'Wild, hilarious, sharply original and almost unbelievable. Claire Sullivan's talent blazes across the page.' - ROBBIE ARNOTT, author of Dusk and Notable Tasmanian

'A thoroughly entertaining investigation into a secret Hobart Ninja Cult - Claire Sullivan is like Patrick Radden Keefe's unhinged Tasmanian cousin. A hilarious recounting, with a powerful message about the danger of aimless men, Claire Sullivan's truthful exploration of a Tasmanian Ninja Cult reads like a Coen brothers fever dream.' - NINA OYAMA, comedian and star of Deadloch

Dubious ninja training. A scam religion. Swords, guns and homemade bombs. Extortion gone wrong. All cooked up in a cosy lounge room over a nice cuppa in Australia's least-likely-to-succeed capital, Hobart.

Criminally Bad is journalist and comedian Claire Sullivan's deep dive into the jaw-dropping true story of a cult-ish ninja crime gang that self-imploded in 1990s Tassie.

Drawing on old evidence and intrepid new research, Claire takes us on a fascinating, darkly funny ride through power, friendship, free will, toxic masculinity and almost unimaginable ineptitude. It won't surprise you that not everyone gets out alive.

Completely true and utterly bonkers, Criminally Bad uncovers an until-now buried batshit slice of Australian true crime history.

Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.

Strap in.

'It's hard to look away from Claire Sullivan's cracking investigation into this gobsmacking episode of Tassie true crime. Like Sullivan, readers will be 'horny for more information' as they meet the characters under the sway of a cult-like leader who is both terrifying and sad. Darkly funny, Sullivan is also whip-smart on the insidious creep of bullying and brain-washing that sucks up young men into all kinds of group-think. This rollicking tale of a criminally bad ninja cult is criminally good. Truly, you couldn't make this shit up. - KATE MILDENHALL, author of The Hiding Place

'I picked this up expecting a funny and weird story about a bunch of morons. Did I get that? Yes. What I didn't expect was a deeply researched and considered journey through Australian identity, male loneliness and the way the powerful exploit the vulnerable. Did I get that? Incredibly, also yes!' - WENDY SYFRET, author of The Sunny Nihilist

'Human folly has never been follier. If you like your True Crime riddled with idiots then this is the book for you. Claire Sullivan has cornered the ninja-cult-extortion-racket book market.' - SHAUN MICALLEF, creator of Mad as Hell and author of DeAth Takes a Holiday

'A truly wild, utterly weird and incredibly funny story about loser men who want to be ninjas and take over Tasmania. And much like ninjas, every chapter of Criminally Bad is completely unexpected and often surprisingly violent. Claire Sullivan has an expert eye for the absurd and doesn't pull a single punch in how she tells this truly insane narrative - so I guess she's also like a ninja.' - PATRICK LENTON, author of In Spite of You

'Fear and loathing in Hobart. How naivety, violence and paranoia spawned a 90s Tassie cult with it all; a ninja militia revolution, the Knights Templar, and extortion plots over cuppas. Sullivan meets its recruits with curiosity and dark humour as they recount their bizarre and hapless (thankfully) schemes. The hair-brained cult is also a clever Trojan horse; Sullivan pays careful attention to how loneliness and disconnection can feed a toxic hive mind, timely scrutiny as society wrestles with how to stop vulnerable young men being lured into alt-right extremist groups and the manosphere.' - RACHAEL BROWN, author of Trace