What do you think?
Rate this book
Bad Machinery #6
Bad Machinery Volume Six: The Case of the Unwelcome Visitor
School is out for summer, and for the Tackleford mystery team, that means lazy days, balmy evenings, and... creeping existential dread that threatens the whole city. With half the team gallivanting off to exotic locales (like Aunty Kath's in Margate), can Linton, Jack, and Lottie solve this season's most dire case?
The Case of the Unwelcome Visitor, the sixth book in John Allison's award-winning Bad Machinery series, pits our young heroes against the terrors of the unfamiliar and unknown. Lottie's mum and sister have both fallen in love (thanks to the internet), Linton is determined to save his father from the soul-sucking responsibility of a promotion, and why is Jack working at the local paper with team nemesis (and hot-shot reporter) Erin Winters? Isn't print meant to be dead?
Could the link between these tangled threads be The Night Creeper, who prowls Tackleford's streets and leaves people in the hospital with a blank stare and a terrible smile on their face?
The Case of the Unwelcome Visitor, the sixth book in John Allison's award-winning Bad Machinery series, pits our young heroes against the terrors of the unfamiliar and unknown. Lottie's mum and sister have both fallen in love (thanks to the internet), Linton is determined to save his father from the soul-sucking responsibility of a promotion, and why is Jack working at the local paper with team nemesis (and hot-shot reporter) Erin Winters? Isn't print meant to be dead?
Could the link between these tangled threads be The Night Creeper, who prowls Tackleford's streets and leaves people in the hospital with a blank stare and a terrible smile on their face?
144 pages, Paperback
First published November 29, 2016
2 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
John Allison
319 books828 followersJohn Allison is the author and artist of the British webcomics Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 31, 2021
An insubstantial hodgepodge of a paranormal mystery with teens, ghosts, monsters, vigilantes and Polish vacuum cleaners. I've enjoyed previous volumes, but this one doesn't do much for me, maybe because the Scooby gang is split up due to summer vacation plans.
Or maybe it was the inclusion of the super unnecessary, unfunny, and tedious excerpts from the autobiography of Donald "Don Gravy" Wilkins in the end matter. Why, why, why would you bother to write up all that crap much less foist it on the public?
Or maybe it was the inclusion of the super unnecessary, unfunny, and tedious excerpts from the autobiography of Donald "Don Gravy" Wilkins in the end matter. Why, why, why would you bother to write up all that crap much less foist it on the public?
Read
May 31, 2023Hmm, not the best of the series. The story feels undercooked, and some characters were missed. But there are laugh-out-loud moments of course, and I liked Erin's increased role. Charlotte's relationship with her mom's boyfriend was handled well, too. Lesser Bad Machinery is still better than 90% of comics.
December 30, 2025
I really liked how this mystery unfolded with opposing views within our group of sleuths. I appreciated a little more focused time with a subset of the gang, as others were away for summer. However, I did find the conclusion to be just a tad clunky. Overall, really enjoyable still!
March 13, 2017
Oh to be a thirteen year old teenager struggling with family changes and solving supernatural mysteries...
September 24, 2017
The laughs continue in volume 6, but I missed Sonny and Shauna. Still, Lottie meeting Jack and Linton in the "lady palace" was the best.
Oh, John Allison, how I love thee.
Oh, John Allison, how I love thee.
December 2, 2017
For me, this book in the series was a return to the laugh out loud moments that made me love the Bad Machinery books so much.
April 15, 2022
Allison trades out some of the regulars in order to allow some of the B characters a chance to shine. Most impacted by the change? Journalist Erin gets a lot of time and ends up being central to the mystery (as well as the foil to several of Jack's best moments. The mystery, about the escapades of a night person (hero or villain is up for discussion) manages to center several of the families as well, and there are some classic moments of humor and action, culminating in an ending that is very much of this series - so utterly weird that you can't help but be charmed by it. The voice of the characters has changed noticeably over the years, in keeping with their growing up, and this book continues to be a lot of fun, and suitable for just about all ages.
September 14, 2020
John Allison keeps outdoing himself with each book in this series. My favorite character this time was probably Erin.
June 22, 2020
The best one yet. I loved it! Allison captures something with the dialogue of these characters that I find so entertaining, so believable, that I read the volumes in one sitting every time and feel like I've rushed through my birthday cake instead of savoring every bite of it. If you like cleverness and stories about young people read this one.
