I read the first book by Chris Atkins and really enjoyed it, this was a great follow on and very interesting to read.

4 stars

Excellent extract of book. On the basis of reading this, together with having read Chris’ first book and listened to his podcast, I bought the audiobook of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent book.
It is a real insight into why the current prison system is failing and why it needs reforming. It gets the message across in such a great way, without reams of statistics and featuring the stories of past and present inmates, it educates without preaching.
Highly recommend.

I really loved A Bit of a Stretch so I was excited to get the opportunity to read a sampler into his new book, exploring recidivism and the realities of life post-prison. As with A Bit of a Stretch, Time After Time is emotive and engaging in equal measure, exposing the failures of policy reform over the last number of years.

It is difficult to provide depth in such a small sampler or make a determination on whether I would recommend Time After Time but it did whet my appetite to read the rest of the book.

I really enjoyed Chris Atkins’ previous book – A Bit of a Stretch, detailing his time spent in prison. As a journalist, Chris had a unique opportunity to see the real side of the prison system, one that is perhaps glossed over or kept away from official press visits.

His new novel – Time After Time: Repeat Offenders – The Inside Stories, focuses on recidivism rates and reasons for a staggering amount of reoffending. Chris uses real case studies and his personal experience to create a narrative full of facts and heart-breaking stories.

I was only given a sneak peak of the book but what I read for first few chapters was as engaging and infuriating as the first book. It’s very obvious that the system is so broken that reoffending is so common as people struggle to integrate back into society, are not given support to help them do so or are treated with so much suspicion and doubt that they feel that they may as well reoffend or even see jail as a safe option.

From the small extract I read, I would recommend this book – I don’t think it’ll be an easy read but it’ll be an important one. Thank you to NetGalley & Atlantic Books for the chance to read a few chapters of the book.

Another great read. thanks. Looking forward to the full book as opposed to the sampler. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the preview book.

This is a review of a sample of Time After Time by Chris Atkins,not the full book.

Time After Time is an eye-opening book by Chris Atkins, whose "inside look" at Wandsworth prison, "A Bit of a Stretch" told the reality of life within the walls of one of Britain's most notorious prisons.
Unlike most prisoners Atkins is an intelligent,educated and articulate man so his book was not "the usual" tale of being the hardest guy on B wing or guff about prisoners moral code. (spoiler alert,most don't have one,hence why they're in prison).

Time after Time is only a "prison book" in that it's about repeat offenders who find themselves seemingly unable to stay out,it's about a failing system where thousands of ,mostly,men find themselves called back for often petty breaches of their probation or licence within a year of being released. Meanwhile the prisons are obscenely overcrowded and many released prisoners set up to fail.

Atkins illustrates his points about the lack of rehabilitation and general decay of the penal system with the stories of men ,mostly with chaotic lifestyles often mental issues as well, who find themselves trapped in system that seems to have no other focus than to keep them inside the prison system. The book is often funny but there's a serious message, the penal system is failing these men and failing society,often penalising those who struggle with life in general while also letting loose extremely dangerous men to damage or destroy more innocent lives. One of the nonsenses revealed is that prisoners out on licence are not allowed to consort with other prisoners........while also having to stay in Bail Hostels which are full of them.

Definitely makes me want to read more. I really enjoyed Chris's first book and this one tempted me. Some interesting stories, a very rousing intro that made me wish I had the whole book!

Having read A Bit of a Stretch I was delighted to be offered a sample of the follow up. Now a free man Chris Atkins is, as any of us would be, deeply affected by his jail sentence and what came next for himself and the friends he made inside. In this short extract the author reintroduces us to a friend of his and his life on licence. The statistics quoted at the beginning are truly shocking but this book adds a personal insight into the failings of both the prison and probation services which only adds to the evidence that the system is failing not only the inmates but their families as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed, if that's the right word, this extract. Chris Atkins has a relaxed writing style which is easy to read but also pulls no punches. With his background he provides a deep understanding of what is happening and how, if possible, our prison and rehabilitation services could start to be rebuilt before they are damaged beyond repair.

I was able to read this sample thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Atlantic Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is an entertaining preview of what promises to be another important book by this excellent author.

Thanks for this teaser/sampler which I have already read today. I really enjoyed Chris Atkins's first book and given my own experience of working in the criminal justice system found it depressingly accurate.His new opus is equally well researched and engaging and makes for chilling reading at the injustices it reveals