Agatha Award-winning authors Matthew LaBrot and Daniel J. Hale are big fans of mysteries, sports, and the original Jonny Quest cartoon series. When Matthew was twelve, he and Daniel took their favorite things about each, put them together, and came up with a thirteen-year-old amateur sleuth named Zeke Armstrong. One year later, this nephew-and-uncle writing team finished work on Red Card, the first Zeke Armstrong Mystery, and quickly sold the manuscript. The book was published in the summer of 2002.
In May 2003, Red Card won the Agatha Award for Best Children's/Young Adult Novel. Both Matthew and Daniel were on hand to accept the award, presented at the Malice Domestic mystery convention in Washington, D.C. Fifteen years old at the time, Matthew is the youngest recipient in the history of the Agatha.
The Agatha Award-nominated Green Streak, the second Zeke Armstrong Mystery, was released in 2004. This installment revolves around an inline skating race - and an apparent mugging that Zeke knows to be part of a much-larger crime - in Manhattan's Central Park. While Zeke tries to solve the mystery, he and his buddy, Pow Wow Gao, sprint through some hair-raising New York City adventures. Will Zeke figure out what the bad guys are up to, or will they stop him in his tracks?
Matthew is a singer / songwriter who has played many years of select soccer player and All-Star baseball. He enjoys basketball, mountain biking, and inline skating. To check out Matthew's music, click on this .
A former competitive mountain biker, Daniel also enjoys freeskiing, kayaking, squash, and sailing. He holds degrees from Cornell University, Southern Methodist University, and the Bowen School of Law. Daniel is the Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America. A longtime resident of Paris, he speaks fluent French and is a member of Mensa.
Author photo by Martin Rogers.
