Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. He studied law at Warwick University and politics and philosophy at Oxford University. In the early 90's he emigrated to New York City where he worked in bars, building sites and bookstores for seven years before moving to Denver, Colorado to become a high school English teacher. In 2008 he moved again, this time to Melbourne, Australia with his wife and kids.