Some not so awful crimes could be fascinating (8)
I believe the answer is:
mesmeric
'be fascinating' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'some not so awful crimes' is the wordplay.
'not' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'awful' is an anagram indicator.
'some' with 'so' removed is 'me'.
'crimes' with letters rearranged gives 'smeric'.
'me'+'smeric'='MESMERIC'
'could' is the link.
(Other definitions for mesmeric that I've seen before include "Hypnotic and compelling" , "Fascinating" , "Hypnotic, spellbinding" .)