Bad Penny Blues is the English Black Dahlia and will establish Cathi Unsworth as the First Lady of Noir Fiction.
David Peace
Another tour de force… Cathi Unsworth's ability to create the feel of the period is such that background knowledge is immaterial… Authentically atmospheric and very evocative, the book's song-title chapter headings supply an inbuilt soundtrack.
Laura Wilson, The Guardian
The author has been compared to cult noirist Derek Raymond, but here she enters a pantheon of writers exploring London lowlife that extends from Patrick Hamilton and Colin MacInnes.
Christopher Fowler, Financial Times
There's something about the textured layers of Cathi Unsworth's third novel that effortlessly draws the reader into the dark and disturbing environment she creates… Unsworth lives up to her growing reputation as one of the UK's stars of noir crime fiction, combining hardboiled prose with vivid characters and a lucid sense of place.
Yasmin Sulaiman, The List
A magnificent tapestry of period and place… confirming her status as one of Britain's most potent writers of noir.
Marcel Berlins, The Times
A haunting and utterly absorbing London noir that takes us to all the bright lights and dark places of the big city.
Jake Arnott
A beautifully written and compelling peep into the dark side of London's past. A knockout.
Paolo Hewitt
Bad Penny Blues isn't only one of the best crime novels this year, it's one of the best of the decade.
Ray Banks
It's raised the bar for writers of this genre.
Liz Murray, Bookmunch
Fascinating… a time and place in London that is very close to my heart.
Robert Elms