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The rising stars of 2026: discover the must-read debut novels of the year

Frances Crawford

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.

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!

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.

'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.

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!

From the first couple of chapters, Janey and her fierce granny Maggie instantly had my heart. I loved the strong sense of time and place in Crawford's debut. The book says much about class, gender and society in 1970s Glasgow while also divining a balance between movingly poignant and blackly funny. It's a high-wire act that few seasoned writers manage to perfect. Propulsive, transportative and full of great twists, the way any brilliant crime novel should be.

Wonderfully assured debut… it explores memory and silence with real emotional force.

This visceral debut is touching and darkly funny in exploring powerful themes like love and redemption in working class lives, with a character you'll adore in Janey. Crawford is one to watch.

Outstanding debut… it’s the unforgettable characters, sparkling dialogue and sharp wit that makes this an extraordinary and unmissable read.

Though Janey has a compelling mystery to solve, it's the unforgettable characters, sparkling dialogue and sharp wit that make this an unmissable read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this compelling debut...another addition to the brilliant crime writing coming out of Scotland now, gritty with two unique voices and an authentic working-class feel, it's sure to be on the prize lists next year.

A real gut-punch of a crime novel.

This blistering crime debut transports readers to the gritty streets of 1970s Glasgow… a novel already being hailed as the ‘debut crime novel of the year’.

Terrific! I got a glimpse of the beginning of this one and immediately fell in love with the characters and Frances Crawford’s unique voice. Her debut is everything I hoped it would turn out to be.

Hugely impressive debut novel… it’s a damn good read.

An incredible book, I loved it from the first line. Janey and Maggie are probably the best unconventional protagonists in a crime novel I’ve ever come across, each of their voices pitch perfect – an amazing feat, a testament to Frances Crawford’s undeniable talent and skill. Possilpark of the seventies is conjured with an unflinching eye, rich in detail but free of nostalgia. A Bad, Bad Place is a must read for fans of Kirkland Ciccone and Ely Percy.

I haven’t read anything as unique as this since Trainspotting.

A stunning debut. In A Bad, Bad Place, Frances Crawford transports the reader back to 1970s Glasgow and makes it accessible and alive. Janey and her grandmother Maggie are wonderful characters, we care about them, feel their pain and want to be there when they find out who did what and why. A crime novel that is gripping, yet moving, compelling, yet gentle - a really wonderful read. Don't miss this one.

Will keep readers guessing, even after the final chapter, thanks to an ingenious ending.

A rare perspective of violent crime with real-life community at its heart.

Frances Crawford's debut novel is the result of patience, persistence and courage.

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

Frances Crawford

Praise for 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 ...

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 — an ...

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 ...

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 — an ...

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 ...

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 — an ...

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The rising stars of 2026: discover the must-read debut novels of the year

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