Inside Out

by Juin Charnell

Inside Out Prison is brutal. Rape, murder, and drug overdoses are normal. But not in one week. Can Perri Stone find a connection before more inmates die needlessly? Some thoughts from readers of Inside "Intriguing Characters Made This A Page Turner" "Didn't see the ending coming" "Tough gritty prison detective story that weaves its way a prison setting. For Lt. Perri Stone, a supervising investigator in a prison a lot of people are dying a natural death or are they Perri wonders. The novel starts pretty rough as one convict rapes another convict and this scene is presented in graphic detail (not for the squeamish). When the rapist is questioned about the rape, he readily admits that it was indeed a rape. This arouses Lt Stone's suspicions because prisoners never admit to anything and even if they are caught red handed they always try to blame it on someone else.( I have questioned several criminals during my work career, I believe this is a Standard Operating Procedure for a criminal.) Further adding to her suspicions was the fact that both victim and perpetrator had no previous relationship yet both were in an area neither should have been in at the time."

153 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 24, 2011

About the author

I love reading. My favorite memory is of the neighborhood library in Detroit. I would walk by myself, excited about the books and worlds I would immerse myself in. I would sit in the soft leather chair with the puffy arms and let the sun warm my arms oblivious to any sounds around me as I imagined myself in the crazy, exhilarating, scary, tearful worlds of the characters. I wanted to escape the "real" world because it wasn't fun. And books did that for me. I want to write them for you.

Reviews

[Richard Hemingway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inside Out by Juin Charnell

Tough gritty prison detective story that weaves its way a prison setting.

For Lt. Perri Stone, a supervising investigator in a prison a lot of people are dying a natural death or are they Perri wonders. The novel starts pretty rough as one convict rapes another convict and this scene is presented in graphic detail (not for the squeamish). When the rapist is questioned about the rape, he readily admits that it was indeed a rape. This arouses Lt Stone’s suspicions because prisoners never admit to anything and even if they are caught red handed they always try to blame it on someone else.( I have questioned several criminals during my work career, I believe this is a Standard Operating Procedure for a criminal.) Further adding to her suspicions was the fact that both victim and perpetrator had no previous relationship yet both were in an area neither should have been in at the time.

Of course, every question needs an answer that when answered requires another question until the investigator gets the final answer. Eventually, Perri ties the rape and the deaths together.

There is also a parallel plot in this novel because Lt. Stone is a lesbian. How she deals with her love interest and how being a lesbian in a prison setting are explored in this novel.

In this novel, we can see that prisons are the ultimate in institutional control. Everything is planned for the prisoners from waking up to going to bed at night. [The staffs are also prisoners, but at least they get to go home after the prison is finished with them] Every place that a prisoner goes to are controlled by gates, locks, procedures, cameras, alarms and of course, the ever vigilant eyes of correction officers. Yet as we see in this novel, prisoners and correction personnel find ways to get around the system. The author who has had a career in the prison industry knows and shows all the little details about how a prison operates. For that reason alone this book is worth reading.

Prisons are an area that ‘polite society’ knows about but chooses to ignore until a prison riot or prisoner escape puts a prison right on the front page. The fact that eventually most prisoners will be released from a prison at some point I am sure ‘polite society’ tries not to think about. Since society spends billions on prisons and the criminal-justice system a good question to ask would be. Do prisons end a criminal career or do prisons teach job skills and networking to further a criminal’s career once they get out of prison?

I liked this book because it takes a look at places and people that are seldom portrayed in novels. The author has written another book about the main character – should be interesting.

[Juin Charnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would be nice if you have sampled or read the whole book to post a review or star - Thanks Juin