Matthew Lynn (born 1962) is a British thriller writer, financial journalist and publisher. He is the author of the ''Death Force'' series of novels. He has also written under the name James Harland.

Early life

Lynn was born in 1962 and grew up in Exeter and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, before moving to London. He was educated at

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

, Oxford.

Career

Economist

Lynn writes on business and economics, including columns in ''

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Tele ...

'', ''

MoneyWeek ''MoneyWeek'' is a British weekly investment magazine that covers financial and economic news and provides commentary and analysis across the UK and global markets. ''MoneyWeek'' is edited in London. It is owned by MoneyWeek Limited, which is n ...

'' and ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

''. For most of the 1990s, he worked for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'', for the last three years as a profile columnist.Matthew Lynn archive
''Bloomberg''. Retrieved 2012-05-30. His book ''Four Walls Eight Windows'' (ECON, 1997) was reviewed by '' Library Journal'', which wrote, "Lynn's treatment of the political, industrial, and social turmoil surrounding the sale to major carriers of a stable of aircraft of various payloads and ranges has all the intrigue and skullduggery of a spy novel". Lynn wrote two business books, ''The Billion-Dollar Battle: Merck v. Glaxo'' and ''Birds of Prey: Boeing v. Airbus''. The latter received a largely positive review from ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', while '' Kirkus Reviews'' noted Lynn "writes serviceable prose at best". In a 2007 ''Bloomberg'' article, Matt Lynn predicted that

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

"…will sell a few to its fans, but the iPhone won't make a long-term mark on the industry". He is the author of ''Bust: Greece, the Euro and the Sovereign Debt Crisis'', published in late 2010, and more recently, ''The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031'' (Endeavour Press).Lynn, Matthew (30 May 2012)
"6 reasons Spain will leave the euro first"
''MarketWatch'' Retrieved 30 May 2012. His articles and opinions have been used as references by other authors and researchers. Bust was reviewed in '' CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries'' as follows: "books on economics and international finance rarely provide an exciting, gripping read" and called it "highly recommended". In 2012, Lynn was chief executive of Strategy Economics, a London-based consultancy. His "London Eye" column began appearing weekly in '' MarketWatch'' in June 2011.

Novelist

As James Harland, he published '' The Month of the Leopard'' in 2001. '' Kirkus Reviews'' wrote, "Tension, pitifully lacking in the first two thirds of this grand adventure for MBAs, finally arrives, but nonbankers will probably have bailed out by then". ''

'' noted, "There are problems: flat characterizations, gratuitous violence, unconvincing motivation for Telmont and a too-hasty denouement. But the book is a page-turner for anyone interested in high-stakes financial shenanigans". He started writing the ''Death Force'' series of action-adventure thrillers in 2009. Featuring a group of mercenaries, the series includes ''Death Force'', ''Fire Force'' and ''Shadow Force''. ''

The News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one o ...

'' gave the first book a four-starred rating, describing it as “a Boy's-Own adventure guaranteed to get the pulse racing. It is up there with the finest that

Andy McNab Steven Billy Mitchell, (born 28 December 1959), usually known by the pseudonym and pen-name of Andy McNab, is a novelist and former British Army infantry soldier. He came into public prominence in 1993 when he published a book entitled '' Bra ...

Chris Ryan Colin Armstrong (born 1961), usually known by the pseudonym and pen-name of Chris Ryan, is an author, television presenter, security consultant and former Special Air Service sergeant. After the publication of fellow patrol member Andy McNa ...

have ever penned.” In 2018, Lynn set up Endeavour Media, an independent publisher based in London. It became

Lume Books Lume Books is an independent publishing company based in London. Founded in 2018 by Matthew Lynn, Lume has published many award-winning authors including Marjorie Bowen, A. J. P. Taylor, Paula DiPerna, Nick Thorpe, Wendy Perriam, Ramsey Campbell ...

in 2020.

Controversy

When trying to promote his book ''The Watchmen'', Lynn offered the first chapter for free on the website Motley Fool UK. However users on the website objected to his unusual method of publicity and Lynn had to back off.

Personal life

He has three children.

References

External links

Strategy Economics official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, Matt 1962 births British thriller writers Living people British columnists Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford The Daily Telegraph people British business and financial journalists British publishers (people) The Sunday Times people