Matson's Case No. 4

Mattie James was supposed to be a woman whose best years were behind her. Her murder tells Detective Matson otherwise.

New York City, 1964. Once a beautiful, high-priced prostitute connected to Harlem's underworld, Mattie James is found murdered and dumped in a filthy alley. But something about the victim doesn't sit right with Matson.

The shabby woman Mattie had supposedly become bears little resemblance to the elegant woman remembered by those who knew her. Then Matson discovers drugs and money hidden in her apartment, evidence begins disappearing from police custody, and what should have been a straightforward murder investigation becomes anything but simple.

As Matson and his partner, Smith, follow Mattie's trail, they are drawn deeper into Harlem's criminal underworld and an America in turmoil. Racial unrest, political assassinations, organized crime, corruption, and the growing heroin trade surround an investigation in which every answer seems to uncover another secret.

But the greatest mystery may be Mattie herself.

Who was she really? How did a woman once controlled by one of Harlem's most powerful crime figures acquire a hidden fortune? Which parts of her past were real, and which were carefully constructed lies? Most importantly, who wanted Mattie James dead?

Years pass. Careers change. New cases demand Matson's attention, and the world moves on.

Matson doesn't.

He refuses to consign Mattie James to a dusty case file. Following the money and reconstructing the life of a woman he realizes he never truly knew, Matson continues hunting for the truth long after others would have stopped.

Because whether Mattie was a queen or a prostitute, wealthy or penniless, respected or forgotten, Matson believes every murder victim deserves the same thing:

Justice.

Matson's Case No. 4: The Cold Case of Mattie James is a historical crime mystery set against the turbulent backdrop of 1960s New York City, blending a decades-spanning cold case investigation with Harlem history, organized crime, and one detective's determination to uncover the truth.