August 7, 2017
While nothing will ever top Giant Days, Bad Machinery is still an excellent combination of British and weird. They are also very hard to tell apart based on title, though. This is the one with the Night Creeper and the Night Hero, for future reference.
June 4, 2018
Always such a pleasure to read a new Bad Machinery book but I always shudder a little when I see the size of them. Why must the books be so big and wide? Also, "Don't tit about on ladders" should be a worksafe motto for reals.
December 27, 2021
12/27/2021 Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
12/27/2021 It's become a tradition of recent years for me to use the Christmas holiday to read another Bad Machinery book, to just sit finally and take the time to put my feet up and enjoy these books that perfectly distil everything I like about reading. Mystery: check. Humor: check. Empathy: check. A hint or more of the paranormal: check. The fact that it features British schoolkids in a graphic novel format is just icing on the cake for me.
And so this year, a bit belatedly due to my sister needing extra days to confirm a negative COVID diagnosis post-exposure before we could celebrate in earnest, I finally got a chance to immerse myself back in Tackleford with our young sleuths. Or most of them anyway: Mildred and Sonny are off to France for the summer, while Shauna is going to Disneyl-- er, Mouseville before heading to Margate to stay with family. This leaves only Linton, Jack and Charlotte in town when a series of mysterious occurrences start plaguing the Gravel Pit, a down-on-the-heels housing estate that Charlotte's mom's boyfriend, in particular, thinks unsafe for kids.
Charlotte isn't super thrilled that Colin has moved in with them, but she is pleased that her older sister Sarah and Sarah's dreamy boyfriend Dr Julian are moving back up to Tackleford. Her pleasure is short-lived, however, when fussy old Colin wants to implement a 7 p.m. curfew for her after Linton and Jack come round asking for her detecting help one evening. Linton's dad was just promoted to police chief and is worrying over his new responsibilities in the face of rising crime. Being a good son, Linton wants to help his dad close a bunch of cases, including the weird goings-on by the Gravel Pit. But Colin thinks running about solving nocturnal mysteries is far too dangerous for thirteen year-olds, much to Charlotte's ire. After all, foiling monstrous creatures of the night is complicated enough without also dodging worrywart father surrogates whom you never particularly liked in the first place.
Along for the ride is ambitious young reporter Erin Winters, whom Jack is developing a crush on, much to Linton's disgust. Will this ragtag team of heroes be able to figure out who or what is behind all the mayhem, and more importantly stop it before it's too late?
This was another really strong installment of the webcomic turned graphic novel, and I enjoyed reading every minute of it, including the hilarious excerpts of the memoir at the end. I actually did a double take when I first started reading this volume because the kids are growing up! They're getting bigger and turning into little adults, and I'm all up in my feelings about it! Plot-wise, I loved the way John Allison wove the various narrative threads through into one excellent, consistently surprising whole. I think I also spent a little more time admiring the art here than in previous books. I've always loved his drawings, but I particularly appreciated how he plays with desaturation here for different scene effects, subtly evoking mood.
Gosh, I hope I won't have to wait another year before finding the time to read the next book in the series! I even actually own it already, too. Funny story: the copy I have of this title was actually weeded from the Columbus Metropolitan Library because I was adamant on getting the original binding, which has since gone out of print, to properly match the first five books in my collection. Well worth the effort of tracking down, IMO.
The Case Of The Unwelcome Visitor by John Allison was published November 29 2016 by Oni Press and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
12/27/2021 It's become a tradition of recent years for me to use the Christmas holiday to read another Bad Machinery book, to just sit finally and take the time to put my feet up and enjoy these books that perfectly distil everything I like about reading. Mystery: check. Humor: check. Empathy: check. A hint or more of the paranormal: check. The fact that it features British schoolkids in a graphic novel format is just icing on the cake for me.
And so this year, a bit belatedly due to my sister needing extra days to confirm a negative COVID diagnosis post-exposure before we could celebrate in earnest, I finally got a chance to immerse myself back in Tackleford with our young sleuths. Or most of them anyway: Mildred and Sonny are off to France for the summer, while Shauna is going to Disneyl-- er, Mouseville before heading to Margate to stay with family. This leaves only Linton, Jack and Charlotte in town when a series of mysterious occurrences start plaguing the Gravel Pit, a down-on-the-heels housing estate that Charlotte's mom's boyfriend, in particular, thinks unsafe for kids.
