The Matlock Paper

The Matlock Paper is the third suspense novel by Robert Ludlum, in which a solitary protagonist comes face to face with a massive criminal conspiracy.

Its protagonist, James Barbour Matlock, is an English professor in his 30s who is recruited by the Department of Justice to investigate a drug smuggling ring, led by a mysterious figure named "Nimrod". The novel is set at the fictitious Carlyle University in Connecticut, a thinly disguised Wesleyan University in Middletown, Ludlum's alma mater.

Publication history

 * 1973, US, Dial Press ISBN 0246107529, Pub date April 1973, Hardback
 * 1974, US, Dell ISBN 0-440-15538-X, Pub date April 15, 1974, Paperback
 * 1973, UK, Grafton ISBN 0-246-10752-9 Pub date July 9, 1973, Hardback
 * 2002, UK, HarperCollins ISBN 0-586-04067-6, Pub date April 15, 2002, Paperback