Early life

The grandson of Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 immigrants, Boyle was born in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. His parents soon moved to Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

, where he graduated from high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in Warwick

Warwick, Rhode Island

Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...

. He graduated from Colby College

Colby College

Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...

 in Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, Class of 1978, majoring in literature, and began to write short stories and poetry.

Career

Boyle's first career was in journalism. He began as a reporter at the Rumford Falls Times, a weekly in Rumford, a Maine paper-mill town, then moved to the Morning Sentinel, a daily in Waterville, Maine

Waterville, Maine

Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....

, his old college town, going on to become a full-time columnist on the paper.

As Boyle traveled around Maine looking for stories, he invented a freelance journalist-detective called Jack McMorrow. The first McMorrow mystery, Deadline, was published in 1993. Two years later, it was followed by Bloodline, and there are now nine books in the series.

Boyle left the Morning Sentinel in 1999 but until 2001 continued to write a column for the paper from time to time. In 2000, he became editor of Colby Magazine.

Private life

Boyle married Mary Victoria Foley, a schoolteacher. They have three children and live in China, Maine

China, Maine

China is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,106 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....

.

Jack McMorrow Series

• Deadline (North Country Press, Maine, 1993)
• Bloodline (Putnam, 1995)
• Lifeline (1996)
• Potshot (1997)
• Borderline (1998)
• Cover Story (1999)
• Pretty Dead (2003)
• Home Body (2004)
• Damaged Goods (2010)