Strangeways Unlocked: The Shocking Truth about Life Behind Bars

by Neil Samworth

A darkly funny, harrowing and heartbreaking look at the reality of prison life, with first-hand accounts from men who found themselves on the wrong side of the cell doors.Neil ‘Sam’ Samworth spent eleven years as a prison officer at HMP Manchester, better known as Strangeways. He has seen it from notorious criminals, dangerous gangsters and repeat offenders to those who simply made the wrong decisions. In this shocking page-turner, he tracks down former prisoners and staff, and uncovers the inside story of what life is really like in one of the UK’s most infamous high-security prisons.We’ll see a prisoner whose unwanted feud with an inmate ends in a fight and the loss of his eye, another who is convicted for theft but leaves addicted to spice, and many who become victims of the Imprisonment for Public Protection system where they find themselves serving indefinite sentences for petty crimes. We’ll see the dark underworld of the prison system, where riots can occur at any time, where the worlds of gangbangers suddenly collide, where class A drugs and contrabands roam. On the other side, we’ll see staff grappling with a failing prison system, while dealing with an inmate who records the highest ever psychopath rating and caring fully for men with mental health issues.In brutally raw and gripping detail, Strangeways Unlocked gives voice to the people behind the bars and exposes a prison system that is failing them, providing an unforgettable account of a life that many can only imagine.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, True Crime

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2022

Reviews

[Petra X]

I read Samworth's first book, Strangeways: A Prison Officer's Story so I thought I would give this one a go. It's got a very unusual viewpoint. The stories are told, sometimes in the first person, by the ex-cons who were in Strangeways and contacted the author after his first book came out.

These are not glamorous stories, but really rather awful ones - men who came from areas where crime and benefit-cheating was endemic, where gangs ruled, where theft was no big deal and even selling drugs that weren't even illegal (but made to look so) was a good scam to be laughed at. One of the men was born in a prison and said he always felt at home there.

It is interesting, but very depressing.

[Lisa - *OwlBeSatReading* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangeways Unlocked, Neil Samworth’s follow-on from Strangeways: A Prison Officers Story, is another educational read if you can stomach the awful reality of the British Criminal Justice System. (Spoiler : it’s a mess.)

Mainly coming from ex-prisoners perspectives, or ‘customers’, as Sam prefers to call them, we hear from the people who got on the wrong side of the law and paid the price (or did they?) in the high-security HMP Manchester, aka, Strangeways.

As I said in my review for the first book, Yorkshireman Sam, tells it how it is. I’d like to think that I’m pretty clued up in Yorkshire-isms, it’s a language unto itself, at times. However, I got used to the way it was written pretty quickly. I do love an accent, me, so if you fancy yourself some true Brit-grit, grab a brew, read this book and ‘Do it for Yorkshire!’

Anyroad, (ha!) vicious and vile, brutally funny, yet oddly mesmerising, this isn’t your average non-fiction true crime read. Those of you that are aware of my reading tastes know that I’m not easily shocked, especially when it comes to what (fictional) humans are capable of, but seriously, this is something else. Why? Because the deeply sad and troubling things in this book are true.

And there’s the swearing, and I mean, all the sweary words, guys! This isn’t a book for everyone, but, if like me, you’re fascinated by crime, gang culture and the usual skullduggery that comes with it, you’ll fly through this one. It comes with all the feels! (Good and bad!)

This isn’t one for the faint of heart, subjects throughout include drug abuse, self-harm, murder, suicide, sexual assault, and no surprise – the impact it all has on the mental health of the prisoners, their loved ones, and of course the staff.

Sam left the prison service back in 2016 due to being diagnosed with PTSD, but has continued his mission to educate and try and remove the stigma from people who end up held at His Majesty’s Pleasure.

So if you ‘enjoy’ your true crime harsh and horrifying, I recommend picking this one up. Just don’t come back to me about the eye-socket incident, okay?! You’ve been warned.

It’s a solid 4 stars from me! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks very much Sam, I’m very grateful to you for sending me a signed copy.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting read of a prison officer look at life behind bars with conversations with former inmates

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read 'A Prison Officer's Story' and very much enjoyed it, I was excited to read Strangeways Unlocked. I have always been a fan of stories about prison, prison escapes etc...

This true account from Neil Samworth however for me didn't live up to the last book I read by him. It seemed more like a lockdown project. Corona lockdown, rather than a horrendous pun. The stories were similar and for some reason less interesting.

It is a great insight into the life of inmates and wardens, but for me, A Prison Officer's Story is a lot better.

