John Allison

Shauna. Charlotte. Mildred. Three schoolgirl sleuths. Jack. Linton. Sonny. Three schoolboy investigators. Tackleford. One mid-sized city with a history of countless mysteries. Is there enough room at Griswalds Grammar School for two groups of kid detectives? There better be, because once these kids have set their sights on solving a mystery there's nothing that can derail them. Nothing, except maybe gossip, classwork, new football player cards, torment...

The new year brings the all the joys and near-drownings of young love in The Case of the Fire Inside, the latest volume of Bad Machinery! Sonny meets a mysterious new girl who seems to have climbed out of the sea itself, while Mildred falls for the bad boy of Saturday detention. But can either of them succeed in the face of jealous exes, overprotective fathers, and the persistent tide of destiny? What is a "selkie"? Is a Morton's toe fatal? And can...

A new school year brings a new classmate to Griswald's Grammar School! But he's a bit strange, and he really, really likes onions. When the whole school suddenly becomes best friends with him, Shauna seems to be the only one left out. It's up to her to peel back the mystery, one onion layer at a time. Join the team for another thrilling case, full of the cunning wit and high-flying adventure you can only get from John Allison's Bad Machinery.

Time is a fickle creature, especially when there's wormhole in the science cupboard. When a strange boy who seems far too entranced by cell phones appears, it's up to Lottie, Shauna, and Mildred to figure out his strange purposes. The Case of the Forked Road, the seventh book in John Allison's award-winning Bad Machinery series, finds our young sleuths facing the intricacies of time and space itself. What is their science teacher hiding? Who is the...

The school year is just beginning at Sheffield University, jam-packed with new classes, professors, and places to explore… not to mention new clubs, cliques, and shenanigans galore! For first years Daisy, Esther, and Susan, they’ve got new friends on lock, forming a tight bond from their first days as next-dorm neighbors. But learning to navigate life as brand new (almost) adults isn’t as easy as it looks. Between old nemeses popping up, academic...

Spring is in the air at Sheffield University. The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and close friends Susan, Esther, and Daisy are all surviving their first year of university by the skin of their teeth. By the year’s second half, Susan and McGraw’s fledgling relationship is already on the rocks, and Esther is not dealing well with the pressure of academia, while Daisy is just trying to keep everyone and everything from falling apart....

A soldier in the US Army stationed in Japan after World War II, John ("Jack") Allison was given the opportunity to return home with an honorable discharge after four years of service. Yet he decided to further postpone his career in the US, and stay on to help rebuild the country with which he had been at war. Joining him in that adventure, with their three-year-old daughter, was his wife, Marion Allison. These are the memoirs of their experiences...

From the bestselling author of Giant Days comes the latest pocket-sized volume in his beloved Bad Machinery series! It's that classic feud: mods versus rockers! As the boys get caught up in the allure of mod culture (the scooters! the hair! the fashion!), Shauna is testing her mettle as the queen of metal. But when the new King of the Mods is crowned, he sparks an all-out war between the musical factions, with the mystery team caught in the mix! The...

A two-part continuation of John Allison's (Giant Days) new series Steeple! Former curate Billie has moved on to a new path... as a priestess in the Church of Satan. Meanwhile, her friend Maggie has made a similar switch--from Satanist to church-bound do-gooder. But when the light of the supermoon turns a Church of Satan warlock into an almost-werewolf, Billie's well-meaning solutions bring her evil boss to the breaking point, just as Maggie's...

Did Wall Street cause the mess we are in? Should Washington place stronger regulations on the financial industry? Can we lower unemployment rates by controlling the free market? Answer: no. Not only is free-market capitalism good for the economy, it is our only hope for recovery. As the nation's longest-serving CEO of one of the top twenty-five financial institutions, John Allison has had a unique inside view of the events leading up to the financial...