Outside by Nicky James

Narrated by Nick J. Russo

Outside is the second – and concluding – part of Nicky James’ Death Row Chronicles, an intense, emotional story about Bishop Ndiyae, a man on death row in Texas, and Anson Miller, the corrections officer who falls in love with him and becomes determined to prove his innocence. The first book, Inside – a gripping, character-driven tale which focuses mostly on the development of the soul-deep connection between the two men, and then on Anson’s quest for the truth and to have Bishop released – is told from Anson’s PoV; this follow-up is told from Bishop’s and it begins just a few days after his release from prison.

Note: Outside is not a standalone and is best listened to after Inside. There may be spoilers for the previous book in this review.

As I said in my review of Inside, don’t go into this one expecting a romance in the conventional sense, one full of hearts and flowers and hot sex, because even though Anson and Bishop can now touch each other and be physically close, twenty years behind bars has taken its toll on Bishop and he’s completely adrift in a world that has changed almost beyond recognition from the one he knew. He has a lot of trauma to process and a lot of adjustments to make if he’s to be able to make a new life for himself – but even with the man he loves at his side, it’s not going to be an easy road, and sometimes, Bishop begins to wonder if it’s even worth it.

There isn’t a great deal of plot in Outside, but that’s okay – after a bit of a slow start it turns into another compelling story as Bishop, overwhelmed by the pace of modern life, bewildered by technology and gripped by anxiety, struggles to make sense of it all, and Anson is beset by troubles of his own that make it harder for him to understand just how hard Bishop is finding it to adjust. It’s not that Anson expected it to be easy, or that he hadn’t expected that he’d need to make allowances for Bishop and give him the time and space to process and work through things, he just hadn’t realised the degree to which he would need to slow down or that he’d need to explain things like smartphones, the internet and ‘text speak’. I did get annoyed at him when he complained that Bishop wasn’t answering his texts and didn’t realise it was because Bishop didn’t know what all the acronyms meant and couldn’t understand what he was saying; I’d have expected Anson to be a little more understanding about that and about Bishop’s issues with leaving the house or deviating from the schedule he’s lived by for the past twenty years. To be fair, though, Bishop doesn’t tell Anson any of those things – he’s grown so used to being the only person he can lean on, to having to appear strong at all times just to survive, that he absolutely rejects the idea of showing anything that could be considered weakness. Such as needing help.

Thankfully, however, there is hope on the horizon in the form of a group called the Innocence Project, formed specifically to help people like Bishop, innocent men and women who are exonerated and don’t have the same kind of support available to them as other ex-cons who serve their time and are released. Through his lawyer, Bishop meets David, a man who has gone through something similar to Bishop, and Roger, a counselor at the project who is also an exoneree. Meeting others who know what he’s going through, people who understand that Bishop feels he just can’t keep up – with Anson, with the pace of life in general – is a huge relief, and helps him to realise that he needs to stop expecting too much of himself.

But there are other issues making life more difficult for the couple. The news of Bishop’s release has led to a media frenzy, and the reporters camped on their doorstep won’t leave them alone, sticking microphones and recorders in Bishop’s face whenever he makes a very rare journey out of the house, and worse, there are plenty of people locally who refuse to believe in his innocence and still see him as a murderer. My blood boiled at the treatment he is subjected to in the second half of the story, at the obvious racial prejudice he endures at the hands of people who should know better. Anson, too, faces bigotry; word has got around the prison that he’s gay (and that Bishop is living with him) and the inmates and some of the guards are not slow to make Anson aware of their feelings on the matter. As Bishop says, they’re “an interracial gay couple in a small town in Texas… the cards aren’t stacked in our favor.”

Bishop and Anson’s relationship is also something to be carefully navigated. Bishop was incarcerated when he was just twenty and hadn’t really had the chance to explore his sexuality as a gay man, so it’s all very new to him. He loves Anson dearly and is very attracted to him, but is worried that Anson will become frustrated at his lack of experience and annoyed because Bishop needs to move slowly. They have a lot to deal with, exploring a new relationship in the face of prejudice and everything Bishop is going through, but they’re stronger together and their eventual HEA is very well deserved.

I admit that it took me a few chapters to really get into the story. It’s a bit slow to start and I was a little bored by all the talk of Bishop’s inability to understand texts and how to use a smartphone. I understand why it happens, but I don’t like being hit over the head, and once or twice would have been enough! Anson’s obliviousness irritated me, too – as I said above, I’d have expected him, of all people, to have a good idea of what Bishop was going through – but he doesn’t want to open up to Bishop about what’s going on at work any more than Bishop wants to make himself vulnerable or admit to what he sees as weakness, so in that, I suppose they’re both as bad as each other!

Nick J. Russo delivers another excellent performance – he’s one of the most consistently reliable narrators around, and I don’t think I’ve given him anything less than a top A grade in over a year! His narration is well-paced and clearly differentiated, and while the secondary cast isn’t large, it’s strongly characterised; David – a heavy smoker – is especially memorable, his voice all gravel and good-humour. The depth of the emotional connection between Bishop and Anson comes through strongly and his portrayals, which fit them both very well, are consistent with the previous book. Anson’s dialogue is spoken at a faster tempo than Bishop’s and his tone is brighter and higher pitched with bit of an edge that speaks to a tendency towards impulsiveness and a bit of a temper, where Bishop’s is deeper in pitch and slower, with a slight accent. Mr. Russo does an incredible job when it comes to conveying the myriad of emotions Bishop is experiencing – fear, doubt, loneliness and terror – and his very real sense of isolation and near despair as he wonders whether he’ll ever feel secure again. He hits every beat perfectly and in a way that seems so effortless and natural you can almost forget you’re listening to a performance; he never gets in the way of the words and always brings something extra to the stories he narrates.

Outside is a powerful story of love and perseverance, of fighting for yourself and what you deserve even when it seems as though the world is against you. The author’s research into the experiences and state of mind of someone in Bishop’s situation has clearly been extensive, and with Nick J. Russo working his vocal magic, it’s another unusual and thought-provoking listen.

Caz

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