What a terrifying but important insight into the work of a prison psychologist specialising in violent crime. Rebecca tells her story so candidly and writes with such flair, transporting you into her world. So many details were difficult to read but resulted in a powerful, thought provoking book. It was so interesting to gain a first-hand, expert account of the psychology behind the actions and personalities of violent criminals. I enjoyed Rebecca's reflections on her own personality, motivations and thought patterns and the suggestion that, in more ways than we'd care to accept we as human beings share many similarities.

I was very interested in reading the book and excited to start it. I did not realise how violent the book would be but still was very helpful in understanding how the treatment worked.

I lived this book. It's interesting to see the methods involved in potential rehabilitation. Some methods seem very severe, but they are tried and tested. Some people can change, others clearly can't.

An interesting read in to the goings on inside a prison. It was well written and gave enough information for a lay person to understand

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
The author has written this memoir of her early days in her first post-qualification job as a prison psychologist. She has not used real names but has given true accounts of the types of cases she met whilst treating those who had committed violent crimes. I found the entire book fascinating, not only the insight to what led the men to their actions but also the author's emotions and feelings as she developed into an experienced psychologist. The facts are often horrifying (and may be too unpleasant for some readers) but they are completely gripping, and I was very interested in how this treatment programme came into being and how results were reviewed. The final pages provide a summary of a review of the programme several years after its implementation, including factors which might have affected the results, as is commonplace with all studies and thereby tying up the loose ends satisfactorily.
'Enjoyed' is not a word to be used in connection with this book but if you are interested in the criminal psyche I'm sure you will find it as interesting as I did.

Rebecca Myers describes working as a psychologist in one of the UK's leading psychiatric prisons. This prison is where people deemed too mentally ill are sent after committing the most horrific crimes. The true stories told in this book are difficult to read, but they are insightful. The crimes some of these men committed were horrific, but we see how treatment programs operated and how they try to get the prisoners to think about their actions. is interesting and enlightening. This is not an exaggerated account. With graphic scenes of rape, murder, and abuse, it's deep, raw, and sometimes disturbing, so it might not be for everyone. I liked how she ended with the outcome of the men, and how she looked back at the challenges and criticisms of the original program and how treatment has changed 20 years later.

The Inside Job Rebecca Myer

I am fascinated by what drives people to commit horrific crimes such murder and rape, so the opportunity to read Dr Myer’s insights and experience in working with some of the most dangerous individuals made me want to read this one.
Myers tells of her time as a newly qualified psychologist working at Graymoor Prison.
The book is a blend of reflecting upon her own experience (limited) and shortcomings, working in an environment that was also very misogynistic, and it allowed us to become immersed in the Sex Offenders Treatment Programme that involved serious criminals.
Dr Myers wrote an honest and profound account of the dark reality of life on the inside. I found Dr Myers to be vulnerable and the way she personalized the criminals and didn't dwell on the crimes they had committed showed such empathy and showed me what kind of a Person Dr Rebecca Myers is.
This book is very well written and the subject matter, although dark and brutal at times, is compelling and interesting. I would definitely read more like this
Thank you to Netgalley for a arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book kind of terrified me actually! What a job. What an insight. Definitely not how I’d like to spend my days. Quite inspiring. I found that I couldn’t read this just before bed because it scared me… so I’m probably not the right audience for it - I fancied something different. If you like to read about the nitty gritty, true crime details then this is for you! I’m heading back under my cosy crime blanket!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book, although sometimes it was quite hard to read.

At the beginning of reading this, I thought to myself "Yeah, I would love to do something like that", however now after reading it, I doubt I would be able to cope!

Dr Rebecca Myers details how it has a toll on her personal life, knowing what she does, who she works with on a daily basis - and this is not just the prisoners.

This book really got me thinking.

‘Inside Job’ is a true account of Rebecca Myes’ career as a prison psychologist. This concerns the Sexual Offenders Rehabilitation Programme, which is now abolished by the UK Government and Prison Service.

This memoir presented a challenge to read because of its content. Nevertheless, I found the writing to be captivating and informative. Despite my initial thought of finishing the book by incinerating it, I could not help but keep flipping the pages and reading, driven by my desire to understand more.

This provides factual data that might broaden understanding of the Prison Service's work with these offenders, in order to gain insight and maintain community safety.

Regrettably, this is never a straightforward subject to discuss, yet I believe it is critical that these dialogues must occur. I urge everyone to consider reading this. If you can absorb this without being adversely affected, it is highly beneficial to take it up.

Amazing insight in to true life crime and criminals. Well written to really bring to life the meetings of a psychologist and her patients. Fascinating read.

If you like gripping, interesting and insightful reads that are real life and not fiction then you need to read Inside Job. It's a harrowing and brutally honest look at life as psychologist in a prison.

This memoir of working as a prison psychologist, specifically running a group for sexual offences including paedophilia, rape and murder, is not an easy read.

