Named one of the Best Crime Books of the Year by the Guardian , Weirdo is an atmospheric thriller about a teenage girl convicted of murder in a 1980s seaside town and the private investigator who reopens the case to discover that she may not have acted alone . . .

Corinne Woodrow was fifteen when she was convicted of the ritualistic murder of her classmate in a quaint seaside town. It was 1984, a year when teenagers ran wild, dressed in black, stayed out all night, and listened to music that terrified their parents. Rumours of Satanism surrounded Corinne and she was locked up indefinitely, a chilling reminder to the parents of Ernemouth to keep a watchful eye on their children.

Twenty years later, private investigator Sean Ward — whose promising career as a detective with the Metropolitan Police was cut short by a teenager with a gun — reopens the case after new forensic evidence suggests that Corinne didn’t act alone. His investigation uncovers a town full of secrets, and a community that has always looked after its own.

Cathi Unsworth began a career in journalism at nineteen and has since worked for many music, arts, film, and alternative lifestyle journals. She has been called the “Queen of Noir” in the United Kingdom and is the author of four other novels: Weirdo, The Not Knowing, The Singer, and Bad Penny Blues. She is also the editor of the award-winning compendium London Noir. She lives in London.

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...the novel is a worthy showcase for the author's undeniable skill.

Publisher's Weekly

A tale of treachery, crime and cover-ups. Unsworth is adept at bringing Thatcher's Britain back to life.

Sunday Business Post

...darkly brilliant...

Postmedia News

A dark tale that delicately captures an era, and the toxic power battles between teenagers.

Independent on Sunday