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 got out alive. Completely true and utterly bonkers, Criminally Bad uncovers an until-now buried slice of Australian true crime history. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. Strap in.
