Title: A Bad, Bad Place
Author: Frances Crawford
Publication Date: March 3, 2026
Publisher: Soho Press | Soho Crime
Format Read: Kindle e-ARC
Genre: General Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
This is the kind of crime story that cares less about who did it and more about what it does to the people left behind. A Bad, Bad Place leans into character, memory, and a dread that builds slowly.
So I’m a quirky person. I’m sure a few of my regular readers have figured that out by now. Wink, wink. This is why I love reading books with a sprinkling of quirk, especially in characters. It’s also why I chose to read A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford, with the following synopsis: “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.” I didn’t even really feel the need to read any more about it. I was already hooked.
Janey finds the body almost immediately. The story spans the next few months as she struggles with the scars that experience has left on her young mind. Her nana is also struggling. Watching her granddaughter battling the horrors of what she experienced, as well as her own bad memories, clearly fills her with a sense of helplessness. Janey claims she doesn’t remember all the details of finding the body, but the police don’t believe her. It’s true that she is hiding something about it, but it’s not what the police think it is.
This book is highly character-driven, orbiting around themes of trauma and recovery, abuse and sexism, corruption, and coming of age in a roughneck area. The juxtaposition of Janey’s innocence with the harsh realities of her world created a mixed bag of emotions within me. Sure, there are moments that are funny, but they’re often laced through with a thread of melancholy. My heart hurt for her experiencing this at all, but even more so because she experienced it at such a pivotal age.
I found the character development remarkable, especially with the two narrators, Janey and her nana. They’re both forced to grow before all is said and done. The chapters aren’t especially long, and the two narrators alternate with each. Things are happening in the moment in the story, but they also often share memories of times in their past. While this is necessary and makes the story that much richer, it does slow the pace of reading.
The setting of 1979 Glasgow was fitting, and I especially loved how Crawford uses Scottish-accented speech even in the characters’ thoughts. It was like I was truly listening to them without any audio. It really grounds the story in this specific place and culture, building the world through voice instead of description dumps. There is also a subtle layer of metaphor and insight tucked into everyday details, and she uses quiet, character-driven symbolism rather than literary flourishes. Overall, this makes the book immersive, voice-driven, regionally grounded, emotionally restrained, and socially observant. The author doesn’t pull you in with dramatic language, but with the unsettling feeling that this is exactly how someone like this would think and speak, which makes everything that happens feel uncomfortably real.
A Bad, Bad Place isn’t a heavy tome in terms of pages, but in subject matter. I had to take it slowly and sit with things. I’m admittedly an impatient person, and this made the book feel longer than it is, but I’d be lying if I said this story won’t stick with me for years to come. It doesn’t look powerful on the surface, but it packs a punch all the same. I’d recommend it to people who enjoy literary fiction over mysteries and thrillers. There is an element of mystery to it, yes, but the previously mentioned themes carry more of the load. I’d most liken this book’s vibe to authors like Tana French and Emma Flint. This book is more about “mood and character,” and one should read it for the voice and creeping dread, not the adrenaline.
Nerd Rating: 🤓🤓🤓🤓 — Subtle, unsettling, and memorable
Let’s Discuss
Have you ever read a book that stayed with you more because of how it felt than because of what happened? Tell me about it.
I read a digital copy made available by Soho Press/Soho Crime through NetGalley, and this review reflects my honest opinion.