A stand –alone novel, On My Life grabs you from the beginning and never lets go. Tense, exhausting, gripping it’s all of those thriller staples, but it is so much more. Angela Clarke has so vividly recreated the women’s prison in which her protagonist, Jenna Burns is incarcerated awaiting trial, that you feel as if you are in there with her.

This is not just excellent research; it is living breathing jail time. I got scared, then I got angry as all of the injustices, large and small were meted out on Jenna and her poor cellmate, Kelly, just because they could. Compassion and empathy were hard to come by, regarded by prisoners and guards alike as a weakness that could never be shown.

The story is told in a dual time frame, then and now. Jenna’s incarceration takes up the now timeslot and we travel back in time to understand what led her to her present location and the charge of murder she faces.

Jenna’s life was good and she was on course to it becoming even better with a new love, and a whole new future in front of her. Angela Clarke drip feeds these sections with tiny drops of doubt and suspicion, leading us to wonder whether everything in Jenna’s garden is as rosy as she wants to believe, but nothing prepares us for the brutal murder and other horrible crimes with which Jenna is charged and which no-one seems to be in any doubt that she committed.

From the opening scene, where Jenna faces a media onslaught whilst being led into the prison van, the tension, noises, smells, the smells, all the visceral emotions that crowd her, grab the reader’s attention and make you feel as if you are there with her, all hope gone, still wondering how you could possibly have ended up here?

Whilst Clarke does a brilliant job of conveying the very real emotions of incarceration and the sense of isolation and hopelessness that a new inmate faces, I thought she also did an excellent job of showing real character development as Jenna realises how much she can learn from the women she makes friends with, once she has stopped thinking of them all as potential enemies.

Where the anger really surfaces, though, is when you understand that the utterly compelling picture that she paints about women in prison; pregnancy amongst inmates and the sheer lack of institutional capability to deal with pregnant women is all real.

Yes, this is a brilliant, breath-taking thriller that completely devours your time as you find yourself completely unable to put it down and I commend it to everyone for that alone. But it is also a searing indictment of the state of the justice system when it comes to understanding and dealing with women and the statistics and information that she details in the afterword are as shocking as the story the book has to tell.

Verdict: Riveting, nail-bitingly good, utterly compelling and beautifully plotted.

This story is told by Jenna, who appears to have the perfect life with Richard until she is wrongly accused of murdering her stepdaughter Emily and the possible murder of Richard who has disappeared.
Has she been set up???
Where is Richard???
It gives an in-depth insight into the conditions in women’s prisons today and keeps you in suspense right to the end.
Fantastic, intriguing thriller.
Highly recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review.

A well-plotted whodunnit which keeps you guessing till the end and also provides a realistic insight into life in a women's prison.

This is a 4-5 star read! A crazy, thrill ride from page one. What do you do in a situation like this, read to find out! There’s many twists, chills, thrills, and even a bit of tears! I would highly recommend to my fellow thriller lovers and will make sure I buzz it up!
Will use in a challenge and review on Tuesday in Chapter Chatter Pub!

