He briefly worked as a news reporter before returning to graduate school at Washington State University where he earned a master's degree in 1959.

His last published work was Circles in the Snow (2014), the sixth in a series of mystery novels starring the character Sheriff Bo Tully.

To Zip (1979), an alphabetized, and partially serious, listing of useful tips and concepts for beginning campers; Whatchagot Stew (1989), both a cookbook and a less-fictionalized memoir of his childhood; and The Deer on a Bicycle (2000), a discussion of the art of humor writing.

Magazine Columns Collections Sheriff Bo Tully Mysteries Other McManus' shorter works include a recurring cast of fictitious characters and running jokes, both from the stories set in his childhood and as an adult.

Throughout the majority of the stories is a recurring theme of McManus's lifelong love of hunting and fishing—which is mostly an excuse to just enjoy the outdoors, often in good company.

McManus, in his stories, has a certain amount of disgruntlement for people who take great pleasure in the minutiae of various sports (such as encyclopediac knowledge of firearms calibers and ballistics).

He refers to firearms enthusiasts as 'gun nuts' and treats their excited sharing of the fine points of ballistic arcs and grain sizes as something to be endured to get on a good hunting trip.