Don't miss the must-read debut of the year - a murder mystery unlike any other...
'Clever, honest, heart-rending.' VAL MCDERMID
'Richly authentic, funny, moving and insightful.' JANICE HALLETT
'I haven’t read anything quite as unique as this since Trainspotting.' LIN ANDERSON
'A Bad, Bad Place will stay with me for a long, long time' JENNIE GODFREY
'Part To Kill a Mockingbird, part The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, yet altogether incomparable’ A. J. FINN
What happened to the dog walker who found the body?
Glasgow, 1979.
Twelve-year-old Janey won’t take her dog, Sid Vicious, for a walk. Not anymore. It’s Sid’s fault she found the murdered woman.
Janey claims she can’t remember what she saw at the abandoned railway, but the police think she’s hiding something. And they’re not the only ones interested.
Fear and rumour rip through the tight-knit community of Possilpark. Janey and her nana, Maggie, are dragged into the hunt for a murderer. And Maggie’s struggle to keep her beloved granddaughter safe becomes ever more desperate.
Because Janey’s memories can’t stay hidden forever.
And neither can the killer…
Readers love A Bad, Bad Place:
'Lingers long after the final page' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW
'I loved every page!' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW
'Got under my skin in a way I didn't expect' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW
'Absolutely brilliant, funny, full of life, completely convincing' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW
'Brilliant' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW
'Stunning' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW
'Scottish writing at its finest' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW
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A Bad, Bad Place 9780857508003 Hardback
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A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford
I saw a brief review of A Bad, Bad, Place in the Guardian and because I was brought up in Possilpark (Saracen Street), where the book is set, and attended Possil (Senior) Secondary School, on Balmore Road, which was converted to sheltered housing in the early 1970s, I ordered it immediately. I r…
I saw a brief review of A Bad, Bad, Place in the Guardian and because I was brought up in Possilpark (Saracen Street), where the book is set, and attended Possil (Senior) Secondary School, on Balmore Road, which was converted to sheltered housing in the early 1970s, I ordered it immediately. I read it very quickly, because I couldn't put it down! The evocation of Possilpark is very convincing and it brought back distant memories of playing on the Dummy Railway in the 1950s (I’m 82). I used to walk past WesterCommons when it was still prefabs (and piles of huge granite slabs the purpose of which nobody knew: possibly something to do with civil defence during the war) as I walked to Glasgow University in the early 1960s. And I watched the construction of St Theresa’s RC Church in the late fifties (It replaced a flimsy wooden church). I also delivered Christmas mail, four years in a row, to the priests’ house and to much of Saracen Street. I was impressed by the characterisation throughout. Too often caricature takes the place of characterisation in novels and there is absolutely no sign of that in Frances Crawford’s writing. All the main characters are very believable, and the plot develops very convincingly. An excellent debut novel.
- Authors:
- Crawford, Frances
- Year Published:
- 2026
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Format:
- Hardback
- ISBN:
- 9780857508003
- Number of Pages:
- 384
- Place of Publication:
- London
- Publication Date:
- 12/02/2026
- Publisher:
- Transworld Publishers Ltd
- Language:
- English
- Imprint:
- Bantam Books (Transworld Publishers a division of the Random House Group)
- SKU:
- 9780857508003