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A Bad, Bad Place

Winner of the Val McDermid Crime Debut Award

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A Bad, Bad Place

By: Frances Crawford
Narrated by: Bobby Rainsbury, Brede McDermott
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Brought to you by Penguin.

Don't miss the must-read debut of the year - a murder mystery unlike any other...

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…

'Clever, honest, heart-rending.' Val McDermid

'Richly authentic, funny, moving and insightful.' Janice Hallett

© Frances Crawford 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Crime Crime Thrillers Murder Mystery Police Procedurals Psychological Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths World Literature Funny Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

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.
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.
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.
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!
Frightening, funny and full of heart.
‘Gripping, gruesome, and so gritty you can smell it. A visceral and exciting debut.’
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.
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.
'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 a Mockingbird, part The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, part Louise Welsh, yet altogether incomparable.'
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.
All stars
Most relevant
I often have trouble with the writing and/or performance of younger characters in adult fiction, they are too often inauthentic, sometimes even ludicrously so.

But with this the character of the 12 yo girl is written and narrated in a very natural, very realistic way, as was the old before her time grandmother.

In terms of the plot, a simple body found, who did it, dark secrets type of story entirely avoids all the formulaic elements that usually makes me stop listening one chapter in, because the story of who, what, why, etc unravels slowly, giving the characters the time and space to be the real stars of the show. We always want to know more about the crime, but what is happening to these few characters because of the crime is always more important, more gripping.

It’s emotional, it’s a little frightening, it’s dark, but always full of love and warmth, often humour, and a little hard won wisdom.

I’m sorry to have finished it, it’s one of the best I’ve read in quite some time.

Superb storytelling.

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I loved the two main characters. The narration with two readers for the different characters of the grandmother and granddaughter worked really well.

Engaging story with great narrators

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Really enjoyed this read. Real Glasgow women strong resilient and dealing with so much while maintaining humour and love.

Great characters

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I loved this story. It reminded me of Shuggie Bain, which happens to be one of my favourite books. The narrators were perfect. Five stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Janey and Sid Vicious will stay with me for a long time!

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I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the narration was great. I thought the story was well paced and I cared for the characters. There was darkness in the story but also humour too and I wasn't disappointment by the ending either. I would recommend this book and look forward to reading future Frances Crawford books.

Brilliant debut novel

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