Angela Clarke has clearly done a lot of research into current conditions and practices in women’s prisons as seen by all of the acknowledgements at the end of the novel. The gritty descriptions of the visitors’ room, the shared cells and the dreaded corridors to be negotiated during ‘Free Flow’ also seemed authentic and the serious over-crowding in UK prisons is certainly an important subject for consideration. However, ‘On My Life’ is not for me.
In the first part of the story the plot, which details the beginning of the Jenna and Robert romance, came across as a cliché – incredibly handsome man bumps into office worker who has broken away from her dysfunctional family but lacks loving partner – and as the narrative progressed, I became less and less convinced by all of the twists and turns. Whilst not wishing to include any spoilers, I will say that the final ‘big event’ in the prison came across as utterly ludicrous. Such a shame; I would love to read a serious fictional consideration of life in a women’s prison but ‘On My Life’ is not such a novel.
My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, Mulholland Books for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is firmly in my top books of 2019 so far. I devoured it in just 2 sittings. The story is told by Jenna who has been wrongly imprisoned for the murder of her stepdaughter Emily as well as her fiance who is still missing. This book holds a great pace and is a little different from many murder detective stories in that it doesn't follow the police investigation instead it follows Jenna's life on reprimand in a womans prison. Alongside this, there is also a 'then' narrative telling us the back story of how she met Robert and his daughter Emily. Jenna is a very likely character so it was easy to get drawn into the story and hope all would turn out well in the end. The book also really highlights the mix of people in our prisons as well as the inhuman way many are treated. The book focuses on the good people in prison the ones who are not there for violent crimes. In particular the pregnant cellmates Jenna and Kelly who forge a strong bond and friendship. I think this book will stay with me for a long time it has really opened my eyes to what prison is like and how lack of staff training has lead to serious shortcomings in care of the more vulnerable prisoners. I cannot wait to read more from Angela Clarke’s I would highly recommend this novel to everyone.

Blimey "On My Life by Angela Clarke" was a brilliant read. This was a book I was in two minds to read but I am so glad I read it. I would highly recommend this book it was Gritty, very detailed and has you guessing who killed the Emily.

Jenna thought she had a perfect life, she is happy, had a good job and was marrying her loving fiancé Richard who is mega rich and he has a teenage daughter called Emily. Everything seems to be rosy until Emily was Murdered and Richard's Blood was found by the scene but Richard had disappeared.

Jenna found her step daughter Emily murdered and is accused of murdering her and Richard!

Did she kill Emily?

Where is Richard...........the Police has found no Body? only his blood?

Has he been kidnapped? No ransom has been asked for by the kidnappers?

Where is he?

Is Jenna being framed? Is Richards parents involved?

And the police think Jenna did it........and she is Imprisoned. and then she finds out she is Pregnant with Richards child.

Locked up to awaiting trial, pregnant and surrounded by prisoners who'd hurt her if they knew what she's accused of. Certain someone close to her has framed her, Jenna knows what she needs to do:

She needs to clear her name
Save her baby
and find who Killed Emily and find where her fiancé Richard is. Hoping he is alive.

But can she do it in time?

This book is Just brilliant and a very powerful read.

Highly Recommend this Book and this Author. Just Brilliant.

5 Star read.

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a copy of this book.

" *** Reviews on Goodreads and Amazon UK ***"

This book did not disappoint! So much of this makes you question did she or didn't she. The detail of prison life is eye opening and there are still plenty of twists to keep you hooked to the very last moment!

After hearing so many good thing about this book I wasn't disappointed. A true page turner that kept me reading long into the night. I kept thinking I had figured out who was guilty but time and time again I was proven wrong. A cracking read

With thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

We meet Jenna Burns as she led by her solicitor Mr Peterson to a prison van. Jenna was engaged to wealthy farmer Robert. The day before she had gone to her fiance `s home with a birthday cake for his daughter 14 year old Emily.

Jenna found Emily dead in a pool of blood and Robert missing. However Jenna soon became a suspect when the police found the murder weapon in the dishwasher and child porn on her laptop. The press soon dubbed Jenna the Blonde Slayer.

Jenna was put on remand at a notorious women's prison. Unfortunately she arrived at the prison as the same time as Gould, the wife of a violent criminal. Gould recognised Jenna as the blonde Slayer and attacked her for being a nonce.

After a medical Jenna was shocked to find out she was pregnant. Desperate she had to find a way to prove her innocence and protect her baby whilst inside.

I enjoyed the plot but it was a slow burner and took along time to get going.

On My Life was unusual because it was more about Jenna`s time incarcerated then who killed Emily. The book was very atmospheric. There was an undercurrent of violence, and I could feel Jenna`s terror hoping that the other prisoners would not recognize her.

