrific nightmares, only to stumble into a high-level conspiracy
- GenresMystery
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1990
6 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Zachary Klein
9 books10 followersI'm the author of the critically acclaimed Matt Jacob mystery series, which includes Still Among the Living, Two Way Toll, and No Saving Grace. I think of myself as a “serial careerist." I've worked as a Vista volunteer and a private counselor for individuals, couples, and groups. I was a founder of the People’s School in Uptown, Chicago, a school for high school dropouts. I also worked at Boston’s Project Place when it was a worker-run social service collective that provided free crisis intervention and other community services. And, I served as the Clinical Supervisor for one of Boston's methadone clinics.
For the past decade and change, I’ve consulted with various national attorneys as a trial and jury consultant.
E-book versions of Still Among the Living, Two Way Toll, and No Saving Grace are currently available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, SmashWords, and other major sites. A new Matt Jacob mystery, Ties that Blind, is also on the way. It will be available as an E-book and via print on demand (POD). In Ties that Blind, Matt becomes entangled in the dysfunctional family of his father-in-law's new love interest. As Matt deals with drive-by shootings and suspicious accidents, he struggles with his own fears about the growing attachments to the people in his life.
In addition to writing new Matt Jacob mysteries, I've been learning music and the sax with a very tolerant and supportive teacher, and I play in an eight-person ensemble. I live in Boston with my partner, Susan E. Goodman, a children’s book author (http://www.susangoodmanbooks.com), and have two sons, Matthew and Jacob, and a daughter-in-law, Alyssa.
Find me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ZacharyKleinA...
Visit my blog at: http://www.zacharykleinonline.com
For the past decade and change, I’ve consulted with various national attorneys as a trial and jury consultant.
E-book versions of Still Among the Living, Two Way Toll, and No Saving Grace are currently available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, SmashWords, and other major sites. A new Matt Jacob mystery, Ties that Blind, is also on the way. It will be available as an E-book and via print on demand (POD). In Ties that Blind, Matt becomes entangled in the dysfunctional family of his father-in-law's new love interest. As Matt deals with drive-by shootings and suspicious accidents, he struggles with his own fears about the growing attachments to the people in his life.
In addition to writing new Matt Jacob mysteries, I've been learning music and the sax with a very tolerant and supportive teacher, and I play in an eight-person ensemble. I live in Boston with my partner, Susan E. Goodman, a children’s book author (http://www.susangoodmanbooks.com), and have two sons, Matthew and Jacob, and a daughter-in-law, Alyssa.
Find me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ZacharyKleinA...
Visit my blog at: http://www.zacharykleinonline.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 26, 2020
For whodunit from a first time author, this is one well polished book. Published in 1990, this is now 30 years old. It has held up well.
The action is well paced, the characters well formed, and the chapters are just the right length. Drugs play a big role and there is one quite graphic sex scene, so this ain't for everyone, but most mystery lovers are be in for a nice ride.
I managed to find other 3 in the series, so I have even more on my reading list.
The action is well paced, the characters well formed, and the chapters are just the right length. Drugs play a big role and there is one quite graphic sex scene, so this ain't for everyone, but most mystery lovers are be in for a nice ride.
I managed to find other 3 in the series, so I have even more on my reading list.
August 7, 2011
Despite the drugs and alcohol - and so not the nicest of main characters - I did get drawn into this book and couldnt wait to finish it.
Want to read
April 30, 2019Synopsis: Jacob is asked by his psychologist to investigate a suspicious break-in at her office building. Reluctantly he digs out his PI licence.
September 5, 2025
For whodunit from a first time author, this is one well polished book. Published in 1990, this is now 30 years old. It has held up well.
The action is well paced, the characters well formed, and the chapters are just the right length. Drugs play a big role and there is one quite graphic sex scene, so this ain't for everyone, but most mystery lovers are be in for a nice ride.
I managed to find other 3 in the series, so I have even more on my reading list.
The action is well paced, the characters well formed, and the chapters are just the right length. Drugs play a big role and there is one quite graphic sex scene, so this ain't for everyone, but most mystery lovers are be in for a nice ride.
I managed to find other 3 in the series, so I have even more on my reading list.
February 22, 2019
late 1980s - Boston, Massachusetts
So ein fix und fertiger Detektiv ist mal was neues. Auch die Story ist nicht 0-8-15, obwohl ich ziemlich bald dahinter kam, wer der Bösewicht ist. Auf die Dauer geht einem allerdings das Kiffen, Saufen und Glotzen etwas auf die Nerven.
