Matthew Becker (M.S. ’17, Ph.D. ’18, applied mathematics & statistics, and scientific computation) published a math-infused thriller novel.
A discreetly placed pi symbol. A code composed of Fibonacci numbers. A cryptic reference to Fermat’s last theorem. To a mathematically trained eye, Matthew Becker’s thriller novel, “Run,” is full of clues that could help astute readers figure out the killer. For everyone else—well, you might just have to keep reading.
“A book that makes you want to keep going—that's really all I wanted,” Becker said of his goal in writing “Run.”
A voracious reader of mystery novels, Becker also holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in applied mathematics & statistics, and scientific computation from the University of Maryland. So it’s perhaps no surprise that his first published novel mentions a posteriori probabilities and Bayes’ theorem, with plenty of other mathematical references in between.
Set in the Washington, D.C. area, the plot of “Run” follows Veronica Walsh, a math professor at Georgetown University who disappears after sending her husband, Ben, a political staffer, an unusual text: “I love you. I just need you to know that.” As Ben searches for signs of his wife, he gets pulled into two murder investigations and starts to question how much he actually knows about the woman he’s married to.
Becker is happy with the reception that “Run” has received since its launch on September 24, 2024. As of November, “Run” had 4.1 stars on Goodreads and 4.2 stars on Amazon with more than 150 ratings on each platform.
“I'm trying not to be religious about checking ratings, but also I really like numbers,” Becker said with a laugh. “If I see a 2-star rating, I'm not personally offended, but I think, ‘Oh, that brings the average down.’”
Readers can expect to see a little more math and a lot more mystery when Becker’s sequel to “Run,” titled “Don’t Look Down,” is published on January 14, 2025. A third and final installment is planned for release in the spring. Even though Becker always loved reading murder mysteries, he didn’t dream of writing them.
Instead, Becker wanted to be an applied mathematician. He decided to come to UMD after hearing Department of Mathematics Chair Doron Levy speak at a conference about mathematical biology’s applications in cancer research.
“It was so interesting and so engaging,” Becker said, “and he’s the main reason that I wanted to come here.”
For his dissertation, Becker modeled the growth of cancer tumors and the connections to multi-drug resistance.
After graduating from UMD in 2018, Becker landed a job as a mathematician at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), where he worked on satellite tracking in the air and missile defense sector. During the pandemic, he switched tracks and joined a larger national effort to determine demand for COVID test kits.
“APL inherited a model for test kit demand in the country that was just 51 tabs of an Excel spreadsheet, all interconnected, with no notes,” Becker said. “It was horrible, so my value added was taking that and creating a semi-automated Python script.”
That project and similar efforts across the country helped the U.S. government figure out how many free test kits to mail to households at a time when demand far outstripped supply.
Becker left APL when his wife, Sarah, a diplomat and fellow UMD alum (M.A. ’15, public policy), received her first assignment in the U.S. Foreign Service: a two-year stint in Uzbekistan. He welcomed the opportunity with open arms and started learning Russian alongside his wife. Together with their one-year-old daughter, they moved to the nation’s capital, Tashkent, in 2022.
After acclimating to their new environment, Becker started tutoring middle and high school students—mostly the children of other diplomats—in math.
“Word-of-mouth spread quickly through the diplomatic community that there's a guy who has a lot of free time and has a Ph.D. in applied math,” Becker said.
Becker also revisited his goal of becoming a published author, a pursuit he started years earlier while still living in the U.S. He finished writing “Run” in 2020 and pitched it to plenty of agents without much success.
“I got rejected by 125 agents,” Becker said. “One agent told me that my plot was far too convoluted, and on the same day, a different agent rejected working with me because my plot was too straightforward.”
Becker’s big break came after moving to Uzbekistan and learning that Aethon Books, a publisher that specializes in science fiction and fantasy, was looking for political thrillers. He submitted the first 50 pages of “Run” and received a positive response within 48 hours. By the end of the week he had received and accepted a three-book deal, and he ultimately secured a contract with a literary agent.
For those familiar with the thriller genre, Becker describes his writing style as a cross between two of his favorite authors.
“Without meaning to sound too hubristic, because at this point, I'm just some guy, I think of myself as sort of in-between Harlan Coben and David Baldacci,” he said. “That's the niche I'm trying to carve out.”
With one book under his belt and two more on the way, Becker is excited to see what his future as an author holds. After finishing his current series, he hopes his publisher will pick up another book he wrote years earlier about a serial killer. The plot is inspired by the famous ghost stories of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, where Becker lived for years while attending UMD.
In the meantime, Becker is focused on being a full-time dad to his two daughters, the youngest of which arrived in March. He is currently back in the U.S. but gearing up for another international move to Nicaragua in July 2025 for his wife’s second assignment, adding that he welcomes the new personal and professional challenge.
“I'm excited, and I love this adventure,” Becker said. “I'm fully on board, and I’ll follow wherever it leads.”
Written by Emily Nunez
