Glasgow, 1979: If it hadn’t been for her wee stupid dog, Sid Vicious, twelve-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 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 have spread through the tight-knit community of Possilpark, 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, not even her nana, who won’t rest until this whole thing is behind them.
I’m back on my bullshit.
Meaning I’m obsessively geeking out over a crime fiction publishing imprint.
I’m not sure anyone is doing it like Soho Crime is at the moment. It was definitely last year’s SAINT OF THE NARROWS STREET by William Boyle that really had me sit up & pay attention to Soho Crime, and yeah, I just think what they’re putting out on a consistent basis is remarkable. Go check out their website, which has a great map of the world & shows where all their different titles are set! So cool!
Back in the fall, I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Soho Press Early Reader Program, which is how I came to learn about Frances Crawford’s debut novel, A BAD, BAD PLACE.
The first thing I want to say is, I’m not a writer. Sometimes I wish I was? Like, of course as a reader, there are times I wonder if it’s something I’d ever be any good at, or if I’ll ever have any ideas that feel like stories. But that’s a whole separate blog post/therapy session! I just couldn’t help but feel really inspired that this is France’s Crawford’s debut novel, and she is (I believe) in her early 60’s. I think there’s some societal sickness where we are all telling ourselves negative things, like “it’s too late,” or “I’m too old,” or “I could never.” I’m 47, and I tell myself that all the time. So yeah, before I try to properly review this gem of a book, cheers to Frances Crawford on her debut!
A BAD, BAD PLACE is one of the most unique & memorable crime fiction novels I’ve ever read, for sure. And that’s almost down entirely to its two brilliant main characters: twelve-year-old Janey Devine, and Maggie, her grandmother.
The book is set in Glasgow in 1979, and Frances Crawford gives a literal masterclass in how to fully transport the reader to a particular time & location. I will say up front that the writing can take a bit of getting used to. It is VERY heavy with Glaswegian slang/dialect, but OH! There’s a huge glossary of terms at the back of the book! I definitely consulted it quite a bit, but then there are many instances where the context is all you really need. And again, the writing style/dialect gives the story an unbelievable vibrancy & sense of authenticity.
It all starts with Sid Vicious.
The dog.
Janey’s dog is named Sid Vicious and I’ll probably be mentioning him quite a bit. But as I always like to do when a dog is involved, I’m gonna mention up front that:
DOG SPOILERS HERE!
…Sid has a perfectly happy ending, as all very good boys should. It’s not to say that I was totally thrilled about Sid’s treatment in the story, but more on that later.
This is an unconventional crime novel, but there is a crime at the center of the story: the murder of a young woman named Samantha Watson. Her body is poorly hidden, and it’s Janey who discovers Samantha.
Or rather, it’s Sid Vicious who discovers her. Which is why Janey proceeds to hold a grudge against Sid Vicious for pretty much the entire novel; if he hadn’t been nosing around and found Samantha, then Janey wouldn’t be so messed up from the experience. She wouldn’t be spending her summer utterly traumatized, dealing with the constant barrage of questions from the police. She wouldn’t be launching a quasi-investigation of her own, trying to figure out who killed Samantha.
And rather unbeknownst to Janey, her grandmother is looking into the murder as well. Maggie is super protective of Janey, which tracks as we learn more & more about the tragedy that led to Maggie being Janey’s full-time caretaker.
These are just two incredible characters with so much love between them. Neither is perfect & they can both hurt the other with an unkind word or two. But oof…I grew so fond of both of them. Both POVs are first-person, and I think Crawford does incredible work to give each a distinctive voice.
And I do need to give some more space here for Sid Vicious. He is not exactly doted on, and as I said, Janey directly blames him for everything that happens. But in a weird way, Sid Vicious is kind of the glue holding Janey and Maggie together. He’s a big part of the story & of course I loved him and his scrappy demeanor.
The story feels very contained to Janey’s neighborhood, Possilpark. It’s a vibrant community, with a definite undercurrent of danger running through it. But Frances Crawford is so skilled at setting a scene, at making you feel like this is all happening just outside your window if you happened to look out.
This book is funny, too! Definitely a shade of gallow’s humor, but certainly there’s plenty of humor to offset some of the bleaker aspects of this story.
A BAD, BAD PLACE is an unbelievable gem of a novel, and a book that shows just how versatile the crime genre can be. It’s got a punk rock heart, and a wonderful cast of characters. I loved everything about this one! One of my favorite crime fiction reads of the year so far!
Huge thanks to Soho Crime for sending this one my way!
Grimdark Dad 