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Matt Rees
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  • Jerusalem
  • Israel
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Profile Information

Hometown:
Newport, Wales
About Me:
I'm an award-winning crime novelist who lives in Jerusalem. Major authors have compared my writing with the work of Graham Greene, John Le Carre, Georges Simenon and Henning Mankell. The French magazine L’Express called me “the Dashiell Hammett of Palestine.” The first of my Palestinian crime novels won the Crime Writers Association New Blood Dagger.
I Am A:
Writer
Website:
http://www.mattbeynonrees.com
Books And Authors I Like:
Chandler, Greene, Hammett, Simenon, Eco.

Matt Rees's Blog

Matt Rees

Scene of the Crime

I went back to the spot where I killed my first man yesterday. I killed him four years ago. I return every few months. Each time I arrive, it’s so peaceful I can’t believe anyone really died. But, even though I’m a writer of crime fiction, someone really did.

I walked across a dirt lot, puddled with the afternoon rain, past the empty reservoir at the head of the valley. Below me the village of Irtas drifted down toward the convent where they hold the annual lettuce festival. The buildings finge… Continue

Posted on November 26, 2009 at 11:59pm —

Matt Rees

Where BBC radio producers get their ideas

I was invited to appear on a BBC World Service programme last weekend. If you’ve ever wondered how radio producers feed their on-air people interesting information about their guests (thus enabling them to create a breezy “chemistry” and to relate the day’s news stories to the knowledge or experience of the guest), here’s the questionnaire sent to me for The World Today by Affan Chowdhry, along with my responses. If you try to imagine what your answers would be to some of the questions, I think… Continue

Posted on November 25, 2009 at 8:59pm —

Matt Rees

Why Israelis pick Tarantino over Spielberg

Latent shame over the Jews' failure to stand up to the Nazis is cited as a reason for the success of "Inglourious Basterds."
By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPost

JERUSALEM, Israel — Quentin Tarantino’s "Inglourious Basterds" is the definitive Israeli movie.

The bloodthirsty revenge fantasy of Jewish soldiers crushing German skulls with baseball bats… Continue

Posted on November 23, 2009 at 11:18pm — 1 Comment

Matt Rees

My Palestinian crime novels, Ethiopian marathoners and Michael Jackson's glove on the BBC

I was on the BBC World Service's The World Today chatting about my Palestinian crime novels today. Because of the nature of the show, I also was asked my opinions on Cairo's muezzins, Ethiopian distance running and the value of Michael Jackson's rhinestone-encrusted white glove (you remember, the one he wore at the Motown Awards the first time he ever did the moonwalk). Haven't you always wanted to know what I… Continue

Posted on November 23, 2009 at 4:51am —

Matt Rees

What's behind claims about Israel's organ trade?

By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPost

JERUSALEM — Donald Bostrom, a freelance Swedish journalist who wrote an article this summer accusing Israeli officials of trading in Palestinian organs, came to Israel late last month to defend his piece at a conference on the media.

Neither Bostrom, who needed a bodyguard because of the stir his article has caused, nor the media came out looking good.

At the confe… Continue

Posted on November 22, 2009 at 8:50pm —

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Latest Activity

Matt Rees added a blog post
I went back to the spot where I killed my first man yesterday. I killed him four years ago. I return every few months. Each time I arrive, it’s so peaceful I can’t believe anyone really died. But, even though I’m a writer of crime fiction, someone...
13 hours ago
Matt Rees added a blog post
I was invited to appear on a BBC World Service programme last weekend. If you’ve ever wondered how radio producers feed their on-air people interesting information about their guests (thus enabling them to create a breezy “chemistry” and to relate...
yesterday
Escapist fiction. I think you hit the proverbial nail on the head with your reported assessment and the Israeli psyche regarding the Holocaust. Obviously. The vultures of opportunity are always circling the debris created by either destruction or ...
on Monday
Matt Rees added 2 blog posts
on Monday
Matt Rees added a blog post
By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPost JERUSALEM — Donald Bostrom, a freelance Swedish journalist who wrote an article this summer accusing Israeli officials of trading in Palestinian organs, came to Israel late last month to defend his piece at a conf...
on Sunday
Nice distinction! It's about getting inside the place or a character, not about getting all the details of an event.
November 20
Matt Rees added a blog post
Novelists aren’t journalists. Research for a novel isn’t the same as researching a journalistic article. I’d have thought that was too obvious to need stating. But then I became a published novelist, and I realized that people thought the two thi...
November 20
So true, and the causes are as varied as the military's excuses. I recently spoke to a 3-time Iraq vet who surprised me with how much guilt he feels for "abandoning" his friends who are still there. We tend to think of suicides as the ones who don...
November 18
Matt Rees added a blog post
Michael Anthony is the author of MASS CASUALTIES: A Young Medic’s True Story of Death, Deception and Dishonor in Iraq (Adams Media, October 2009). His book is drawn from his personal journals during the first year he spent serving in Iraq. You can...
November 18
BR, Thanks for the Miami suggestion. I'm intimately familiar with the place -- I married my first wife at the Fontainebleau. Mainly because her Dad was a Rat Pack fan, I think... I'll get out of the Mideast one day. Meanwhile, they do have the bes...
November 14
The Israelies are never going to change. Deep down they know the West Bank belongs to them. Hamas is never going to change--no one is going to change. It's like an addiction--everyone is infected and there's no cure. And anyone on the outside who ...
November 14
Matt Rees added a blog post
Worn out has-been or drama queen? Interpretations of the Palestinian president's threat to quit vary greatly. By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPost JERUSALEM — Sometimes a quitter really does quit for good. The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmou...
November 14
Matt Rees added a blog post
When foreign correspondents come to Jerusalem they often ask me for advice on stories and places from which to witness the various conflicts that play out in this city. Next time, I’m going to buy them a ticket to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. I go...
November 12
Who's wasting time? This place is good for the soul.
November 8
There are all sorts of chances. Sometimes (not very often) it works.
November 8
Yes, there might be a needle in the crimespace haystack. Only the needle knows...Oooooh...
November 7

Comment Wall (8 comments)

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At 12:02am on August 1, 2009, Libby Cudmore said…
Congrats on your novel doing so well . . . nice pic too
At 12:48am on June 21, 2009, Judith Levy said…
Matt, what a charming description of Raanana! I agree that Jane Marple might find it a congenial place -- although with the exception of the occasional gangster hit, it might be a little too placid for her tastes.

My mystery is set in New York City. (I've been in Israel eight years, but I'm still a New Yorker under the skin.) I'm hoping to have it finished by mid- to late summer.
At 4:41am on March 6, 2009, David L. Hoof said…
Thanks.
At 12:18am on March 6, 2009, Alison Bruce said…
Hi Matt,
thanks for the add, it's usually us girls with the best profile pics but yours gets a big thumbs up! See you around, Alison
At 6:01am on March 4, 2009, Christopher Valen said…
Matt,
Thank you for the friend invitation. I look forward to communicating with you.
Chris
At 5:27am on March 4, 2009, J. F. Juzwik said…
Thanks for the invitation. Glad to meet you. Joyce
At 2:45am on March 1, 2009, Mitzi Szereto said…
many thanks for the add, it's good to meet you!
At 2:06am on March 1, 2009, David L. Hoof said…
Welcome.
My wife is a nice Jewish girl and I love her beyond words. Of interest: when I try to find a map of Tel Aviv as it existed in 1952 for a neat story concept that I'd like to develop, I've had no luck. Any suggestions?

David
 
 

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