by MJ Whelan

‘ “It silly. Me have to close my eyes. Mummy do funny thing with her nose and white powder.” Freya sat upright, then pressed her index finger to her nostril and sniffed. “She do it before going out. Mummy don’t know, but me cheat ….. Me didn’t shut eyes.” ‘

In MJ Whelan’s debut novel, Liz Ainsworth is wellbeing officer in a men’s prison in England. She has formed a bond with the prisoners in her group and has earned their respect. Freed from a violent and controlling marriage, Liz is now in a loving relationship with Tom, who also works at the prison. They manage successfully to keep the professional and personal sides of their lives apart. Out of the blue, Liz receives a phone call from the police saying her son, Ellis, and his partner, Carly, have been arrested, and asking if she can collect her granddaughter, Freya, from the police station.

Liz fetches Freya from the station. She didn’t know she was a grandmother! Indeed, Ellis too has learned only recently that he has fathered a child; he and Carly do not live together. Carly’s lifestyle is clearly incompatible with the needs of a three-year-old. She drinks to excess and uses drugs. When Ellis discovers she is neglecting Freya, he ‘loses it’, smashes a glass against the wall and threatens her. When the police arrive, alerted by a neighbour, he acts aggressively towards an officer.’

‘Faces turned, eyes narrowed. Heat crawled up my back. Freya was spinning out of control. Her world had unravelled. I scooped her up, wrapping her flailing body against my chest. Her nails scraped my arms, but I held tight, my heart heavy with her anguish.’

Freya is a bright, loving child, but subject to violent outbursts which leave Liz traumatised. Her well-ordered life shattered, she nevertheless begins the long and stressful battle to become Freya’s permanent legal guardian. The process brings her into conflict with social workers, lawyers and others, who, while clearly having Freya’s best interests at heart, seem little concerned with the feelings and aspirations of her grandmother.

Emotions heighten as the lines between Liz’s and Tom’s work and domestic lives begin to blur. Ellis’s determination to be a good dad lead him to make foolish decisions which not only threaten his freedom but put Liz’s life in danger.

‘With bile rising in my throat, I staggered to the staff toilets. I twisted the lock with shaking hands, stumbled in and pressed my hands against the basin ….. I thought I’d built an armour, layers of indifference to protect myself, but Spider had ripped through it, leaving my nerves raw.’

MJ Whelan, who, her publisher tells us, offers ‘guidance, comfort and understanding to prisoners as she walks along the landings and wings’ and, in the evenings returns home to play with her grandchildren, writes from intimate knowledge of her subject matter. She cuts the prison system wide open, exposing its pulsing heart, sometimes sinister and violent but often contemplative and sympathetic.

Her characters, the prisoners Leroy, Viking and Zane, leap from the pages of the book, each with his different take on what it means to be ‘inside’, and on what he plans to do when freed. ‘Hard men’ with experience of prison life, they show surprising vulnerability when it comes to protecting their weaker companions in captivity as well as their families outside. On the other hand, the vulnerable Paul and the middle class estate agent Stephen are more resilient than expected in surviving their incarceration. They come out of the experience as better men.

In this first novel, MJ Whelan also shares a glimpse of the legal system and the world of social services – like the prisons flawed and probably overwhelmed at times, but certainly not broken beyond fixing.

Sentenced is a great story. It is a novel filled with delightful descriptions and dialogue, believable scenes and real human beings. There are moments of real drama and emotion as when the prisoners gang up to protect Liz from a violent inmate, or when they gather together in the ‘multi-faith’ room to celebrate the life of a deceased companion. Above all, Sentenced is a novel – for all its darkness – filled with love, companionship and hope.’

I am looking forward to Ms Whelan’s next story!

***