I really felt sorry for Jenna`s pregnant cell mate Kelly. Kelly was writing a handbook about prisoners rights whilst pregnant. Her elderly parents could not look after the baby and Kelly hoped to get a place in the mother and baby unit.

Although I guessed who had killed Emily the ending was completely shocking.

I recommend this excellent thriller with a conscious.

On My Life Angela Clarke

As always with an Angela Clarke book I was grabbed in from the very first page. If you want a cracking psychological thriller her books are a must. This is written with short sharp chapters and sentences, which make you say ‘just one more’, and in past and present tense.

Jenna is a young workingwoman who meets her wealthy fiancé Robert through work they have a whirlwind romance and become engaged rather quickly. Moving in with him she bonds quickly with her now stepdaughter Emily who is a vibrant teenager.

Coming home one day she finds Emily dead with blood everywhere and herself covered in blood, her bloodstained sweatshirt in the washer she is arrested by the police. From the outset she contests her innocence but then they discover that Robert is missing and as if that wasn’t bad enough there is a discovery of child pornography on her computer. Has Jenna been set up? If so who could it be? And why?

Read for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton Publishers.

A most enjoyable read, right from the start I was hooked on the story and just had to keep on reading to find out what had happened. The story is well written, with more information being supplied as to what happened on the fateful day but I still didn’t guess how it would end!

Thoroughly enjoyed this, if 'enjoy' is the right verb. Written with careful research and good insight, it's the story of a woman imprisoned for a murder she claims she did not commit and her fight to find out the truth before her unexpected child is born.

A thrilling, and deeply compelling, novel set primarily in a women’s prison, where Jenna is on remand, charged with the murder of her fourteen year old, soon to be, stepdaughter Emily.

Jenna seems to have it all, a loving (and rich) fiancé, a job she loves and a lovely home. This all come crashing down when she comes home to find Emily murdered and her fiancé missing. She is charged with Emily’s murder and when child pornography is found on her laptop, this seems to compound her guilt. Jenna knows that she is innocent.

In prison, Jenna befriends her cellmate, Kelly, who is young and pregnant. This provides a pretty harrowing portrayal of the treatment of women in prison, particularly those who are pregnant.

The book is a fast paced, tense and claustrophobic; it switches between ‘then’, Jenna’s life before prison and ‘now’ where she is on remand. The scenes within the prison are so well described, with such gritty realism, that they really get under your skin. You can hear the noise, smell the fear and immerse yourself in what it must be like to be incarcerated. The depiction of the prison riot had my heart racing.

The real strength of this novel is the description of prison life, well supported by a meaty thriller/whodunnit. It is apparent that the author really has done her research. I think this is going to be a big hit in 2019.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

After reading the blurb for this book I just knew that i had to read it. Jenna has been accused of a heinous crime she did not commit. How can she prove she is innocent while being incarcerated. This book gives us harrowing insights into the prison system. Overcrowding, staffing issues and corruption were all brutally and vividly described. On top of this Jenna is pregnant. This tale is thought provoking and we still have a murder to solve.
This book is beautifully written, full of red herrings and her description of prison life for a Nonce was well researched. All the way through this book I had to stop reading as it was very distressing at times.
Personally I think that this book was padded out a little too much, saying that it is an excellent read. A thought provoking and at times a harrowing insight into our prison system. Almost five stars.
I would like to thank the author, Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for giving an honest review.

I have heard so much about this book through my various social media sites that I was desperate to read it. And having read previous books by Angela Clarke I knew that I would be in for a treat - and I was not wrong. This book was amazing and I would have read it in one go if real life hadn't gotten in the way. I was instantly hooked from the opening pages - I loved it! It was very well researched and that came through in the writing. And that twist - I was gobsmacked!!

