Five by Five by Claire Wilson
Genre: Crime thrillers, Mystery
Read: 29th September 2024
Goodreads
Amazon
Published: 29th August 2024
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
'Tense, chilling and distinctive, this is a one-sitting read' Guardian
'A bloody good read' Val McDermid
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What if the killer she's hunting turns out to be the woman she's falling for?
Just because the most dangerous criminals in society are caught and locked up, doesn’t mean they stop committing crime.
That’s where Kennedy Allardyce comes in – working in one of Scotland’s toughest prisons, monitoring not just the prisoners, but also the staff.
And she’s just stumbled across her most dangerous foe yet – rumours of a corrupt guard, nicknamed Scout, with lethal influence. And what’s worst, it seems they’ve already realised Kennedy is on their tail.
Despite her growing fear, there is one thing going right for Kennedy. The enigmatic new prison officer Molly is beautiful and ready to sweep her off her feet.
But Kennedy can’t afford to let her guard down. Because with Scout hiding very close by, her next mistake might just be her last . . .
MY THOUGHTS:
Just because the most dangerous criminals in society are caught and locked up, doesn’t mean they stop committing crime...
OK, I admit. I was one of those who thought the book title was in reference to the size of the prison cell but in actual fact it is the nickname for the intelligence reports submitted by officers to the intelligence unit. Something Claire knows a lot about in her job as an intelligence analyst within the Scottish prison service. Now this is not normally my type of book but I opted to read it as I'm friends with her mum and admittedly, after reading an article about the new release, I was intrigued. So I grabbed myself a copy and I read it in a day. I stayed up in the wee hours of the night just to finish it...and then it ended where it did!
Kennedy Allardyce's job as an intelligence analyst at HMP Forth Valley was meant to be rewarding. Instead it almost gets her killed. She has picked up some intel regarding not just prisoners but the possibility of a corrupt officer on the wing and she will stop at nothing to uncover their identity. But does that also mean at the cost of her life? Is it really worth it? Kennedy thinks so, much to the annoyance of her ex-girlfriend/best friend Ellie with whom she still shares a flat.
And then Kennedy meets Molly, an officer on one of the wings. But Kennedy doesn't mix business with pleasure (though she states it a little less eloquently a few times) and yet that still doesn't stop her from getting involved with Molly. But almost from the outset Kennedy is suspicious. Why is Molly suddenly paying her so much attention? And what role does Molly play on the wing that houses some of the most violent offenders? Worst of all, Kennedy thinks she's falling for this woman who could well be her downfall?
Suited and booted with lashings of violence, corruption and with a taste of "Line of Duty", this debut which is the first in the series (of which there are to be eight, I believe) packs a hell of a punch and is not for the fainthearted. Not a fan of the excessive language, though I know that's all in a day's work at a prison, and the cliffhanger ending left me feeling a little off kilter. I'm not a fan of cliffhanger endings as I prefer everything resolved (even in series) and also usually when the next book comes out I've forgotten where the previous one ended. But then, I remember the makers of Line of Duty left fans hanging as to the identity of The Caddy for three seasons which spread over about four years! I hope we don't have to wait that long to find out who Scout is. I have my suspicions so we'll see.
Overall, a cracker of a debut with snappy chapters and a fast pace that kept me turning the pages into the night until I finished it.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Claire Wilson is a crime writer from central Scotland. Her crime books are based on her day job as an Intelligence Analyst in a Scottish Prison. She loves gritty crime and grew up reading Martina Cole and Stephen King. Her debut novel, Five by Five was previously a finalist in the Capital Crime / Amazon Publishing New Voices Award in 2021 and Adventures in Fiction New Voices in 2022.
Claire was picked to pitch her novel at the Pitch Perfect event at the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival in 2022.
In 2023, Claire won the Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers Prize. Five by Five was published by Penguin Michael Joseph in August 2024.
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