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Ten-year-old Matthew Turner only learned of his special ability last year, and doesn't yet fully understand it. When a young girl is snatched on her way home from school, Matty's police detective father knows that every minute counts. For the first time - but not the last - Detective Roger Turner enlists his son's unique help.

With over 130,000 copies sold, the Matt Turner Series launched author Michael Siemsen to bestseller status. The Dig (Book 1) and The Opal (Book 2) hint at the troubled psychometrist's shocking childhood, using his ability to "read" an object's history to help his father solve the worst kinds of crimes. Only now, with the short story Matty are we offered a firsthand glimpse into a young Matt's first case - tracking down a kidnapped girl named Joss Lynn Leland.

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 16, 2013

31 people are currently reading
145 people want to read

About the author

Michael Siemsen

22 books238 followers
USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of Exigency (2014), the Matt Turner series (The Dig, 2011; The Opal, 2012; Return, 2015), and the Demon’s Story series (A Warm Place to Call Home, and The Many Lives of Samuel Beauchamp, 2013), Michael Siemsen has sold more than 175,000 books.

Michael grew up in Venice, California, the second son of a Vietnam veteran who was the first son of a Korean War veteran who was the first son of a World War I veteran. Like Lieutenant Dan, Michael carried on the family tradition and joined the Army, though the only wars he fought in involved blank ammunition, laser tag gear, and were kinda fun.

After a decade working various soul-sucking IT jobs, he independently released THE DIG in early 2011, and, 14 months later, the quirky sci-fi story rocketed to #1 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, remaining in the top 10 for the rest of the year. He quit his job a few months into THE DIG's initial surge, and has released five more novels since.

Michael is currently at work on the next books in his popular serieseses.

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5 stars
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56 (20%)
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for Cheryl .
2,429 reviews80 followers
April 22, 2018
I came across this short story on a Kindle Australia special for free and I'm so glad I found it because it was an absolute corker of a read! As I understand, this is a "prequel" that the author has written to help fill in the background of Matty Turner, the child. There are at least 3 more full length books that I have found on Kindle featuring the adult Matt Turner - The Dig , The Opal and Return - and I've added them all to my TBR list.

Without rehashing too much, Matty has been blessed with a profound, if not readily accepted, gift of psychic awareness. When he touches an object he can see who last handled it and what happened to them, a fortuitous blessing for his Detective father. When we are first introduced to Matty he wears gloves so as not to be overwhelmed by visions but you get the idea that even though he wants to help his Dad he is still very confused and somewhat frightened of his new powers. The author does not give us the answer as to how he came about getting his visions in this story so I hope that it is explained further in the novels.
A highly recommended short story read that draws you into Matty's world, leaves you enthralled and certainly hanging to find out what happens in his adult life.
Profile Image for Angela.
325 reviews25 followers
July 18, 2014
Even if you aren't a fan of The Dig (!!) or haven't crawled out from under your rock and read it yet (!!!!!!!), you will surely want to know more about Matt Turner and his ability. This adds a much needed back story to Matt and why he doesn't like using his ability. There is a major sense of urgency in this tale as it has to deal with the kidnapping of a little girl. But, there is also a hesitancy in Matty to help his dad and the police find her. Once you start reading the story, you'll understand the dilemma. I won't say that you won't regret reading this, because you'll want more, but The Dig and The Opal are out so you can get more from those!
17 reviews
October 26, 2014
Short but impactful read, Matty gives the reader a deeper look into the childhood of the star of The Dig and The Opal. Fans of the Mat Turner series must be sure to include this short story in their reading. It focuses on one event, but that one event is critical turning point in the series. I would recommend reading Matty after finishing The Dig, and even waiting until after reading The Opal to get it's full impact.
8 reviews
February 17, 2022
Boring

The story had an interesting premise but it was poorly executed. The main characters are not memorable or distinctive at all.
47 reviews
June 17, 2025
Very interesting. Purchased the other Matt books it was that hood
Profile Image for Karen Laird.
114 reviews4 followers
November 23, 2014
Matty - A Matt Turner Series Short
Michael Siemsen


