The Method
Matthew Quirk
William Morrow Pub
January 2026
The Method by Matthew Quirk has a Hollywood atmosphere within a thrilling spy story.
Actress Anna Vaughn is fearless—on screen, at least. She tends to play doomed brunettes with a badass streak, and has put in countless hours training for parts and learning how to fight, shoot, and drive like a pro.
She likes to believe she is as tough as her characters, but off camera she leads a far quieter life: trying to keep her acting career alive so she can take care of her younger sister.
When her best friend Natalie, her rock, disappears after a night out with a mysterious new man, the signs point to foul play and a circle of spies operating in Manhattan. Anna must use all the tricks she’s learned for her roles to hunt for her missing friend. She quickly learns the dangers are all too real.
She crosses paths with Kevin Matthews, an FBI agent on the same trail, tracking a string of killings and disappearances and a powerful clique of oligarchs. With Matthews as her handler, she has only days to prepare for the greatest performance of her life—going undercover. She will follow in her friend’s footsteps through the gilded mansions, yachts, and secret clubs of New York to infiltrate the conspiracy and bring Natalie home.
This is a fast-paced crime thriller with a great storyline. At times the readers might have to suspend belief, but this story is action filled with great twists.
For necessity this interview has been edited and condensed.
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
Matthew Quirk: It came from two sources. When I was on the set of The Night Agent, I saw the incredible work all the actors put in, and the training they do for fight scenes. As a novelist I’m always thinking about stories, and that got my mind going. I also have lifelong friends who did acting, dance, and theatre. I am always fascinated seeing how actors switch from their everyday self into super tough or glamorous characters. That brought me to the premise for this book: how an actress who has done all this preparation and then must use those skills in real life.
EC: Why the title?
MQ: At the beginning of the novel, Anna Vaughn actually can’t do method acting—performing by tapping into her own emotional memories—because she hasn’t dealt with her past and is afraid it will tear her apart or even lead her to hurt the people around her. She has this anger she doesn’t fully understand. So through the course of the book, she has to confront everything she’s been running from. The question is whether she can use it for good to save her friend or whether she’ll be consumed by it.
EC: How would you describe Anna?
MQ: She lives a relatively quiet life these days. She helps take care of her sister, Grace, who has some medical issues. That adds to Anna’s concerns. Anna is tough. When a good friend goes missing, she is forced to see just how tough she is. Anna also has a rage that surprises her. She has anger and frustration that at times takes over. Later in the story, when she is dealing with real life and death stakes, she lets herself finally tap into it. The question is can she use it in a righteous justice way or is she going to succumb to the darkness of her past she has been running from her whole life?
EC: Do you think her rage made the story more realistic?
MQ: It definitely helped with her motivation. Some readers might think the character is larger than life. But when I was writing Anna I thought of the years and years of training some actors put in. If they do the firearms training, they can really shoot and the same with martial arts. I think that dedication allowed for her to accomplish everything she did later in the book.
EC: How would you describe Natalie?
MQ: She was very close to Anna, sister-like. I enjoyed writing the scenes where they hang out. Growing up I had a lot of close friends who became actresses and ballet dancers and theater people. They had so much determination and they were a ton of fun to be around. So it was nice to tap into that for Natalie and Anna’s friendship.
EC: What about Matthews?
MQ: Kevin Matthews is a salt of the earth FBI Agent. He has a lot going on and people might underestimate him. But he is a sophisticated guy. He is on the same trail as Anna—looking into these oligarchs and a string of missing people in New York. He works with her as she goes undercover to find her friend. It becomes an intense handler/source relationship. They often are. Her life is in his hands.
EC: Why the Falconry?
MQ: I thought it was a cool and exotic element to bring in. Withoug getting into spoilers, it ended up having a lot of resonance with the plot and some of the characters. And I think it helped up the suspense and atmosphere.
EC: Next book?
MQ: It is in the early stages. It is about a San Diego firefighter, former military. He discovers a very formidable operator is using his identity as an alias. That plunges him into a big conspiracy.
EC: Any TV or movie news?
MQ: The Method has been optioned by a studio and is in development. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
The Night Agent has a new season that airs on February 19th on Netflix.
THANK YOU!!
