Neil McGaughey

Background

Mr. McGaughey was born in Natchez, Mississippi, United States, on October 3, 1951. At birth he was placed in the Mississippi Children’s Home Society. When he was six weeks old, Mr. McGaughey was adopted by Noel and Lola McGaughey.

Education

Neil McGaughey graduated from Prentiss High School in 1969. After high school he attended William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1973. He had a double major in English and history, with a minor in French.

Career

Mr. McGaughey served as a reviewer of mystery books for The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS, from 1985 till 1995. He was a vice president and board member of Mississippi Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse. Then he became a chairperson of 1996 Edgar Committee for Best Critical or Biographical Work, Mystery Writers of America.

Achievements

• Neil McGaughey was an established author and, according to Gary Pettus of the Clarion-Ledger, "a gracious book reviewer" who reviewed over 300 books.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Otherwise Known As Murder

    (Stokes Moran, a syndicated critic of crime fiction trying...)

    1994
  • A Corpse By Any Other Name: A Stokes Moran Mystery

    (A real-life, mystery critic/sleuth “kills off” his famous...)

  • BEST MONEY MURDER CAN BUY

    (When a man claiming to be the lost twin brother of Kyle M...)

    1996
  • And Then There Were Ten 1995

Politics

Neil McGaughey described his political views as "try to get along with everybody."

Views

Neil McGaughey would never review a book he didn’t like because he believed that "The idea is to make people want to read. If you write a bad review, they won’t buy books."

Membership

• Mystery Writers of America , United States

• Sisters in Crime , United States

Interests

• collecting first edition mystery novels

Connections

Mr. McGaughey never married, but he claimed to have three "children", a Irish setter named CeeCee, a cockatiel named Pretty Baby, and a ferret named Wee