About the author

J. Michael McGee

I grew up across the street from a house where a young girl was murdered. That mystery, still unsolved to this day, drove me to work in the criminal justice system, first as a court investigator and later as a prison counselor.<br>In between those jobs, I worked as a college speech instructor, a freelance writer, a newspaper reporter and a high school teacher. I took time-out to travel overseas, hike the Grand Canyon several times and return to school to earn three master degrees.<br>The young girl’s death decades ago also prompted me to become a “paperback writer” of mysteries.<br>As an investigator for 15 years, I heard first-hand stories from men who committed crimes. Later, as a mental health therapist at a prison, I developed a keen ear for hard and realistic dialogue.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>​I wrote my first book <em><strong>Bricked</strong></em> after teaching in a school for at-risk students. Pat Riordan, the protagonist in my trilogy, was introduced in this novel.<br>While <em><strong>Bricked</strong></em> is fictional, the episodes and mannerisms of the characters personify life inside a school for disenfranchised youth.&nbsp;<br>In the follow-up novels, <em><strong>The Slip Swing</strong></em> and <em><strong>The Cues</strong></em>, Riordan, the teacher, has also taken on the role of an amateur shamus.<br>The <em><strong>Slip Swing</strong></em> has a paranormal bent. The third book, <em><strong>The Cues</strong></em>, finds Riordan uncovering facts surrounding an unsolved murder and the whereabouts of local missing women.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>Each book is driven by hard dialogue, reflecting my years working in the criminal justice system and my experiences as a teacher.<br>​My intent was to provide a fresh twist for the reader of mysteries and for the detective in all of us. Visit my webpage to learn more about the Pat Riordan trilogy.