William Michael Boyle (born 1978) is an American author of character-driven literary crime fiction.Cogdill, Oline H. APNews.com May 1, 2018 Boyle is a native of Brooklyn, New York and the borough forms the backdrop for much of his work.
Early life and education Boyle lived with his mother's family in the southern Brooklyn neighborhoods of Gravesend and Bensonhurst. His mother's family was Italian. His father’s side of the family was Scottish."William Boyle", Mississippi Writers and Musicians.com His father was absent for much of his childhood.Nelson, Elizabeth "Noir Is All About Bad Decisions," The Millions, October 12, 2018
Boyle had 12 years of Catholic education, which included Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge.Mastromatteo, Mike "Brooklyn ‘state of mind’ infuses writer’s urban fiction," Catholic News Service, March 5, 2022
Boyle earned his B.A. degree in English from the State University of New York at New Paltz. He also obtained an M.A. in English from SUNY-New Paltz. In 2011, he received an M.F.A. degree from the University of Mississippi.Faculty Profile, William M. Boyle, University of Mississippi
Style and themes When Boyle's debut novel, Gravesend, was reissued, the longtime crime fiction reviewer of the New York Times, Marilyn Stasio, noted Boyle's use of local dialect."Yo, Ray Boy: Crime Novels that Speak in Local Voices" - Marilyn Stasio's review of Gravesend
In its review of The Lonely Witness, Publishers Weekly noted the gritty realism of Boyle's Brooklyn milieu.Publishers Weekly review of The Lonely Witness
Boyle's Catholic faith and upbringing in southern Brooklyn parishes are an integral element of his writing. Catholic images such as statuary abound.
New Orleans Review examined the variety of themes that inform Boyle's approach to crime fiction in its discussion of his short-story collection, Death Don't Have No Mercy.May, James New Orleans Review 2015
On the cover of the U.K. edition of Boyle's 2019 comic crime caper, A Friend Is a Gift You Give Yourself, Roddy Doyle singled out the strength and humor of the female characters.
In reviewing Boyle's 2020 novel City of Margins—set almost entirely in southern Brooklyn—Stasio focused on his character studies, which featured "a mixture of affection and despair worthy of a Bruce Springsteen song."Stasio, Marilyn New York Times, March 20, 2020
Boyle's latest novel, Shoot the Moonlight Out (2021), drew its title from a Garland Jeffreys song. Once again, the action takes place almost entirely in southern Brooklyn. The Washington Post noted that Boyle "tries to write about how bad people can do good things and good people can do bad things."Lipez, Richard Washington Post, December 3, 2021
Comparisons to other notable authors A U.K. review of Gravesend from The Guardian cited the book's idiomatic dialogue and blue-collar setting, drawing a parallel with Elmore Leonard.Forshaw, Barry The Guardian, February 2, 2018
Looking at the Death Don't Have No Mercy anthology, the Clarion-Ledger, a leading newspaper in Boyle's adopted home state of Mississippi, touched on the commonality of Boyle's work with Southern forebears Flannery O'Connor and William Gay.Purdie, Ellis Clarion-Ledger August 8, 2015
France's oldest daily newspaper, Le Figaro, compared Boyle to Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos, among others.Corty, Bruno Le Figaro, April 7, 2016
Personal life and work outside of writing Boyle moved to Oxford, Mississippi in 2008 as he pursued his M.F.A. He lives there with his wife Katie (née Farrell). They have one son and one daughter.
Boyle became an Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Mississippi in Oxford in January 2012. His title is now Instructor. He has also worked at The End of All Music, a noted music store in Oxford.
Awards and honors Gravesend was nominated among foreign authors for France's Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in 2016.Thomas, Vincy Livres Hebdo September 20, 2018 In addition, it was one of five finalists in the novel category for the Prix SNCF du Polar.SNCF press release, October 11, 2016 The French news weekly L'Express also cited it as one of the 10 best crime novels of that year.Ferniot, Christine L'Express, April 1, 2016
The U.K. has also recognized Gravesend. It was shortlisted for the John Creasey CWA New Blood Dagger in 2018.The John Creasey New Blood Dagger Shortlist 2018
The Lonely Witness was nominated for the Hammett Prize in 2018. It also earned Boyle's second nomination for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in 2019.
In 2023, Boyle earned a third nomination for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière with Shoot the Moonlight Out.
Published works Boyle is the author of the following novels:
Gravesend (originally published in 2013, French-language edition published in 2016, reissued in the U.S. in 2018): Tout Est Brisé, or Everything Is Broken (2017; released initially only in French but subsequently published in English in four parts by Southwest Review, Volume 104, issues 1-4): The Lonely Witness (2018): A Friend Is a Gift You Give Yourself (2019): City of Margins (2020): Shoot the Moonlight Out (2021):
He has also written short stories:
A collection entitled Death Don’t Have No Mercy (2015): "Something Bad Happened to a Clown," which appeared in Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Warren Zevon (2022): "New York Blues Redux," which appeared in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023:
Other writing:
Lock Things Up, an essay for The Criterion Collection about One False Move "Screwball Noir: A Personal History"
References
External links Biography at Mississippi Writers and Musicians site