All kids want to be like everyone else. They want to be accepted to play and have fun. But what if you are a little kid and discover you are different. What if you can't afford to play with the other kids. The pain of doing so is just to great.
The act of touching for Matty, unlike the rest of us, is not a tactile experience. It is a psychological paranormal out of body experience, for his experience brings empathy to a new height. Unfortunately for Matt, this is not limited to touching just people, but touching any object that they have touched. A bit much for a young kid.
Matty was the older of two children of a young couple. Mom, a stay at home mom, and dad a police officer with the local department.
Mom and Dad have been very protective of Matty every since they finally figured out his extraordinary gift. It has been a closely guarded family secret and used in family games and to find lost keys or wallets... until one day while on a family outing dad got an emergency call.
There was a little girl about Matty's age that had been kidnapped. All officers had been called in on an all points bulletin. The car seen taking the girl had already been located.
Dad knew Matt might be the only answer.
A shorty, but an excellent prequel to set the stage for the upcoming release of the third book in the Matt Turner Series due for release in December... in time for the Christmas Stocking.
Haven't read the first two? Oo (Hint, I have read The Dig three times) You have time before Christmas to read them all.
ShadeTree Book Reviews and Blog
http://shadetreeblogging.blogspot.com
Profile Image for KL Caley.
180 reviews9 followers
September 4, 2015
I was lucky to get this during a free amazon promotion! As it’s only a short (really short) story make sure you don’t pay too much for it, if you do decide to buy it.

That being said, this is a GOOD read. I loved the first of the Matt Turner stories, the second was a little bit disappointing as the story seems disjointed a little in places. This little story hits the nail on the head, with Siemsen’s writing back on top form.

The story revolves mostly around Matt and his dad, and gives the first insight of his dads’ conflict over whether to use Matt’s abilities or not. But when it involves a missing little girl who could be in a life threatening situation he decides it’s a risk worth taking.

This is a fast paced story getting to the action quickly. By going back to Matt’s childhood and home we can see his character better, the softer worried side of his mum, the tougher action based cop that is his dad and how they blend into Matt’s personality.

So yes, this is a short story and not 100% the authors usual style but I like this about it, if the author had drawn it out into a longer story or worse a novel it would have just been a page filling exercise. This is real storyline, short, simple and sweet.

Note - If you are going to read the Matt Turner series read this before the RETURN as it makes that stories plotline even stronger.
343 reviews13 followers
March 23, 2015
This is just an informative little story from the childhood of Michael Siemsen's new lead character, Matt Turner. It involves the first time that Matt's father, a homicide detective, feels desperate enough to break the rules he and his wife have set regarding Matty's special "gift." He can, in his mind, become the last person to handle a given object. There is a child missing. Matt's dad is frantic to find the missing girl. He breaks the rules and has Matty touch a lunchbox she left behind when she was taken. To tell you anymore would be a spoiler.
This little story does inform the reader a bit about what Matty's childhood was like, which helps the reader of Siemsen's new series understand the lead character a little better. A nice quick read.
Profile Image for Katherine.
2,870 reviews13 followers
March 22, 2015
Okay, I broke the rules. Curious to see if this series was of interest, I read this short first. The writing was good, the story quick and interesting. But, I do not see the major impact here. Everything goes relatively well so I truly cannot tell why this is such a major turning point for Matt. It was interesting enough that I will explore the series, and perhaps there I will learn why this was so important.
Profile Image for Bill Howard.
21 reviews
November 23, 2014
Great short on Matt's backstory. Would love to know if he was born with this 'gift' or it evolved somehow in his early years. My only complaint was it was too short. The story could have gone on and on and I would have soaked it up. Anything that Michael Siemsen writes is worth reading and I highly recommend all of his works.
Profile Image for Annette Mordec.
243 reviews4 followers
September 22, 2015
It took me approximately 3 minutes to read this short story. I have to admit that I do not know why it was written, not the slightest clue. Only reason I picked it up because books in this series are interesting. I was thinking that this short story would be a prequel to the books, but I honestly don't know what this was. Like I said, 3 minutes. At least it was free.
Profile Image for Angela.
545 reviews33 followers
January 8, 2015
I liked this short story showing how Matt's father could not resist using his son to solve crimes and we see the effect it had on Matt.
I read this story in about an hour, it was well worth the hour.
Profile Image for Barbara Chandler.
124 reviews1 follower
September 5, 2015
this was just a short story about the lead character in the book Dig by the same author. Reading Dig you get an idea of Matts childhood, Matty takes us into a bit of that childhood. I look forward to reading what comes next in the series. I like the premis and I thought it well written
Profile Image for Bob Nielsen.
114 reviews2 followers
December 15, 2014
Very short story, and a quick read. It's a little background for the main character in the other two books in the series (The Dig & The Opal).
Profile Image for Cynthia T Cannon.
186 reviews
June 13, 2015
Like this short story of Matt's Youth

More stories of how Matt grew up please Mr. Sorensen? I really liked this story and would love to read more prequels. Love these stories.
Profile Image for Cressa.
498 reviews2 followers
July 17, 2015
very short "short" but a nice look into a young Matt's life.
Profile Image for Jon.
350 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2016
An interesting back tory to the main character of the series. Worth reading if you like the Matty series.
Profile Image for Melody.
977 reviews3 followers
May 30, 2015
nice short...interesting read!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews

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