Weirdo

Corinne Woodrow was fifteen when she was convicted of murdering one of her classmates on a summer's evening in 1984, a year when the teenagers of Ernemouth ran wild, dressing in black and staying out all night, listening to music that terrified their parents. Twenty years later, new forensic evidence suggests Corinne didn't act alone. Private investigator Sean Ward - whose promising career as a detective with the Met was cut short by a teenage gangster with a gun - reopens the case, and discovers a town full of dark secrets, and a community that has always looked after its own. 'A gripping tale of adolescent angst and genuine evil' Daily Telegraph 'An absorbing mystery, an extraordinarily powerful evocation of time and place' Guardian

About the Author :
Cathi Unsworth began a career in journalism at nineteen on the music weekly Sounds, and has since worked on for many music, arts, film and alternative lifestyle journals. She is the author of three other novels, The Not Knowing [9781852428921], The Singer [9781846686405] and Bad Penny Blues [9781846686788], and the editor of the award-winning crime compendium London Noir, all published by Serpent's Tail. She lives in London.

Review :
Unsworth's best yet, as sharp as vinegar on chips FT A serious talent ... she has brilliantly captured that desperate sense of teenage boredom, isolation, danger and mayhem Daily Mirror A creepy, credible page-turner that delights and disturbs Metro A great, page-turning read. I think the whole package works beautifully: memory traces, bad magic, sounds, smells -- Iain Sinclair Fans of Cathi Unsworth's potent brand of period noir have come to expect her trademark fluid writing, tense plotting and believable characters but in Weirdo, she has added an extra dimension of intensity. Set partly in the 1980s and partly in the early 2000s, the bang-on and powerful evocation of being a Punk in the provinces twists round the switchback central story of madness and murder like a perfect riff. Satisfying and beautifully done, Weirdo is a brilliant read, by a brilliant author. -- Joolz Denby Pre-publication quote A must for fans of crime fiction. -- Anne Sexton Hot Press Cathi Unsworth, follows up her masterly noir Bad Penny Blues with another fine crime novel, Weirdo, as a private detective travels to Norfolk to try and unravel the mystery of a schoolgirl's murder. -- Simon Evans Choice Another fine crime novel from Cathi Unsworth after her masterly noir, Bad Penny Blues -- Simon Evans Choice An absorbing mystery, an extraordinarily powerful evocation of time and place. Guardian A gripping tale of adolescent angst and genuine evil Telegraph A tale of treachery, crime and cover-ups. Unsworth is adept at bringing Thatcher's Britain back to life -- Fachtna Kelly Sunday Business Post A dark tale that delicately captures an era, and the toxic power battles between teenagers -- Arifa Akbar Independent on Sunday