I first heard of Matt Cox several years ago because, well, I have a mild to moderate American Greed addiction. There I’ve said it. I have seen every episode of the show at least once and many of them multiple times.
Now if you are not familiar with American Greed, it is a true crime documentary series where each episode focuses on one particular high-profile white-collar scammer. From Jorden Belfort (Wolf of Wall Street), to Tyco executive Dennis Kozlowski, to Kenn Starr, to the granddaddy of them all, Bernie Madoff.
And the episode on Matt Cox was one that I watched on multiple occasions. Matt was estimated to have stolen 15 million dollars in an incredibly elaborate and creative set of mortgage scams. In fact, Matt stole 11 Million after being caught the first time and being placed on probation for fraud, and then another few million while on the run.
Matt has been released from prison and has written his memoir entitled, SHARK IN THE HOUSING POOL: On The Run With The Secret Services Most Wanted.
When starting the book, the first thing I noticed was that it passed my ‘first page test’. Over the years I have become a bit of a snob when it comes to writing ability and I have been known to close books after only a few paragraphs. On a few occasions, the first few sentences. But Matt’s book drew me in early with his warm and honest tone.
Looking back on my life, if I’m going to be completely honest, I wasn’t even supposed to be here…
There is a frank and simple style to his writing that falls in that — you can’t teach this, category. Not practiced or elegant, but also not formulaic or tried.
This works well, because Matt has no formal training in writing and even battles with severe dyslexia, making the book and others he’s written, even more impressive.
SHARK IN THE HOUSING POOL: On The Run With The Secret Services Most Wanted, details Matt’s life from birth until his capture and sentencing, and even gives a wrap up at the end, bringing the reader up to speed on what happened to others that are mentioned in the book.
So did I like it? Yes. Yes I did. One of my few complaints about it is that after watching several of Matt’s video podcasts where he speaks about his life, you quickly see that he is one of the most charismatic and dynamic speakers I have ever seen. That actually works against him in this book, because I don’t think there is a writer around that can write, as well as Matt speaks. So if you are comparing this book to Matt’s numerous podcast interviews — that’s not a fair comparison.
And since Matt published this book himself, since 100% of his income now comes from the art he sells and the books he writes, if you are a grammar-nazi, you will see some errors and a few formatting issues. But considering that Matt wrote this book while in prison, and the editing was having another inmate look it over, I think those few errors add a certain charm to it.
My only other solid complaint about the book is that Matt is so honest, so up front about everything he has done, that sometimes there are more detail than needed on specific crimes and the story gets bogged down a bit. But it doesn’t last long.
SHARK IN THE HOUSING POOL: On The Run With The Secret Services Most Wanted, is a good read. A fascinating tag along to a life that most of us will never see, and the life lessons from one who has.
I give it four out of five stars.