HMP Forth Valley in Scotland holds 850 high security male prisoners and intelligence analyst Kennedy Allardyce monitors not just them but also the staff. A successful operation has serious consequences for Kennedy and it’s apparent that it’s an inside job. Who can Kennedy trust? In this hostile environment trust is everything, but she wants to know who has set her up and she finds the courage to start fighting back. It becomes imperative that she finds who the corrupt string puller is, known as ‘Scout’. Is she able to trust her new friend in prison officer Molly Rana? is her company something she can enjoy or must she keep her wits about her? The story is narrated principally by Kennedy. I really enjoy the prison setting of this novel, which makes it a bit different from other mystery/thrillers, and if you enjoy prison based TV series, such as the recent one on British television or Prisoner Cell Block H then you might enjoy this debut novel. It pulls absolutely no punches about prison life, the overriding presence of organised crime, the gang hatreds, the hierarchy of the prisoners, and the inevitable violence as a consequence. This feels very authentically portrayed in this fast-paced plot, and some of the characters make your blood run cold as they try to disrupt the system. It’s dark, hard hitting especially as violence on the various wings escalates. The plot is suspenseful throughout, and there are some scenes where the tension is palpable. I really like the central character of Kennedy and the Intel gathering techniques (the Five by Five of the title) that the IMU (Intelligence Management Unit) deploy to try to stay one step ahead. Kennedy is well portrayed, she’s ambitious, tenacious and very brave. Her inner most thoughts are pertinent and revealing on both prison officers and inmates. She has a very dangerous anonymous foe and her attempts to unmask them as they manipulate situations takes the storytelling through many twists and turns. Although the ending is dramatically good, it does end on a cliffhanger, so clearly another book is in the pipeline and I will definitely want to read it as hopefully we’ll learn what we need to know!

Five by five by Clare Wilson is the author debut novel. After failing to become a prison officer Kennedy Allardyce works as an Intelligence officer for the Scottish Prison service at HMP Forth Valley. She loved her job and wants t to get to the top of her career. But she doesn’t have any friends as she spends her day not only monitoring the inmates but the staff too. As there is rumours of corruption in the ranks and drugs being smuggled into the prison. She doesn’t know who she can trust in the prison until she falls for one of the Prison officers Molly Rana. Can she trust Molly and is she who she says she is? As Kenedy has suspicions that she may not be who she says she is. I like the premise of this story. I thought that this is a great start for a debut novel. The story is atmospheric and a believable setting of in a Prison setting. But with so many characters I struggled throughout to connect to the characters and the ending was a bit disappointing. 3.5 stars from me.

