Reviewed by Rita Vetsch for Readers' Favorite

The Prisoner Within written by Emma Daniels is an intrinsic romantic novel, yet it is about tragedy and dealing with consequences. The Story starts when Luke Alexander, a young man in his mid-twenties, is leaving prison after having served 5 years for being involved in a pub fight that went horribly wrong. He longs to live a normal life and vows to do everything possible never to return to prison again. He must face the changes of everything that has happened in the past five years outside of his prison cell. But having a criminal past carries its prejudices and people cannot seem to get past that with Luke. Looking for work becomes very difficult for Luke when he meets Karen Shaw. Karen carries many prejudices herself against Luke and treats him like a leper. He was now branded and labeled `no good'. It is Karen's older sister, Lynette, who sees much more to Luke than his criminal history. With his work release money almost gone, she decides to give Luke a chance and hires him for a large Communications Company. Luke and Lynnette discover they have chemistry for one another and fall in love, but would it last? Luke's fears that he had buried away come back to life after he finds out that his brother, Chris, is gay and in a relationship with a man named Tony. Luke has fears against the gay community and must come to terms in accepting that his brother is gay. Something dreadful also happened to Luke while in prison; something that he had blocked out and locked away until it comes back full force and he must face it once again. Karen also has plans for Luke that changes his life dramatically. Will Luke finally come to terms with his dark past, find romance, and accept his brother?

Emma Daniels is a very powerful and intriguing writer. The Prisoner Within is complicated novel with several suspenseful twists and turns. The story does get long in some parts, but after getting back to the main plot, I enjoyed this book tremendously. I love how Emma draws the reader into her books. This story has it all; from suspense and thrills to romance and tragedy. It contains a real life story that we can all relate to on some level.