S & M, police corruption, government-sanctioned torture: these are not comfortable topics. But the main theme - how people cope with life in prisons of their own making - benefits from a touch of humour and unforgettable characters.
How often had he imagined this body as a corpse when Alan was still alive? When he had taken him into hospital, when he'd found him collapsed on his couch, in the last stages of overdosing and semi-comatose? How many times had he dragged him under a cold shower to make him vomit and come slowly back to life? The son of a bitch always allowed himself the luxury of a big smile when he returned to earth and found John leaning over him, beside himself with fear and anger. The smile that was the only thing between him and death.
