John Thomas McIntyre (1871–1951) was an American mystery writer and playwright. Today, his best-known works are probably the Ashton-Kirk scientific detective mysteries (which are relatively common on the used book market and still in print today from various publishers) and his crime novel Steps Going Down (1936).
Steps Going DownMcIntyre was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Irish immigrants, Sarah Walker (1848–1885) and Patrick McIntyre (circa 1842–1871). His father died the month after he was born. John grew up in the Kensington neighborhood and left school after 8th grade, when his mother died. He was taken in by an aunt and was working full-time by the age of fourteen.
He showed a talent both for writing and the theatre, and eventually became employed by the stock company of th
