“Chain Night happens once a week on Thursdays. Once a week the defining moment for sixty women takes place. For some of the sixty, that defining moment happens over and over. For them it is routine. For me it happened only once. I was woken at two a.m. and shackled and counted, Romy Leslie Hall, inmate W314159, and lined up with the others for an all-night ride up the valley.”

The Mars Room
By Rachel Kushner
Source: Advance review copy

Romy Hall is on board a bus to Stanville woman’s Correctional Facility where she will serve two consecutive life sentences. She used to work as a stripper at the Mars Room and it is there that she met Creep Kennedy who’ll became her stalker. She tried to get away from him and focus on her child, Jackson, but it was all for nothing. He still came at her and after a horrible encounter she is now put away.

There are other points of view in the narrative but the most interesting one is of Gordon Hauser an English teacher employed at the prison. He is often used by the students because they think they’ll be able to get something from him. Romy also tries to get on his good side if only to find a way to contact her son.

Romy for all her faults did not deserve to be in the situation she is in but how her life went completely sideways is tragic and just like it happened to her there are many others who end up in the system with no hope to turn their lives around.

This is not going to be a pleasant story but it’s one that will make you think about the prison system and the people that find themselves in it. The author doesn’t make excuses for her characters but still moves you with their stories. I found myself feel compassion and discomfort over the situations and was impressed by this novel.

Is it me or do you find it totally easy to lose control on Netgalley? I check it out on a regular basis to see what books are coming out but before I know it, I’ve submitted countless requests. I really appreciate having the availability to do so and a big thank you to the publishers for making these available.

I wanted to do a quick roundup of some of the books that I’ve been given access to and with some cover or marketing blurbs:

The Long Farewell by Michael Innes. After being found shot in his library with a note beside him, the police are satisfied that Lewis Packford’s death was a suicide. But his solicitor isn’t convinced. It seems Packford was in possession of a valuable scholarly discovery, a book annotated by Shakespeare. But, upon his death, the book was nowhere to be found.

The Vineyards of Champagne by Juliet Blackwell. Deep within the labyrinth of caves that lies below the lush, rolling vineyards of the Champagne region, an underground city of women and children hums with life. Forced to take shelter from the unrelenting onslaught of German shellfire above, the bravest and most defiant women venture out to pluck sweet grapes for the harvest.

Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza. Kate Marshall was a promising young police detective when she caught the notorious Nine Elms serial killer. But her greatest victory suddenly turned into a nightmare. Traumatized, betrayed, and publicly vilified for the shocking circumstances surrounding the cannibal murder case, Kate could only watch as her career ended in scandal.

Cross Her Heart by Melinda Legh. For more than twenty-five years, Philadelphia homicide detective Bree Taggert has tucked away the nightmarish childhood memories of her parents’ murder-suicide…Until her younger sister, Erin, is killed in a crime that echoes that tragic night

For the Sake of a Scottish Rake by Anna Bradley. After a sheltered upbringing, Lady Lucinda Sutcliffe is finally embarking on her first season, eager to experience everything she’s missed. When Lucy realizes that her uncle plans to quickly marry her off in exchange for a slice of her fortune, she begs a favor of a new acquaintance, Ciaran Ramsey.

I have a little bit of everything here. What do you think?  Would you put some of these on your wishlist? I hope you have a wonderful weekend!