Murder in prison

Frances Brody has written detective stories set in Yorkshire before and I have read a few of these which feature her private detective Kate Shackleton (see here for review). A Murder Inside is the start of a new series set in the 1960s. The main character, Nell Lewis has just been appointed as the governor of a new women’s prison and she travels to oversee its transition from a Borstal type unit for young men and the arrival of the first female inmates. The problem is that just as the facility is getting underway a man’s body is found on the grounds.

This is an unusual setting and Nell is an interesting character who has a real faith in rehabilitation. She finds, however, that the previous inhabitants of the site have not all been straightforward and that the prison has been used for dishonest activities. When the women prisoners arrive they also do not always behave as expected. Nell has to work out what has happened and how it has led to murder as well as uncovering the various rackets that have been run from the site. She also has to work out what is going on in the minds of her charges and how to introduce the reforms that she thinks are important.

The murder story is interesting and so is the insight into how people thought about incarceration and rehabilitation at the time. Nell has to fight to keep her position but we are also aware how personally vulnerable she is to those who might wish her harm, especially as she is not sure who they are – there is an ongoing air of menace. The plot is nicely resolved by the end and the book has a feeling of hope for the future.

I enjoyed this story well enough but I wish that there had been some humour or more lightness injected into the writing as the pace is flat and everyone is very serious. I can’t help feeling that it could have been more compelling.