Lee Clark, author of the Matthew Paine Mystery series, is a North Carolina native originally from Raleigh with family roots in Virginia. An admitted chocoholic and coffeeholic, Clark still resides in North Carolina with spouse, two mostly grown children who are in and out, and a dwindling geriatric petting zoo of dogs and cats. The Matthew Paine Mystery series has been compared to works by Agatha Christie, Margaret Maron, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Louise Penny, and Lee Child according to multiple reviewers across the book series on Goodreads, BookBub, and Amazon. Clark attended Campbell University, obtained a degree in Journalism from East Carolina University, and then a Master's in Technical Communication from North Carolina State University. After over twenty years in the technical realm of corporate America, Clark turned to writing fiction in 2021 with the release of Dead Spots, the first in the Matthew Paine Mystery series. It's followed by Prefer Death, MIA, Christmas Punch, Iced, Forbidden Relics, and Killer Convergence.The Matthew Paine character is a beloved character to the author. Although fictional, the character was inspired by two very important men in the author's life, brother Sean and son Will. Both will see characteristics of themselves in the character and identify with some of Matthew's struggles.