Matt Birkbeck is an American author and award winning investigative journalist. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Reader's Digest, Boston Magazine and a host of other magazines, including People, where he served as a correspondent for a decade. In 2004, he joined the staff of The Morning Call. He is the author of A Deadly Secret: The Strange Disappearance of Kathie Durst, which follows the bizarre story of New York real estate heir Robert Durst; A Beautiful Child, which tells the heartwrenching, tragic story of Sharon Marshall; co-author of Till Death Do Us Part: Love, Marriage and the Mind of the Killer Spouse, with psychotherapist Robi Ludwig. His latest book, the critically acclaimed Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness, and the Mob, explores Sammy Davis Jr., who died $15 million in debt and whose estate, as of 2008, remains insolvent. The New York Times Book Review called Deconstructing Sammy "Gripping" and "Sensational" and the Los Angeles Times called the book "Epic". Birkbeck received an Investigative Reporters and Editors Award in 2002 for his stories on mortgage fraud in the U.S.