Scabby Queen

‘Kirstin Innes has written a fat, firecracker of a book, revolving around the suicide of Clio Campbell, a Glasgow chanteuse, whose story emerges through the voices of friends, acquaintances, enemies and journalists with space to fill. It’s about women and silence, oddballs and adventurers and stupid mistakes; about ‘no need to worry about me’ Scottishness and ‘getting by’ as practised by every culture on earth. Best of all, it’s about joy and hope and the pressing need to seize the day while one can.’ JANICE GALLOWAY

‘Scabby Queen is a life and death struggle of a book: wounded, angry, beautiful, righteous, beaten and triumphant. Kirstin Innes is aiming high, writing for readers in the early days of a better nation’ A. L. KENNEDY

‘A hugely ambitious novel that fulfils the promise of Kirstin Innes’ debut Fishnet and then some. You won’t forget Clio Campbell, but Scabby Queen’s punch also comes from the sophisticated, nuanced way Innes undermines simplistic biographical takes … Full of heart and dirt, fire and fury, Scabby Queen positively crackles with tension and drama throughout’ RODGE GLASS

‘A blistering firecracker … succeeds in building a singular vision of our political moment and how we got here. I didn’t want it to end’  GAVIN FRANCIS

‘Unsettling and mesmerising, Scabby Queen reveals its complex protagonist in sharp, moving slices. I loved peeling back its layers, never knowing quite what version of Clio Campbell I’d find next … a sparkling tour de force on womanhood, celebrity, Scottishness, the music industry, and fighting injustice in the modern era’ ANNELIESE MACKINTOSH

‘It is insightful, sharp, beautifully written and so immersive I feel bereft now it is over … An unforgettable book’ CATHERINE SIMPSON

‘Authentic and empathetic, bold and huge of heart …stands in excoriating witness to our times’ SIMON SYLVESTER

‘Scabby Queen is vibrant, vital, relevant, brilliant, ambitious and so truthful’ JENNI FAGAN

‘Kirstin Innes has written a powerful, inspiring novel ablaze with political rage and fierce empathy.’ HELEN SEDGWICK