McKinty, Adrian

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McKinty, Adrian

PERSONAL:

Born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland; immigrated to the United States, c. 1992. Education: Attended Oxford University.

ADDRESSES:

Home—CO.

CAREER:

Novelist, attorney, and educator. Worked variously as a security guard, construction worker, postman, bartender, door-to-door salesman, rugby coach, bookstore clerk, and school teacher; former attorney.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Orange Rhymes with Everything, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1997.

Dead I Well May Be, Scribner (New York, NY), 2003.

Hidden River, Scribner (New York, NY), 2005.

The Dead Yard, Scribner (New York, NY), 2006.

The Lighthouse Land, Amulet (New York, NY), 2006.

The Bloomsday Dead, Scribner (New York, NY), 2007.

The Lighthouse War, Amulet (New York, NY), 2007.

ADAPTATIONS:

Dead I Well May Be was adapted for film by John Lee Hancock, for Universal Pictures.

SIDELIGHTS:

Novelist and educator Adrian McKinty was born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, and grew up in the late 1960s and 1970s, during the height of the Troubles—a nearly thirty-year period of violent conflict and civil rights strife. Trained as an attorney, he came to the United States in the early 1990s, after his legal career stalled. A variety of jobs followed, including working as a school teacher.

Orange Rhymes with Everything, McKinty's first novel, was written for adults and tells about the Troubles from the point of view of an Irish Protestant. The mundane life of an unnamed, physically disabled schoolgirl in Belfast is juxtaposed with the violent activities of her father, a Protestant terrorist and fugitive who is attempting to elude authorities in New York City. Although the man's hatred is deep and his brutality seems second nature, his fondest desire is to return to Northern Ireland to see his daughter.

In Hidden River, another novel for adult readers, Alexander Lawson was a Royal Ulster Constabulary officer. Now a disgraced heroin addict, Lawson immigrates to the United States to escape the wrath of corrupt former colleagues. He also intends to investigate the death of his high-school love Victoria Patawasti, who has been murdered in Denver. Lawson convinces Victoria's family to let him solve her murder and bring the perpetrator to justice. "McKinty still knows how to write elegantly horrifying death scenes … and spot-on endings that make the journey worthwhile," commented Booklist reviewer Frank Sennett.

In Dead I Well May Be McKinty introduces Michael Forsythe, a man on the run from the law in his native Belfast who illegally enters the United States and effortlessly slides into a job as an enforcer for Irish mobster Darkey White. Although Forsythe tries to keep the violence at a minimum, the constant conflict between the Irish mob, Dominican gangs, and other rivals fighting for control of the streets eventually causes him to rack up numerous kills. Trouble brews when Forsythe meets White's girlfriend Bridget Callaghan and finds her irresistible. A bogus drug deal in Mexico sets Forsythe and three friends up for a fall, and they land in a brutal prison, from which only Forsythe emerges. After his ordeal, revenge on White is Forsyth's prime goal. Sennett called Dead I Well May Be a "profoundly satisfying book from a major new talent." In Kirkus Reviews a contributor called McKinty "a storyteller with the kind of style and panache that blur the line between genre and mainstream," and concluded that Dead I Well May Be "top-drawer."

The mercenary Forsythe returns in The Dead Yard, and this time the F.B.I. has coerced him into infiltrating an Irish terrorist cell. McKinty rounds out Forsythe's adventures in The Bloomsday Dead, which finds the hired gun directly in the sights of Bridget. Tracked down by his former flame while in hiding in South America, Forsythe returns to Dublin to discover the whereabouts of Bridget's daughter, who is being held by kidnappers. "McKinty hooks readers early with vivid action sequences and brutal bits of foreshadowing," wrote Sennett in a review of The Dead Yard for Booklist. Calling the novel "literate" and "expertly crafted," a Publishers Weekly critic hailed McKinty as "one of his generation's leading talents." Reviewing The Bloomsday Dead in Booklist, Sennett commended McKinty's novel for rewarding readers with the author's "trademark dark lyricism, one great red herring, and a masterful plot twist" leading to a surprise ending. Calling the concluding volume of the trilogy the author's "most visceral, satisfying effort yet," a Publishers Weekly contributor enjoyed the literary allusions to noted Irish novelist James Joyce.

McKinty turns to younger readers in his "Lighthouse Trilogy" science-fiction novels. The trilogy begins with The Lighthouse Land, in which thirteen-year-old New Yorker Jamie O'Neill joins his mom in a move to a new home on an island off the coast of Ireland. Stricken with bone cancer, Jamie has lost an arm but has otherwise recovered physically. The emotional problems remain, however, as Jamie has not spoken a word since his arm was amputated. Although emotionally withdrawn, he is befriended by a local boy named Ramsay, and in their exploration of a nearby lighthouse the two boys discover a golden artifact that transports them to another planet. On Altair Jamie's arm is restored, as is his voice, and he quickly joins in the fight of the resident Aldanese to battle an army of invaders. Calling Jamie "a sympathetic and thoughtful character" who sticks to his values, Kliatt reviewer Donna Scanlon added that The Lighthouse Land features a story that "is fresh and unique." In School Library Journal Sharon Rawlins wrote that McKinty draws readers into "an interesting setting," while a Kirkus Reviews writer dubbed The Lighthouse Land "an entertaining adventure." McKinty "brings an attuned ear for dialogue and a taut pacing to his first YA outing," wrote a Publishers Weekly critic, the critic observing that the author's inclusion of "pop-culture references," the creation of "an intelligent, open-ended mythology," and engaging dialogue combine to make The Lighthouse Land "an enjoyable trip" for young-adult readers.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 2003, Frank Sennett, review of Dead I Well May Be, p. 71; November 1, 2004, Frank Sennett, review of Hidden River, p. 468; December 15, 2005, Frank Sennett, review of The Dead Yard, p. 28; November 15, 2006, Cindy Dobrez, review of The Lighthouse Land, p. 49; December 1, 2006, Frank Sennett, review of The Bloomsday Dead, p. 28.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2003, review of Dead I Well May Be, p. 982; September 1, 2004, review of Hidden River, p. 828; September 15, 2006, review of The Lighthouse Land, p. 962.

Kliatt, November, 2006, Donna Scanlon, review of The Lighthouse Land, p. 14; November, 2007, Donna Scanlon, review of The Lighthouse Land, p. 14.

Library Journal, October 15, 2004, Lisa Hanson, review of Hidden River, p. 54.

Publishers Weekly, November 4, 1996, review of Orange Rhymes with Everything, p. 63; September 1, 2003, review of Dead I Well May Be, p. 62; December 6, 2004, Patrick Millikin, interview with McKinty and review of Hidden River, p. 44; January 9, 2006, review of The Dead Yard, p. 32; October 16, 2006, review of The Lighthouse Land, p. 3; January 1, 2007, review of The Bloomsday Dead, p. 32.