Mattapoisett native writes murder mystery taking place in hometown

MATTAPOISETT — Jack Matthews knew from the time he was in high school at Old Rochester in the early 1960s that he wanted to write a book. He just didn’t know what to write about.

One day in 2012, Matthews was visiting his hometown of Mattapoisett when an idea suddenly hit him.

“I came down to Mattapoisett for a long weekend, walking along the wharf and boom — I had an idea,” said Matthews. “I ran back to grab my laptop and that was the start of it.”

Seven years later, Matthews’ debut novel “Arte Perdida” was published.

About half of the mystery novel takes place in Mattapoisett after art is stolen from a German museum and makes its way across the Atlantic.

Matthews graduated from Old Rochester in 1964 and is now a Connecticut resident, often returning to Mattapoisett to visit the place he grew up.

His mother would take him to the Mattapoisett Library when he was young, which Matthews said started a love for books.

“When I grew up, I always thought everyone was from a cool little hometown where everybody was friendly and everybody helped each other out,” said Matthews.

It wasn’t until he moved away from Mattapoisett when Matthews realized that it was a special place, he said. “With nothing to compare it to, you don’t realize how good it is.”

Matthews’ love for Mattapoisett struck an inspiration for a story that he long sought, he said.

“I was always told ‘write what you know,’" said Matthews. “I grew up here. It’s easy [to write about] here.”

Before arriving in Mattapoisett, the stolen art that the plot of Arte Perdida surrounds touches down in the Azores and Newfoundland.

Matthews visited these places while writing to give himself a better idea of the settings to help him better describe them in the book.

“I could’ve made it up,” said Matthews. “I could’ve gone online and found a couple of pictures and winged it but I wanted it to be really accurate. You have to be honest with your readers.”

Matthews eventually halted working as a college professor to fully focus on writing.

Today, Matthews says Arte Perdida has been successful and spends time teaching others how to write novels in Connecticut.

He hopes that Mattapoisett residents can find excitement in reading a story that takes place in their hometown.

“I've been all around the world, been to every state, there is nothing like Mattapoisett,” said Matthews. “There really isn't.”