Frances Crawford talks to Val McDermid

Dive into Glasgow in the 1970s, as Frances Crawford introduces her debut novel. Speaking to legendary crime writer Val McDermid, Crawford talks about graduating aged 60 with a degree in creative writing, getting her big break later in life, and the journey of her book.

A Bad, Bad Place follows 12-year-old Janey, who finds a murdered woman on an abandoned railway, and her grandmother Maggie, trying to protect her from the local hardman, whose daughter is the murder victim.

Crawford won Bloody Scotland/Glencairn Crime Short Story Competition and the first chapters of A Bad, Bad Place were Highly Commended by the Moniack Mohr Emerging Writer Awards 2024.