I would recommend Neil Samworth, but not necessarily this book.

[LAURA HUNTER · Rating 5 out of 5]

exeptional

Well written, fast paced, down to earth, insightful. It’s a must read, he makes excellent points about how dysfunctional prisons are these days and how we need to fix them

[Effy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samworth's first book was one of my favourites of 2020, and I remember wishing there was more to follow, when I turned the last page. This sequel does indeed bring us more fascinating, heart-breaking, and eye-opening stories, but this time, interspersed with his own experiences, they are predominantly from former prisoners and follow their individual stories of how they ended up behind bars. So much more than just an insight into prison life, this book gives voice to the people humanity likes to forget about, highlighting the difficulties a lot of these men faced on the outside and exposing the failings of the prison system.

These stories are utterly thought-provoking - it's such a common opinion to assume everyone in prison is a 'bad person', without sparing a moment to remember a lot of these people had impossible upbringings around crime, or childhood trauma, or are people who just made mistakes. These stories don't condone the crime, but open your eyes to understanding some of the situations behind the men's incarceration.

Delivered with sensitivity, honesty, and a sense of humour, this was an incredibly easy listen, which I can only liken to feeling like I was sat listening to Samworth and the other men over a cuppa. Samworth also touches again on the impact such a job can inevitably have on your mental health, and I was excited to hear mentions of another book in the pipelines based on mental health. Overall a harrowing, hard-hitting, and compelling listen, I'd really recommend giving this a read (or a listen) as well as the first 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 book. 

𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 @𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 (𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮).

[Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I enjoyed his last book and this one is just as strong as his first. Some peoples stories through their own words are woven through the narrative which was very interesting and a learning experience. You end up learning quite a lot and I liked that this was up to date.g. talked about how the coronavirus pandemic effected prisons for the better and for the worse. If the subject interests you, I recommend it.

[Ruthy lavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most definitely not as good as the first book (as is so often the case)
I found myself skimming chapters and was glad when it had finished.
The only reason I persevered with it was because I hoped the importance and relevance of poor mental health to this prison officer would be spoken about a bit more, but it was only mentioned minimally.
A disappointing 2 stars ⭐️

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another interesting story from Neil, not as enjoyable as the first book in my opinion but I did still enjoy this. It took me a long time to read this as I kept putting it down but it was very interesting.

A typical read of life as prison officer and in one of the most notorious prisons in England.

[Pat Stearman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading group book.
Felt this was very bitty, basically a collection of stories of some of the inmates the author met, mostly inside but some afterwards.
Depressing - most men in there have mental health issues mostly from appalling childhoods - and prison isn't going to change that.
Most officers leave a lot to be desired too - badly trained & unsuitable psychologically for the job.

[Imogen Hodges · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars
Was an interesting read - enjoyed chapters 8 and 9 the most and different perspective hearing from ex prisoners. Was informative hearing about IPP (imprisonment for public protection).Was good getting a recap at the end of the different people the author spoke to and stories included in the book. I did prefer the first book in this series though.

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. It's easy to read and gives you a great insight into Prison life .
Sam definitely tells a good tale.

[Charlotte Cake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very gripping stories and with Audi hearing the voices added extra emphasis

[Rebecca Fowkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book. A couple of bits I found boring but I enjoyed the book.

[Em Nightreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at crime, prison, the justice system, and most importantly, the real people behind the statistics. This book is easy to read and addictive. I would definitely recommend this.

[Kirsty Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read

[Faye Sirs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this on audiobook. I didn’t read the authors first book but this one was interesting and passed the time. A real look into the problems of prisons.

[Lazy Cornish Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting.

[Kay Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good, interesting read by this author.

[Kylie Panetta · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
0.5 ⭐️

[Tihar · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Brooklyn Gibbons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good follow up of the last one. Read them back to back and this was interesting to hear other people’s stories too about being inside.

[Jonathan Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read, telling us the story from the inside, it was an interesting book and opened my eyes to what it would be like in prison

[Naomi Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be an ‘on the landings’ account of a prison officer’s job in Strangeways like other books and the author’s previous book. However it more shares his views on the prison system and he interviews those who have been locked up and one person who worked in Stangeways. It was still an interesting book but one sided and not backed up.

[Danny fardell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follow up to Strangeways : A Prison Officers Story, and every bit as interesting as that one. Stories from both sides of the bars, cons & screws alike, so gives a nice balanced view.
Also says something about the authors character, that previous inmates were happy to contact him & meet and chat for anecdotes for this book👍