This is an excellent debut novel from the author and I do hope there is a follow up. Set in a Scottish prison, it packs a punch with it's descriptions of the inmates and the prison. The tension just oozes out from the pages, there are plenty interesting characters and it is full of atmosphere. A very good thriller which I would recommend. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I do love a Scottish crime debut and Claire Wilson’s Five by Five has been on my ‘highly anticipated’ list for some considerable time. I’m delighted to report the wait was well worthwhile. Five by Five is dark and full of grit. It casts an fascinating fresh light on working in the prison service as it is told from the point of view of an experienced Prison Intelligence Analyst. Kennedy Allardyce is that analyst, based in HMP Forth Valley. Her job is to listen in to the prisoners’ phone calls; to make sense of the intelligence that is filtered through to her from the prison guards and from those prisoners who are hoping to win an advantage by informing on their prison mates. She also has to keep a watching eye on the guards who can sometimes be tempted to make some side money by smuggling in things they shouldn’t to the prisoners. It should be a relatively safe job, because she doesn’t interact much with the prisoners, but when we meet her, Kennedy is recovering from a brutal attack in a public place. But Kennedy knows the attack was related to her prison work. So, she goes back to work earlier than she is really fit for, because she wants to find out who in the prison is gunning for her. Claire Wilson combines the rough and violent nature of a men’s prison with a search for the key player, known as ‘Scout’; a corrupt officer who is regulating all the wrongdoing in the prison by being the conduit between the prisoners and the outside world. Adding a touch of romance – in the form of new prison officer Molly – and a thread of betrayal into the mix gives us a Kennedy Allardyce who is frayed at the edges, who mistrusts everyone and whose guard is up but who desperately needs a friend. It’s a heady mix of danger and disaster and with no-one to trust, Kennedy sets out to undertake her own investigation, knowing it puts her, and those she loves, at risk. Five by Five is fast paced, brutal and authentic. I learnt a lot about the role of a Prison Intelligence Analyst, an angle I hadn’t come across before and found absolutely fascinating. There was such authenticity to Kennedy’s story that I didn’t doubt her for a second and Claire Wilson brings in a lot of detail not just to bring the whole prison setting alive, but to ensure it sends the scary shivers up my spine as the prisoners prepare for an all-out riot. With the capacity of prisons in the news every day, it is chilling to feel the claustrophobic nature of a prison cell and to understand the sense of lawlessness that can pervade as corrupt officers and vicious abusers and drug dealers seek to exploit the weaknesses in the penal system. Verdict: Five by Five isI do love a Scottish crime debut and Claire Wilson’s Five by Five has been on my ‘highly anticipated’ list for some considerable time. I’m delighted to report the wait was well worthwhile. Five by Five is dark and full of grit. It casts an fascinating fresh light on working in the prison service as it is told from the point of view of an experienced Prison Intelligence Analyst. Kennedy Allardyce is that analyst, based in HMP Forth Valley. Her job is to listen in to the prisoners’ phone calls; to make sense of the intelligence that is filtered through to her from the prison guards and from those prisoners who are hoping to win an advantage by informing on their prison mates. She also has to keep a watching eye on the guards who can sometimes be tempted to make some side money by smuggling in things they shouldn’t to the prisoners. It should be a relatively safe job, because she doesn’t interact much with the prisoners, but when we meet her, Kennedy is recovering from a brutal attack in a public place. But Kennedy knows the attack was related to her prison work. So, she goes back to work earlier than she is really fit for, because she wants to find out who in the prison is gunning for her. Claire Wilson combines the rough and violent nature of a men’s prison with a search for the key player, known as ‘Scout’; a corrupt officer who is regulating all the wrongdoing in the prison by being the conduit between the prisoners and the outside world. Adding a touch of romance – in the form of new prison officer Molly – and a thread of betrayal into the mix gives us a Kennedy Allardyce who is frayed at the edges, who mistrusts everyone and whose guard is up but who desperately needs a friend. It’s a heady mix of danger and disaster and with no-one to trust, Kennedy sets out to undertake her own investigation, knowing it puts her, and those she loves, at risk. Five by Five is fast paced, brutal and authentic. I learnt a lot about the role of a Prison Intelligence Analyst, an angle I hadn’t come across before and found absolutely fascinating. There was such authenticity to Kennedy’s story that I didn’t doubt her for a second and Claire Wilson brings in a lot of detail not just to bring the whole prison setting alive, but to ensure it sends the scary shivers up my spine as the prisoners prepare for an all-out riot. With the capacity of prisons in the news every day, it is chilling to feel the claustrophobic nature of a prison cell and to understand the sense of lawlessness that can pervade as corrupt officers and vicious abusers and drug dealers seek to exploit the weaknesses in the penal system. Verdict: Five by Five is a gripping thriller that kept me engaged and enthralled as I watched Kennedy, not immune to making mistakes, with my heart in my mouth. Five by Five is clearly just the start of Kennedy Allardyce’s story and I can’t wait for the next instalment. An excellent debut novel from a writer who understands her subject matter very well indeed. as I watched Kennedy, not immune to making mistakes, with my heart in my mouth. Five by Five is clearly just the start of Kennedy Allardyce’s story and I can’t wait for the next instalment. An excellent debut novel from a writer who understands her subject matter very well indeed.

I really enjoyed this one. We follow Kennedy, who works in a prison. Not only does she investigate the prisoners but the staff too. It's a great crime book with a romance thrown in too. I can recommend this one!