Charlotte isn't super thrilled that Colin has moved in with them, but she is pleased that her older sister Sarah and Sarah's dreamy boyfriend Dr Julian are moving back up to Tackleford. Her pleasure is short-lived, however, when fussy old Colin wants to implement a 7 p.m. curfew for her after Linton and Jack come round asking for her detecting help one evening. Linton's dad was just promoted to police chief and is worrying over his new responsibilities in the face of rising crime. Being a good son, Linton wants to help his dad close a bunch of cases, including the weird goings-on by the Gravel Pit. But Colin thinks running about solving nocturnal mysteries is far too dangerous for thirteen year-olds, much to Charlotte's ire. After all, foiling monstrous creatures of the night is complicated enough without also dodging worrywart father surrogates whom you never particularly liked in the first place.
Along for the ride is ambitious young reporter Erin Winters, whom Jack is developing a crush on, much to Linton's disgust. Will this ragtag team of heroes be able to figure out who or what is behind all the mayhem, and more importantly stop it before it's too late?
This was another really strong installment of the webcomic turned graphic novel, and I enjoyed reading every minute of it, including the hilarious excerpts of the memoir at the end. I actually did a double take when I first started reading this volume because the kids are growing up! They're getting bigger and turning into little adults, and I'm all up in my feelings about it! Plot-wise, I loved the way John Allison wove the various narrative threads through into one excellent, consistently surprising whole. I think I also spent a little more time admiring the art here than in previous books. I've always loved his drawings, but I particularly appreciated how he plays with desaturation here for different scene effects, subtly evoking mood.
Gosh, I hope I won't have to wait another year before finding the time to read the next book in the series! I even actually own it already, too. Funny story: the copy I have of this title was actually weeded from the Columbus Metropolitan Library because I was adamant on getting the original binding, which has since gone out of print, to properly match the first five books in my collection. Well worth the effort of tracking down, IMO.
The Case Of The Unwelcome Visitor by John Allison was published November 29 2016 by Oni Press and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
September 6, 2021
This is a review for all 10 volumes of Bad Machinery, which I read consecutively. Each of the volumes warrants a top review, but it is the opinion of this reviewer that the series should be read all at once for maximum effect.
Welcome to Tackleford, England, a low-to-middling “town full of mysteries” typically solved by the Mystery Kids, a sextet of 11-year-old students at Griswalds Grammar School. The boys—Linton, Jack and Sonny often work in parallel to the girls—Lottie, Shauna and Mildred—but sometimes also as mild rivals, and often unwitting allies. Chockablock with wirtty dialogue, great laughs and characters who you will certainly grow to love. Bad Machinery begins as a kind of deeply English homage to both Harry Potter and Scooby-Doo, but evolves into a terrific character comedy and some coming-of-age drama along the way.
Written and illustrated by John Allison, Bad Machinery feels rather close to his other work, especially the fantastic Giant Days (which is essentially Bad Machinery set in college rather than high school), but that’s alright. Once this story really finds its footing in the second volume, it’s a consistently excellent ride to the finish, as we watch our heroes grow up, grow wiser, and in some cases, grow apart. It’s a story teased out in tiny increments, page by page, betraying its webcomic origins. But Bad Machinery very shows why it’s won the armloads of awards to its name, and for those willing to give it a little room to breathe and get on its wavelength, there is some immense fun and terrific storytelling in store. Teen-appropriate, but be warned, American readers, if you’re not up on your English slang, you’ll miss a few of the jokes.
Bottom line, if you love any of John Allison’s other work, you’ll love this.
Welcome to Tackleford, England, a low-to-middling “town full of mysteries” typically solved by the Mystery Kids, a sextet of 11-year-old students at Griswalds Grammar School. The boys—Linton, Jack and Sonny often work in parallel to the girls—Lottie, Shauna and Mildred—but sometimes also as mild rivals, and often unwitting allies. Chockablock with wirtty dialogue, great laughs and characters who you will certainly grow to love. Bad Machinery begins as a kind of deeply English homage to both Harry Potter and Scooby-Doo, but evolves into a terrific character comedy and some coming-of-age drama along the way.
