Michael McGarrity (born 1939) is a New Mexican author and former law enforcement officer. He has written over eleven crime-suspense novels about New Mexico. As deputy sheriff of Santa Fe County he founded their Sex Crimes Unit.
McGarrity has a bachelor's degree in English and Psychology from the University of New Mexico and a master's degree in clinical social work, from the University of Iowa, and is a graduate of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. In addition to law enforcement work, he has been an investigator and caseworker for the New Mexico Public Defender's Office. He worked on rehabilitating prison programs after the New Mexico State Penitentiary riot in 1980. McGarrity has taught at several colleges and universities as well as the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. As a social worker he published a number of articles in professional journals on a wide range of topics, ranging from therapy programs for children, to program assessment and evaluation, and drug treatment interventions.
All of McGarrity's western novels take place in modern New Mexico, with law enforcement officer Kevin Kerney as the protagonist. The settings are vividly evoked and range from the Tularosa Basin and Lincoln County to Hermit's Peak, although many take place in Santa Fe.
Tularosa (1996) - White Sands Missile Range, Tularosa Basin
Mexican Hat (1997) - Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico
Serpent Gate (1998) - Mountainair
Hermit's Peak (1999) - Hermit's Peak and Las Vegas, New Mexico
The Judas Judge (2000) - Jornada del Muerto and central New Mexico
Under the Color of Law (2001) - Santa Fe
The Big Gamble (2002) - Lincoln and Santa Fe counties
Everyone Dies (2003) - Santa Fe
Slow Kill (2004) - California, New Mexico and the East Coast
Nothing But Trouble (2005) - the Bootheel, extreme southwestern New Mexico
Death Song (2007) - in Lincoln County and Santa Fe
Dead or Alive (2008) - in Lincoln County and Sant Fe
McGarrity has been nominated for various awards, including two nominations for the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Western Novel.
1980, McGarrity was named a New Mexico Social Worker of the Year
1987, McGarrity was honored as Santa Fe's Police Officer of the Year
2004, McGarrity received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts ... Literature In 1980 he received the New Mexico Social Worker of the Year award.