So ein fix und fertiger Detektiv ist mal was neues. Auch die Story ist nicht 0-8-15, obwohl ich ziemlich bald dahinter kam, wer der Bösewicht ist. Auf die Dauer geht einem allerdings das Kiffen, Saufen und Glotzen etwas auf die Nerven.
June 12, 2011
Still Among the Living is the first in a series of three Matt Jacob mysteries. I’m re-reading all three in anticipation of a fourth book that will (hopefully) be published soon. I love this series — mainly because of the strong narrative voice. Matt is 3D-real. His thoughts, his actions, his dialogue: There’s never a false note.
He’s lost his family in an accident, though we never learn the details of that accident. We only know he’s pissed off at the world and at himself, and he tries to obliterate both with cigarettes, pot, bourbon and beer - whatever it takes. Matt can’t understand why everybody keeps asking him for help, when he can barely help himself: His shrink wants him to investigate a burglary in her building, and a friend wants him to spy on his wife.
A strong sense of obligation—as well as curiosity and concern—lead Matt to take on both cases. “I haven’t been interested in much of anything and that’s the way I thought I was going to play out the string,” he says at one point. “Only this s**t interests me.”
The story moves quickly and is full of suspense. There are shady cops, long-buried secrets, and a gruesome murder. Along the way, Matt learns things about himself that he’d rather not know. He realizes the depth of his rage and self-hatred through one of the most disturbing—but exciting—sex scenes I’ve ever read.
Though Matt may be filled with self-hatred, others truly care about him. Like his father-in-law, Lou; his gay neighbors, Charles and Richard; and an ex-girlfriend named Boots. Even his drug dealer, Jules, shows “affection” for Matt: “I’m comfortable with you, slumlord,” Jules says. “We ain’t what I’d call friends, but there’s not too many people I’ll share a high with.” Despite Matt’s flaws, the reader can’t help but like him too.
Every character in the story, no matter what the size of their role, has a distinct voice; an authenticity. It’s one of the strengths of the novel and of the entire series. Given that this was Klein’s first published novel, it’s an impressive feat.
I read this series not just because the plot lines keep me guessing, but because I want to see what happens to Matt. How he’ll develop. Who he’ll become. What type of trouble he’ll get into with his “learn-as-he-goes” detective method. A detective series can’t succeed without a strong lead character, and Matt is definitely a character worth following.
He’s lost his family in an accident, though we never learn the details of that accident. We only know he’s pissed off at the world and at himself, and he tries to obliterate both with cigarettes, pot, bourbon and beer - whatever it takes. Matt can’t understand why everybody keeps asking him for help, when he can barely help himself: His shrink wants him to investigate a burglary in her building, and a friend wants him to spy on his wife.
A strong sense of obligation—as well as curiosity and concern—lead Matt to take on both cases. “I haven’t been interested in much of anything and that’s the way I thought I was going to play out the string,” he says at one point. “Only this s**t interests me.”
The story moves quickly and is full of suspense. There are shady cops, long-buried secrets, and a gruesome murder. Along the way, Matt learns things about himself that he’d rather not know. He realizes the depth of his rage and self-hatred through one of the most disturbing—but exciting—sex scenes I’ve ever read.
Though Matt may be filled with self-hatred, others truly care about him. Like his father-in-law, Lou; his gay neighbors, Charles and Richard; and an ex-girlfriend named Boots. Even his drug dealer, Jules, shows “affection” for Matt: “I’m comfortable with you, slumlord,” Jules says. “We ain’t what I’d call friends, but there’s not too many people I’ll share a high with.” Despite Matt’s flaws, the reader can’t help but like him too.
Every character in the story, no matter what the size of their role, has a distinct voice; an authenticity. It’s one of the strengths of the novel and of the entire series. Given that this was Klein’s first published novel, it’s an impressive feat.
I read this series not just because the plot lines keep me guessing, but because I want to see what happens to Matt. How he’ll develop. Who he’ll become. What type of trouble he’ll get into with his “learn-as-he-goes” detective method. A detective series can’t succeed without a strong lead character, and Matt is definitely a character worth following.
May 12, 2012
Read this when it was published and loved it. Great to read that Zachary Klein has a new book on the way. Look forward to reading it. I remember doing a Google search on him some time ago and nothing much came up except for a few positive comments about his novels and comments to the effect that he seemed to have disappeared. Good to know he's "Still Among the Living".
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews