I recently had the opportunity to read "Five by Five" through NetGalley, and as a fan of prison-themed literature, I was eager to dive into this Scottish prison setting. The story started strong, drawing me in with its original and atmospheric plot. However, as I delved deeper, the momentum slowed, and the second half felt repetitive and somewhat predictable. The unresolved ending left me with lingering questions, hinting at the possibility of a sequel to tie up loose ends.

The characters in the book were a bit challenging to connect with, and I struggled to empathise with them. Their decisions often appeared questionable and didn't always align with their established traits.

Overall, while it was an enjoyable read, I couldn't shake the feeling that it had the potential to be even better.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publishers, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, for providing me with a digital review copy (eARC). These are my honest and unbiased thoughts and I am sharing them voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this ARC. The publication date is the 29th August. This book is based in a prison and it gave me Line of Duty vibes it was a real page turner with plenty of twists and turns that kept me glued to my kindle as I was dying to find out what would happen next.

I liked all the characters especially Kennedy and wow wow wow what an ending!! I really thought I worked it out I couldn’t have been more wrong! I’d highly recommend this book if you like real gripping page turners that keep you on the edge of your seat! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars! 😊

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.

I’ve been collecting my thoughts on this one for a while since I read it. I love a crime/mystery as much as the next girl and this one being set in a prison was new for me - it was a world that I’m not familiar with as I don’t really read much into what the prison system, or the administration of a prison is like.

I thought the story line was interesting and I liked that it was an investigation into not only the prisoners, but the prison staff too. It felt like it was something that you would hear on the news and felt believable in that it wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility - thinking about it, I would believe that this type of investigation is commonplace within prisons.

This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone looking for this type of novel, I’m just not sure I vibed with it fully personally.

The story is set in a prison and is told from the POV of Kennedy, who is a Intelligence Analyst, think 'Line of Duty' but in a prison, and from one of the prisoners. I enjoyed hearing from both sides. I suspected everyone and trusted nobody.

I wanted to find out who Scout was but the book ends on a cliffhanger. I'm not sure if it's deliberate or because there is a follow-on book to come. I hope it's the latter.

I enjoyed the premise of this book and the story, it was gripping and the characters were engaging. Recommend to new readers of the genre as it was a fast paced, action packed thriller

I love the setting on this and the incident that happens to Kennedy, the main character, starts the story off really well. I liked the antagonism between the intelligence staff and the prison guards, and the new arrival in Kennedy’s office added to the tension. I did however struggle to engage with the characters, I liked that some chapters were told from the perspective of one of the prisoners however by the end I was questioning whether it added to the story, I think if parts were told from points of view of multiple prisoners it might have worked better. There’s clearly a lot of issues at the prison, beyond what you might expect and the threats on Kennedy felt very real but I just never totally got into this story but I persevered with it only for it to have a total non ending with so much left to be tied up but not in a to be continued style (although I’m assuming there will be a continuation) which just left me frustrated.

An exciting new voice in crime fiction! Five By Five is not to be missed!

I love the setting and the insights into a part of prison life that I didn't even know existed. The characters felt utterly believable and the sharp writing style really draws you in to the story. I loved the cliff-hanger ending and can't wait for the next instalment!

Thanks to the publisher and author for the opportunity to read

I really appreciate the opportunity to read and review this arc but unfortunately I really struggled to get into it and did not connect with any of the characters, that just made me not care for the story or what happened to them, it was well written and felt well researched though

Really wanted to love this book; it began so brightly - tense, atmospheric, original - but fizzled out, leaving me disappointed.

Wilson does a great job of setting the scene. There is a sense of threat and we feel the challenging emotions of Kennedy, both at her work and in her personal life. However, by halfway Five by Five is beginning to feel repetitive and predictable. The ending felt unfinished and rushed, and the umbrella device was a little too close to Jane Casey's use in her recent The Killing Kind.

I sense that there will be a sequel to tie up the loose ends here. If there is, I hope the promise shown in Five by Five will be honed and polished to deliver a more satisfying read.

This novel hits all the tropes of a thriller with style. A different take on the solving of crimes, and the jeopardy of those tasked to do so. A refreshingly candid insight into the role of a prison investigator gives this novel a unique point of view. Looking forward to what comes next!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title.

This was an interesting read for me and different from the usual books I choose. The setting of the Scottish prison sets it apart from other novels and is well done. It is hard hitting and the violence is grim at times. The main character Kennedy is an intelligence analyst at the prison and her life is in danger from the unidentified ‘Scout’. She falls in love with prison officer Molly but can she trust her?

It is quite pacy and a page turner, especially in the middle, but I was left wanting more at the end. Perhaps all will be explained in a sequel?

Firstly thank you to the publishers for my early access in exchange for a honest review .
This is a debut thriller and whilst there were certainly great elements of the book there was a disconnect with the characters for me personally so maybe another book will develop their voices more
However I enjoyed the prison setting being used especially as a psychology student currently doing a forensic module .
It was insightful and written packed with knowledge that really sets the scene for the reader.
Crime ,secrets , love and trust .
Do you listen to your heart or head ?
A excellent debut in the world of crime thrillers

This book, didn’t grab me like I hoped it would.
I took awhile to realise that Kennedy was female.
And I didn’t quite understand the ending.. Which I will have to reread, as it happened so fast.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of Five by Five by Claire Wilson.

This story is set within the intelligence unit in a Scottish prison. Very intriguing setting & story line, a good hook into the story and will likely be a good read for those interested in gritty prison settings!

Kennedy, a failed prison officer, now works for prison intelligence. After a drugs bust, she is attacked and warned that 'Scout' is out to get her. Despite knowing that Scout is a prison officer, she falls for Molly, a prison guard and soon becomes suspicious of her.
I enjoyed finding out about the workings of a prison and the plot had potential however, for me, the ending let the book down. I felt like the last few chapters had been omitted from the book. This may have been the author's way of signalling a sequel but it left me unsatisfied.

Five by five by Claire Wilson

Publisher Michael Joseph

Time to read less than a day

Stars 4

Review

This is a totally new author for me. I will look out for further books from Claire Wilson

I really enjoyed this. I could not put it down so thank you once again for the opportunity to lose myself for a couple of hours

I totally devoured this book and I was totally engrossed. Would Def recommend to all. It kept my attention from the first to the last page

Thank you Netgalley and Michael Joseph for the opportunity to review.

I love crime thrillers and it was really nice to have a new take as this one is set in the prison with one of the officers responsible for investigating the prisoners and what they are up to day to day. After being attacked by the family of an inmate Kennedy returns to work to find out who set her up and it’s a race against time to find the corrupt officers before it’s too late. Loved it but now need to wait for book two.

A very enjoyable book which never slows or gets wrapped up in itself. Chapters alternate between Kennedy and Adrian the 2 primary characters - prison staff and prisoner respectively. Kennedy is injured at the start and for the remainder of the book she tried to work out who wants to kill her. Adrian is trying his best to be the prisoner in charge. There are no flashback chapters so both storyline progress simultaneously.
I had no idea how the stories would end and I don't want to give any hints. However, the ending was not as I had hoped!
Well worth a read.

Thankyou to Claire Wilson, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced readers copy.

If you’re interested in crime this is the book for you. I really loved the setting of this book, it was filled with tense moments, gangs and corruption.

The emotions of the main character really came through and made me questions everyone’s intentions.

WHO IS SCOUT !?!? and will Kennedy be able to find out the intel needed to bring them down?