The ‘story’ follows Dr Myers and a small group of offenders through the Core Sexual Offence Treatment Programme (SOTP), and then continues to follow most of the men as they move under Dr Myers’ supervision through the extended programme, to further explore their offending patterns and behaviours.

This is dark and gritty stuff, as Dr Myers doesn’t shy away from confronting the heinous details of the men’s offences and their attitudes and behaviours during treatment. The details are graphic and the author dives deeply into the triggers and motivations – it is all likely to be highly triggering, and not just to those specifically sensitive to the subject of sexual offences. Nothing is presented salaciously, however, but with a continued professional attitude and retrospective analysis which keeps the accounts clinical.

That isn’t to say that Dr Myers attempts to present everything in a remote and clinical fashion. She actually gives readers a lot of insight into her own intimate, personal life in parallel to her work life, as she reveals her self-doubts and relationship struggles through her training and then career. And throughout the book, she explores the dichotomy between her disgust at the offences but her need to be able to see the perpetrators as human beings in order to help them.

It was fascinating to see the progress the men made throughout the course of the programme’s treatment and then find out at the end that the programme was discredited and believed to cause offences to be more likely to reoccur than non-treatment. The author presents this information openly and fairly, showing the evidence against the programme and the rebuttals to that evidence, and analysing her own feelings about the efficacy having been a frontline provider.

The whole book is incredibly thought-provoking and forces readers to challenge their assumptions, prejudices and preconceptions alongside Dr Myers and the men under her care. It was very emotionally difficult to read, but so interesting that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone with an interest in the field.

This was an very interesting read. This seems like it could be one of the hardest jobs in the world and this book just cemented that fact. Recommended to anyone interested in this field.

A very raw, open, honest book about Dr Rebecca’s time working within the prison system. She is far braver than I’d be. Sitting in cells alone with prisoners who have committed the most hideous crimes as part of her job amazes me. Highly recommend this book.

This was an incredibly heavy but intriguing memoir of a Forensic Psychologist that had me gripped.

When I was doing my degree, Forensic Psychology was one of the paths I considered for my future and it's rare to read about this career so I was eager to pick this one up! I enjoyed getting to know more about Dr Rebecca Myers and her own journey and struggles in her new role.

However, as you can expect, this book comes with a lot of trigger warnings and is not for the faint of heart. It is detailed, disturbing and I found myself having to take breaks whilst reading.

Whilst it was not an easy read, it was important and an interesting read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this and had to read it, as I've recently completed a Forensic Science degree and it very briefly touched on criminal psychology. To be able to get first hand accounts of what makes a criminal tick was too good and opportunity to pass up.
This book is so much more than that though. You see the normalcy of those behind bars, sometimes not a bad person, but a good person having done a bad thing.
The author also shares a little of herself and her reasons for continuing as her career begins to grow.
An engaging, fascinating, thought provoking read.

ARC REVIEW 📱
My rating: DNF ✖️

☁️ THOUGHTS:
This was my first 👏🏼 ever 👏🏼 DNF. I don’t abandon books. Even if I hate them, I skim read them. But I really should have paid more attention to the description when requesting from Netgalley— I just saw a prison-based autobiography and I LOVE a book about prison.

In fairness to Myers, there is a clear content warning in the first few pages. I read a lot of violence/murder/crime in my books, and didn’t particularly think much of it. But if you want to read this, be aware it is DETAILED and HEAVILY focused on the sexual offenders at HMP Graymoor.

The book is dedicated to the SOTP (sex offender treatment programme) but be also prepared for far too much detail of the author’s tights, heels, how much the men in prison looked at her, and of course, her affair with a married officer 🫠 I didn’t get on with the writing style AT ALL. Something about it felt off, which given the disturbing and dark topic, just left me feeling completely resistant to keep reading.

Since reading some reviews for this book, I learned the ending chapter actually advises of the SOTP’s cancellation, inefficiency and harm. Had this been at the beginning, I may have avoided the book altogether. As it was, I managed 45% of this— may 2023 be the year I learn to not finish a book I’m not enjoying🙌🏼. It does have a lot of positive reviews on Netgalley though and this was just my view, so don’t let me put you off!

Some prison-based books I’ve LOVED and would really recommend are:
☕️ A BIT OF A STRETCH
🗝️ STRANGEWAYS
🔐 JAILBIRDS
👩🏻‍⚕️ PRISON DOCTOR BOOKS

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 + 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝘼𝙍𝘾, 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 @𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 (𝙄𝙂).

Such an interesting book that really made me think about how prisons are run and organised and how many people are actually working to make possible for offenders to go back into society. A very complicated topic but amazing to learn more about it and what happens behind closed doors.

Inside Job was such an interesting read, in what is the most hardest job to have in working in a top security prison I really admire anyone who works there, I literally couldn't put my kindle down.