My Favorite Author: Adrian McKinty

Adrian McKinty is an Irish novelist born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1968. He grew up in Carrickfergus, County Antrim. He read law (to us in the US that means he studied it) at the University of Warwick and furthered his education in politics and philosophy at the University of Oxford. In the early 1990's he crossed the Atlantic and landed in New York City, where he lived in Harlem for five years. McKinty worked in bars and on construction crews, and in a bookstore--imagine that. From 2001 onwards he lived in Denver, Colorado where he taught high school English and began writing fiction. He currently lives in Australia with his wife and children. (my sources are Wikipedia and simonandschuster.com).

I first discovered McKinty when his first novel in the Michael Forsythe series was reviewed in my local paper. Since I love a good mystery/suspense book, I checked it out--literally-- from the library. From the beginning I was captivated by the writing style of Dead I Well May Be. I must admit, I had to skip some of the more graphic descriptions of prison life in an underdeveloped country, but that was OK. Skipping is allowed in my mind. What kept me hooked was the principle character, Michael Forysthe. He is "dark" in nature, but he has a dry sense of humor. I just know he must be cute, too.

If you do not trust my opinion, then here is another comment from the Simon & Schuster website about McKinty's writing skill: "A natural storyteller with a gift for dialogue, McKinty introduces to readers a stunning new noir voice, dark and stylish, mythic and violent -- complete with an Irish lilt."

Some of the awards Mr. McKinty's mystery fiction has received are:

• His debut crime novel Dead I Well May Be was short-listed for the CWA Steel Dagger Award 2004.

• The Dead Yard was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the 12 Best Novels of 2006and won the 2007 Audie Award for best thriller/suspense.

• The Bloomsday Dead was long-listed for the 2009 World Book Day Award.

• Fifty Grand won the 2010 Spinetingler Award for best novel in the Rising Star category.