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, international No.1 bestselling author of Past Lying *
Superb debut…a well-observed, well-told account of trauma, grief and concomitant magical thinking, this coming-of-age mystery has flashes of humour and pathos that provide fuel for real suspense. * Guardian *
Crawford has delivered a slow-burn mystery that doubles as a moving coming-of-age tale, investing readers in Janey’s fate but also showing how a community can protect the wrong people for too long — and at too great a cost. * New York Times *
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, bestselling author of Snap *
A Bad, Bad Place will stay with me for a long, long time. The writing is raw and visceral, and the story richly layered. One to watch. * Jennie Godfrey, No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things *
Impressive first novel…the story of [the characters’] relationship and of Janie’s investigation is outstanding, but the novel also offers a powerful picture of the poverty in which they live. * Literary Review *
‘A Bad, Bad Place is a great, great book – my favorite kind, in fact: the kind that illuminates the dark of the past by laying a bonfire of a story at its heart. Frances Crawford, the preternaturally gifted author of this magical new novel, works bright magic here; very rarely have I felt so transported by a story, or so enmeshed in a community of characters, bound by love and fear and language. Part To Kill and Mockingbird, part Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, part Louise Welsh, yet altogether incomparable.’ * A. J. Finn, No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window *
I loved this book. Real people, their voices as true and unique as the time and place they inhabit. Twelve year old Janey Devine and her Nan are so real, the horror they find themselves in so terrifying, that it feels as though you’re there with them. I haven’t read anything quite as unique as this since Trainspotting. * Lin Anderson *
A tense mystery that’s full of heart, warmth and humour, I adored this book. Janey Devine is one of my all-time favourite characters – an absolute triumph! * Andrea Mara *

As a passionate advocate of lifelong learning, Frances was delighted to graduate age 60 with MLitt (Distinction) Creative Writing from Glasgow University. In 2023, she won Bloody Scotland/ Glencairn Crime Short Story Competition and the first chapters of her debut novel, A Bad, Bad Place, won Highly Commended in Moniack Mohr Emerging Writer 2024.

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.

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