Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Inside
SERIES: Death Row Chronicles #1
AUTHOR: Nicky James
NARRATOR: Nick J. Russo
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 10 hours, 20 minutes
RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2023
BLURB:
All it took was a single moment for Anson Miller’s life to fall apart. His only hope of finding solid ground again is to uproot everything he knows and start over. New house, new job, new life. But will working on death row as a corrections officer in the country’s hardest and most acclaimed supermax prison be the right move? Or is he exchanging one hardship for something way worse?
Twenty years ago, Bishop Ndiaye was a victim of wrong place, wrong time. The consequences landed him on death row. As hard as he fought to expose the truth behind his alleged crime, no one would hear him. No one would listen. He’s succumbed to his fate, hardened himself to prison life, and no longer hopes for a better tomorrow. For Bishop, there is no tomorrow. Death waits around the corner, and someday soon, he will be no more.
Anson’s appearance in Bishop’s life changes everything.
Anson lends Bishop more than an ear. He offers him friendship, compassion, and understanding.
No one has ever gifted Bishop with more.
The more they talk, the more they share.
The more they share, the more their bond grows.
But when their hearts open up to one another, the barrier in their way is far more than a steel door of a cell.
It is life and death.
REVIEW:
Inside, the first book in the Death Row Chronicles duet, provides a compelling look into an unexpected love story between a death row inmate and a prison guard. This is an excellent, suspenseful novel and engrossing audiobook.
One of the many things I like most about Nicky James is her originality. She doesn’t cater to the latest tropes saturating the market. There’s no sameness in her books. A prison guard falling in love with a death row prisoner is not a plot you commonly encounter. This is a unique story of forbidden love. Hopeless love.
This is obviously not a light and fluffy read. It’s difficult at times to read about the grim realities of death row in a supermax prison. The foreboding sense of violence lurking around every corner is omnipresent. Nicky conducted extensive research in preparation, and her portrayal of the facilities, security procedures, and overall atmosphere has been deemed highly authentic by an expert. She shows us the traits and mental states of the inmates, and the inherent danger the guards face daily from criminals with nothing to lose.
The realism makes this journey into the “belly of the beast” all the more gripping. Seriously, how does a prison guard fall in love with a man convicted of a grisly murder? A man whose days are numbered. Nicky makes it feel so organic and believable it almost reads like non-fiction.
You would be hard pressed to find a book with leading men more opposite than Anson and Bishop. Anson is a corrections officer who recently left his job in a medium security prison to take a position across the country in the most notorious supermax prison in Texas. On death row, none the less. He’s advised by his new boss that the best way to deal with death row inmates is with kindness and understanding. Anson takes that a step too far.
He’s drawn to Bishop, an intimidating, silent giant with a commanding presence. He’s spent almost twenty years behind bars, fifteen of those in the dismal confines of death row. Despite Bishop’s spooky, soul-searing stare, Anson couldn’t deny his interest in the incarcerated man. What began as unease around Bishop turned to curiosity – questioning other guards and conducting online research into Bishop’s story – which developed into a preoccupation when he became convinced of Bishop’s innocence. Anson goes to extraordinary lengths to prove the innocence of the man he’s falling in love with.
“Why did I feel so strongly about this one man and his story? Why couldn’t I let it go and do my job? I scrubbed a hand over my face and groaned, still unable to face the truth I’d buried deep inside. A truth that made my heart beat a little faster when in Bishop’s presence. A truth that flowed heavy in my veins when he spoke in that deep baritone or gifted me with a hint of a smile. I was screwed.”
Even though I read the book last year and know the ending, I still found myself stressing out about Bishop’s fate and Anson’s precarious situation at work. At its core, Inside is a romance so we’re guaranteed a happy ending – in this case it’s an HFN since the story is ongoing and concludes in Outside – so why am I nervous? It’s such a strange phenomenon; it’s a sign of a gifted writer and here, a great narrator, too.
Nick J. Russo is one of Nicky’s go-to narrators for good reason. I worried that his character voices would start to sound the same from book to book. It was an unfounded concern because Nick continues to differentiate each and every voice. Most importantly, his main characters never sound alike. I wasn’t crazy about his voice for Bishop – it wasn’t as deep and resonant as I imagined – but I got used to it quickly. If you haven’t read the book and created his voice in your head already, it might not even occur to you. What Nick excels at is conveying appropriate emotions and staying true to Nicky’s characterization. Bishop’s appearance gives off intimidating, scary vibes but we soon see that’s not who he is. Nick portrays the big man the way he’s written – strong, vulnerable at times, deeply caring, and resigned to his fate. Nick also does a wonderful job of creating and maintaining the tension and anxiety from the clock ticking down. There’s desperation and sadness. I sobbed once or twice.
If you enjoy Nicky’s suspenseful romances, you’ll love Inside. The audiobook is another great collaboration between two talented artists.
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