Written and illustrated by John Allison, Bad Machinery feels rather close to his other work, especially the fantastic Giant Days (which is essentially Bad Machinery set in college rather than high school), but that’s alright. Once this story really finds its footing in the second volume, it’s a consistently excellent ride to the finish, as we watch our heroes grow up, grow wiser, and in some cases, grow apart. It’s a story teased out in tiny increments, page by page, betraying its webcomic origins. But Bad Machinery very shows why it’s won the armloads of awards to its name, and for those willing to give it a little room to breathe and get on its wavelength, there is some immense fun and terrific storytelling in store. Teen-appropriate, but be warned, American readers, if you’re not up on your English slang, you’ll miss a few of the jokes.
Bottom line, if you love any of John Allison’s other work, you’ll love this.
Read
October 21, 2022How has it been five years since I read any Bad Machinery? Because I've had other John Allison to discover, of course, a whole sprawling universe of Giant Days, Steeple, Scary-Go-Round and more, even an unauthorised Batman crossover about snooker since I started reading his new stuff online. But Bad Machinery was my first, and I think may still be my favourite, its plucky young protagonists veering between ineptitude and inspiration as they investigate off-kilter mysteries (this time: an outbreak of nocturnal vigilantism, which is tricky when they're not allowed out after dark) in between getting even more confused by the travails of growing up. All of it rendered in the usual inimitable art style, which I think may match better than any other, even Max Sarin's, with Allison's equally idiosyncratic, perfect way with words, and his ludicrous plots in which it's still somehow so easy to believe:
"Come on, Don. You've had enough. No one wants to see your puppet show anymore. Plus, you don't have any puppets, you're just waggling your bare hands about."
"Come on, Don. You've had enough. No one wants to see your puppet show anymore. Plus, you don't have any puppets, you're just waggling your bare hands about."
June 23, 2018
The thing about these books is that I always feel like they start slow and a few pages in, I'm just about ready to think this will be my last one. Then the mystery starts ramping up and the jokes start landing, and I remember why I've been reading the whole series. This one is exactly that and, unlike some of the previous ones, actually makes sense throughout the book. This makes for a nice touch of satisfaction when the conclusion lands. (And it's not the solution to the Night Hero/Creeper dilemma you might expect!) I don't always like it when Allison leaves out characters, but I think focusing on just a few this time really allowed them to develop and contribute the story line individually. There are multiple jokes which made me giggle aloud, which kept the story going strong as well. One of the best volumes of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2021
It's summer, and the mystery team is much reduced when a mysterious tall figure walks the streets of tackleford at night accosting people and leaving them... smiling. Hero of the night or villain? Lottie and the gang are forced into an uneasy alliance with snarky local jounalist Erin Winters to save the day.
July 13, 2021
The book starts with the resolution of an unshown mystery then leaps into the mystery of the Night Creeper/Hero. I like how the books split up and recombine the six main characters. Linton and Jack team up with Lotte and the local reporter for some totally mad times. There's also two great twists at the end that I did not see coming.
September 11, 2021
Weird "unwelcome visitor", funny mystery solving, and lots of Lotte (yay) and Jack and Linton. Took place during summer break so no teachers in this one but STAR REPORTER Erin Winters was heavily in it. Good stuff.
June 21, 2022
I love these so much! I am almost through the series. I have loved every adventure and mishap. The kids have been through so many crazy things and they are so fun. I think this is a great graphic novel who done it series. So many twist and turns.
May 27, 2017
I love everything about this book.
June 17, 2017
Nice story and illustrations
August 26, 2017
Another mysterious adventure with the Tackleford mystery team! So many great characters and fun bits are are in these books.
September 23, 2017
so. much. FUN!!!
Another amazing addition to Bad Machinery.
Another amazing addition to Bad Machinery.
March 29, 2018
DON'T TIT ABOUT ON LADDERS 😂
December 25, 2018
There’s only one left. 😭
August 18, 2019
It took me a while longer to get into this than usual but once again, a great read with classic John Allison humour.
August 9, 2020
El mejor de todos los BM hasta la fecha, a pesar que casi no vemos a la mitad del grupo en acción. O quizás por eso ya que permite que Lottie brille.
September 23, 2020
A joy to read. laugh out loud moments.
March 22, 2021
Excellent!
June 15, 2022
I love these so much. They are charming and funny.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews