John Shannon Books In Order

Publication Order of Jack Liffey Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

John Shannon is an American mystery fiction novelist best known for the Jack Liffey series of novels. The author was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1943, and over the years, he has become a celebrated author with his neo-noir fiction, which earned him critical acclaim. When he was just five years old, his family moved to California and settled in San Pedro, where he was raised alongside the children of fishermen and longshoremen. The son of a journalist who was also a lifelong pacifist, his storytelling aspirations and political consciousness can be attributed to his father. Shannon studied literature at Pomona College and then at UCLA, where he got an MFA in film. His time at UCLA was particularly instructive as he learned under former Hollywood story editor Marvin Borowski who schooled him on the complexities of plot structure. His work has been praised for its deep exploration of the diverse neighborhoods of Los Angeles as they combine a strong sense of social justice and progressive political themes with mystery.

Shannon’s earliest foray into writing as a professional was when he watched an episode of I Spy on television. However, he had a strong desire to have creative control over his work, and as such, he gravitated toward literature. At some point, he went to Africa with the Peace Corps and taught in Malawi in sub-Saharan Africa before he moved back to the US and got involved in the movement against the Vietnam War. Over the years, he has held a variety of odd jobs, including technical writer in the aerospace industry, working at a newspaper, and at a rubber factory trying to get the workers unionized. His early novels were politically charged pieces, and hence, they did not get much commercial success as publishers hated his open showcasing of socialist themes. For a time, he believed that Marxism was the solution to the many excesses of capitalism and briefly became a member of the Communist Party before he became disillusioned. The Orphan, which was a coming-of-age novel that he published in 1972, was a critique of the counterculture movement of the 1960s. He would then pen several other novels before he got into detective fiction, even though he continued to use his writing to voice social commentary.
Shannon lived an unconventional but very rich life in the United Kingdom. He fell in love twice but his relationships never lasted long. He would ultimately move to the United States and settle down with psychoanalyst Charlotte Riley in Topanga Canyon in California. He continues to write, finding inspiration from his deep passion for social justice and storytelling. He has become known for his unconventional approach to crime fiction, whose works are all about challenging the status quo, unlike other detective novels, which are all about reinforcing it. According to Shannon, detective fiction is all about turning over rocks to discover the ugly stuff hidden under them. As such, his works are as much about exposing societal injustices such as corporate corruption, racism, and urban poverty as they are about searching for missing persons. He has been known to avoid neat endings for his stories, preferring to present a world where struggle and ambiguity persist.
John Shannon made his name with the Jack Liffey series, which he launched with the publishing of The Concrete River in 1996. The series of novels has been recognized as a critical contribution to contemporary American crime fiction. Mike Davis, the historian, has called the series an alternative history of LA that goes against the conventional depiction of a glossy city that is only true in Hollywood films. Over the years, Shannon’s work has been compared to works by the likes of Jim Thompson and James M. Cain, even though he sets himself apart with his focus on social realism and his leftist perspectives. While his books never sold as much as the likes of Dennis Lehane or Micheal Connelly, his works are some of the most important socially conscious detective fiction.

John Shannon published The Concrete River, the debut of the Jack Liffey series, in 1996. It was in this work that he introduced former aerospace worker Jack Liffey, who discovers a talent for locating missing children after he lost his job, daughter, and wife. His first case involves searching for the daughter of a Mexican woman who has mysteriously disappeared. He soon finds himself deep in the dangerous world of urban violence, corrupt politicisn, and real estate developers. Working in some of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city, he is dealing with some of the worst social injustices even as he also confronts personal demons. The author’s portrayal of LA provides an authentic and gritty view of its multifaceted communities.

John Shannon’s The Cracked Earth is a brilliant follow-up to the first novel of the Jack Liffey series. In this one, Jack Liffey is hired by Lori Bright, a former Hollywood star, to help find her teenage daughter, who has gone missing. His search leads him into the dangerous underbelly of Los Angeles, where he has to deal with immoral movie studio executives, Jamaican gangsters, and violent skinheads. While working on the case, he is also dealing with an increasing attraction to his client, even as he reflects on how celebrity culture has impacted his perspectives. Things come to a crescendo when there is an earthquake that adds to the complexity and tension of the story.

The Poison Sky is Jack Shannon’s third novel in the Jack Liffey series. Liffey has been tasked with finding a runaway teenager who has been running with a bunch of deranged spiritualists from Los Angeles. As he works the case, he comes upon a dark secret about the group that may pose one of the most dangerous threats to the city in recent times. Shannon combines the political with the personal as he writes a detective fiction work that also tackles social issues. The work continues to showcase the author’s exploration of the many diverse communities in Los Angeles even as he offers an intriguing mystery that is also a commentary on broader societal concerns.