Katy Munger (born December 29, 1957), who has also written under the names Gallagher Gray and Chaz McGee, is an American mystery author known for writing the Casey Jones,Hubbert & Lil, and Dead Detective series. She is a former reviewer for The Washington Post.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, she soon moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, growing up with her five brothers and sisters. She describes herself as a "southern belle" and says that Casey Jones was influenced by her own character.[1]
Munger began her writing career by publishing under the pseudonym Gallagher Gray. She wrote four books in the Hubbert & Lil series using this pseudonym in the 1990s,[2][3][4] and later released a fifth book in the series under her own name. Hubbert & Lil follows Auntie Lil, an eccentric 84-year-old retiree who embarks on a new career as an amateur crime sleuth, aided by her buttoned-down 55-year-old nephew, T.S. Hubbert. Munger describes this series as "cozier" and "gentler" than her other novels. The most recent installment in the series, Hubbert & Lil: Too Old To Die, was published in 2023.[5]
Munger also debuted her Casey Jones series in the late '90s. The series revolves around its titular character, Casey Jones, a no-nonsense Southern detective with a propensity for wisecracking and getting in over her head. Casey is aided in her investigations by a colorful cast of characters, including her doughnut-obsessed business partner Bobby D. The series' most recent entry, Casey Jones: Fire and Rain, was published in 2019.[6]
Munger released her third project in 2009, the four-book Dead Detective series, which follows Kevin Fahey, a former alcoholic and incompetent detective who is "trapped in a lonely plane between the living and the dead." Throughout the series, Fahey attempts to confront the mistakes he made in life in order to move on to a better place. In 2012, Munger released the fourth and most recent book in the series, Dead Detective: A Walk Among Souls.[7]
Munger resides in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, the same setting as many of her books, and remains active in local writing and crime fiction communities. In 2011, she co-founded Thalia Press with author Lise McClendon. Described as an "author's co-op," Thalia Press publishes crime and contemporary fiction by established authors looking to reissue previously out-of-print titles or release new works.[8]
In 2023, she began co-publishing a quarterly literary magazine, Dark Yonder, with fellow North Carolina author Eryk Pruitt. This anthology series features noir-themed short stories written by best-selling and emerging authors.[1]
Munger's genre of writing is described as Tart Noir, which is a subsection of crime fiction created in part by Munger.[9] In publicizing the genre, she has teamed up with the three other creators and writers, Sparkle Hayter, Laura Lippman, and Lauren Henderson, for book signings and other venues.[10] It is believed that the authors first met and befriended each other by "getting drunk together at writers conferences".[11] Not long afterwards, the four worked together in creating and promoting their new website, titled Tartcity.com.[12][13] Munger and a collection of 19 other Tart Noir writers also came together to write an anthology of original stories in 2002.[14]
