Bartholomew Gill Books In Order

Publication Order of Peter McGarr Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Bartholomew Gill is the pseudonym of a popular Irish-American author named Mark C. McGarrity, who is known for writing thriller and mystery novels. He was a well known as a novelist of mystery and crime fiction books, newspaper article writer, and columnist of outdoor and nature recreation for The Star Ledger. Throughout his writing career, author Gill had written 22 novels of mystery, most of which were set in Ireland and featured a hard working police detective by the name of Peter McGarr. The pen name of MCGarrity was actually his maternal grandfather’s name, who, according to him was the best storyteller. In addition to writing under the pseudonym, he also wrote several works of nonfiction and 5 novel under his original name. All the writings of author Gill for Star-Ledger were released under his real name. Author Gill was born on July 22, 1943, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States. Before the start of his career, author Gill had completed his graduation from the Brown University, located in Providence, Rhode Island, and obtained his bachelor’s degree. Later, he had enrolled himself at the Trinity College, Dublin, and had obtained his master’s degree. Author Gill was married to a woman named Margaret for some time, after which the two had gotten separated with a divorce.

Author Gill’s death occurred on July 04, 2002, due to the injuries that he sustained from falling at his home in Morristown, New Jersey. Gill was only 58 years old at the time of his death. It was reported that author Gill had forgotten his door keys and tried to climb through the window of his house to enter. Following his death, Gill is survived by his daughter named Madeleine, and his brother named George. Author Gill was interred in the Newton Cemetery, located in Newton, New Jersey. His gravestone is identified by both his original named and his pen name. The words below his two named on his gravestone described him as an author, an outdoorsman, and the father of Maddie. As every writer of mystery fiction tries to find a hook for writing a successful mystery series in this competitive and crowded world, author Gill found his hook in the homeland of his ancestors. Gill drew a consistent and loyal following and detailed the exploits of the endlessly resourceful detective Peter McGarr. The highly successful series featuring Peter McGarr as the chief protagonist started in the year 1976. Gill wrote a total of 15 books in the series until his death. All the books of the McGarr series were appreciated by the critics for their vivid depictions of the contemporary life in Ireland and clever plots. Throughout the series, Peter McGarr is shown encountering heroin dealers from Ireland, Irish immigrants living in New York, and the Republican Army of Ireland. It seems very astounding to learn that inspector McGarr had a great knowledge of the Irish esoterica. One of the books of this series, Death Of A Joyce Scholar, was nominated for the prestigious Edgar Award in 1989. Once, author Gill had said about his books that they gave him the chance to return to Ireland on multiple occasions for doing research. Gill’s career as an outdoorsman was also quite successful. He worked for Newark’s The Star-Ledger since 1996. His job profile was more of a nature columnist and features writer. While author Gill used to complete one McGarr novel every year, he used to produce a few articles every week for Star Ledger. His articles featured a wide ranging of topics, including environmental issues, odd characters during his travels, etc.

The Peter McGarr series written by Bartholomew Gill is comprised of a total of 16 books, which were released between the years 1976 and 2002. All the books of this series take place in Ireland and feature the lead character as Peter McGarr, who works as a police detective. The debut novel of this series is entitled ‘The Death Of An Irish Politician’. It was released by the Avon publication in the year 2000, after its original release in 1976. The plot is set in Killeney Bay, Ireland, and introduces the character of Peter McGarr for the first time. At the start of the book’s story, it is shown that Peter McGarr travels to Killiney Bay from Dublin to work on a murder case. He sees it as an opportunity to escape Dublin’s gloom. When he arrives at the crime scene, the Yank is pulled out of water. The victim is found dead with a violent blow on his head. As McGarr visits the yacht club of the victim, he realizes that uncovering the truth in this case will require setting the together the pieces of a huge puzzle. And the elements of the puzzle included a beautiful woman, a politician, and the victim himself. Later, Peter McGarr finds himself involved in a plot of betrayal, conspiracy, and IRA gunrunning, all of which were not only aimed at killing the unhappy sailor, but also framing a Chief Inspector. McGarr also realizes that he is being kept away from certain dangerous secrets. Now, he needs to unravel all the secrets if he wishes to get to the bottom of the murder case and catch the killer.

Another interesting book written in the series by author Gill is called ‘Death On A Cold, Wild River’. This novel was also published by the Avon publishers in 1994. The main characters of this book include Peter McGarr, Noreen, Hugh Ward, Ruth Bresnahan, and Nellie Millar. At the beginning of the story of the book, it is depicted that McGarr has risen to the post of the Chief Superintendent and the head of the Murder Squad of Irish Police, but he is suspended for getting involved in the investigation of a political murder case in spite of being warned by his superiors not to do so. Soon, he comes to know that Nellie Millar, the woman he once loved, has died by drowning while she was fly-fishing. McGarr decides to visit the old fishing village called Ardara, located in western Ireland. Nellie was considered very skilled in the art of fly-fishing and she wealthy students from all around the world would come to learn from her. McGarr wondered how could she drown in spite of being so skillful in her work. Upon investigating, he discovers that her chest waders were slit because of which she ended up dead. Therefore, it becomes clear that Nellie was murdered. And in spite of being suspended, McGarr knows that he must solve the mystery behind Nellie’s death and make the killer pay for his crime. He calls for help from his brilliant wife Noreen, and his loyal subordinates Ruth Bresnahan and Hugh Ward. All four of them begin to pursue the quarry through Irish wakes, smoky pubs, misty riverbanks, to find clues to get closer to the murderer.