Jenna's life has it all - a wonderful fiancé (who is also mega rich), a job that she loves and a beautiful home. Its a long way from her childhood and life couldn't get better. Is it all too good to be true? In an instant her life changes when she comes home to find her teenage step daughter murdered in their home and her partner Richard missing. And she is arrested with the murder. All of a sudden she is locked up in a women's prison where she is trying to come to terms with what has happened as well as clear her name. She tells her fellow inmates that she is in for drug related offences as the real crime would see her a target. As if this is not enough after a few days inside she discovers that she is pregnant. Feeling very alone and scared she has to adapt to prison life and try to get herself out before she loses everything.

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Mulholland Books as well as Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

This book didn’t match the blurb and seemed to be too much about life inside a women’s prison. It didn’t feel realistic to me and I felt the characters were a bit short of depth. I do however think it will be a popular book but just not one for me.

What a corker! Just what a fantastic read should be , it had suspense, anticipation and a killer twist at the end. This thriller covers multiple genres so if you like crime psychological and mystery thrillers then this is definitely one you will want to read.
Set in dual time now/then tells the story of Jenna , she had the perfect life , a fiancé who adored her , a gorgeous house on his family’s private estate , money and now her life’s been turned upside down , framed imprisoned and pregnant awaiting trial for the murder of her 14 year stepdaughter Emily and suspected murder of Robert her fiancé. We live Jenna’s prison life and get a glimpse of what life on the ‘inside’ is like. She tries to hide who she is, what she has done and what the police found on her laptop as she knows what they do to those kind. She needs to find out who has done this. “I DIDN’T DO IT , I SWEAR , ON MY LIFE ......

On My Life is a gripping, well-plotted thriller with a multi-layered, credible main protagonist stuck in a claustrophobic and anxiety-inducing situation of being innocently accused of murder and held in prison.
I felt quite stressed at times following both the insightful descriptions of prison life and the daily cruelties and indignities the inmates have to endure and the flashbacks of Jenna's life slowly revealing a darker side to her memories. I found the ending a little disappointing, but it is a hell of a ride and plenty of genre readers will absolutely love this.

After a whirlwind romance, Jenna is preparing to marry Robert and become stepmother to his teenage daughter, Emily. Everything changes, however, when Emily is murdered and Robert is nowhere to be found, a trail of his blood leading the police to believe he has been dragged, dying, from the house. Arrested and charged with the murders, Jenna is adamant that she is innocent and that someone has set her up. Finding out that she is pregnant, she knows that she must, somehow, prove her innocence in order to provide a life for her unborn child.

Every now and then a book comes along that really makes you sit up and think about what you are reading – this is certainly one of those books. I have read several books set in women’s prisons but what sticks out here is the research that Angela Clarke has clearly done to provide an eye-opening account of what really goes on inside such a place. It was easy to picture the scene inside of the prison and, at times, felt genuine fear for Jenna as she tried to hide the fact that she was the ‘blonde slayer’ from the other inmates. Knowing she was innocent, I spent the whole book rooting for her and hoping that justice would prevail.

The book is told in two time frames, both as gripping as the other. As well as the real-time plot of Jenna’s prison life, we travel to the near-past to witness the build-up to the murder. It doesn’t take long to realise that all is not well in Robert’s life and that there are secrets that his family would prefer to be left hidden. Prior to the murder, we see Jenna discovering some of these secrets, leading her to wonder if it could be someone close to home who has set her up. Angela Clarke gives us just enough information about these characters to make you wonder which one, if any, it could be. A couple of events in the book did lead me to the right conclusion, but I was still left shocked when the whole truth was finally revealed.

It was, perhaps, the prison scenes that I enjoyed the most, especially those involving Jenna and her cellmate, Kelly. It was nice to see a genuine friendship developing and was a huge contrast to scenes involving the more violent inmates. It was inevitable that, at some point, Jenna’s identity would be revealed and I felt genuinely scared for her as, one by one, the other women began to turn on her.

Angela Clarke has done a fantastic job of highlighting the poor prison conditions, in particular those of pregnant women. I was already a fan of the author’s social media series but I feel that On My Life could be the book that puts her firmly in the public eye. This is a must read.