A Bad, Bad Place - by Frances Crawford (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A dazzling debut mystery about a young girl and her grandmother grappling with the fallout of an unexplained murder in 1979 Glasgow

If it hadn't been for her wee stupid dog Sid Vicious, 12-year-old Janey Devine might never have stumbled upon the corpse of Samantha Watson. And then maybe she'd still be able to sleep at night. And maybe her nana wouldn't be so worried sick all the time. And maybe Billy "The Ghost" Watson, a notorious gangster, wouldn't be on her tail--for it's Billy's daughter who was left for dead on those train tracks, and now Billy wants answers.

Fear and gossip spread through the tight-knit community of Possilpark, Glasgow, and while Janey swears she can't remember the details of that morning, the cops think she's hiding something--and indeed, there's something she knows that she's not quite ready to tell anyone else, not even her nana, who won't rest until this whole thing is behind them.

Shot through with remarkable humor and voice, Frances Crawford's stunning debut is a coming-of-age whodunnit, an intimate portrait of a working-class neighborhood that weaves Janey's innocent candor and her nana's hard-earned wisdom into a sweeping tale of grief and survival that marks the arrival of a major new voice in crime fiction.

Review Quotes

Praise for A Bad, Bad Place

"A moving evocation of working-class lives. It's clever, honest, heart-rending, and funny too. It doesn't shy away from the darkness but it also reveals the love and compassion that sustain people. And it's wonderfully twisty too, giving our assumptions a good shake-up."
―Val McDermid, internationally No.1 bestselling author of Past Lying

"The very best writing can transport you through time and place--well, A Bad, Bad Place took me to Glasgow, to 1979 and to a young girl who discovers a brutal murder, the repercussions of which resound across a troubled community. It's hard to believe this richly authentic, funny, moving, and insightful story, beautifully written in local dialect, is actually a debut. Bravo, Frances Crawford!"
―Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal

"Gripping, gruesome, and so gritty you can smell it. A visceral and exciting debut."
--Belinda Bauer, author of Blacklands

About the Author

As a passionate advocate of lifelong learning, Frances Crawford was delighted to graduate with distinction at age 60 from Glasgow University's Creative Writing program. Frances grew up in North Glasgow, and credits the people of Possilpark and Milton as her writing inspiration. She still lives in Glasgow with her family and likes libraries and punk rock.