Buried Under Books

REVIEW: ‘The Happy Prisoner’ by Umberto Schramm

‘Sending more people to prison for longer does not reduce crime’. This conviction, and his further belief that, ‘Rehabilitation is possible’, is at the absolute heart of Umberto Schramm’s argument in this short book, which is partly a prison diary and partly an argument for significant change, not just in the judicial system, but in […]

REVIEW: ‘The Woman Before Me’ by Ruth Dugdall

‘Dark, disturbing and authentic.’ This was the CWA judging panel’s judgement and I completely agree with this description (whilst noting that I don’t know enough about prisons to comment accurately on the third, but the officers’ attitudes feel plausible). So why did ‘The Woman Before Me’ win the CWA’s debut dagger? What’s it about? Rose […]

REVIEW: ‘Hide and Seek’ by M. J. Arlidge

I think I just found a new favourite author. ‘Hide and Seek’ completely gripped my attention and I read it from cover to cover over a day and a half. It would have been even less, but I have three small children who like attention. (Did I say like? I meant insist upon.) What’s it […]

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