Book ~ "The Walls" (2017) Hollie Overton

From Goodreads ~ What if you could get away with murder?

Single mom Kristy Tucker works as press agent for the Texas Department of Corrections - handling everything on death row, from inmate interviews to chronicling the last moments during an execution. Her job exposes Kristy to the worst of humanity and it's one that's beginning to take its toll.

So when Kristy meets Lance Dobson, her son's martial arts instructor, she believed she finally found her happy ending. She was wrong.

Kristy soon discovers that Lance is a monster. Forced to endure his verbal and physical abuse, Kristy is serving her own life sentence ... unless she's willing to take matters into her hands. Perfectly poised to exploit the criminal justice system she knows so well, Kristy sets out to get rid of Lance - permanently.

"The Walls" explores domestic violence, the morality of murder and how far one woman will go to protect her family. 

When Kristy was 16, she got pregnant.  She and Pops, her widowed (now disabled) father, raised her son Ryan, who is now a teenager.  She works as a press agent for a prison.  All that's missing in her life is someone to love.  When Ryan starts taking judo lessons from Lance, there is an attraction between Lance and Kristy.  He is everything she is looking for ... they get married and he moves in with Kristy, Ryan and Pops and everyone is happy.

Once married, though, Kristy discovers that Lance isn't who he had appeared to be.  It started with little things and Lance would reprimand her.  It eventually escalated to emotional and physical abuse for the slightest thing ... Kristy isn't sure how it happened or how to make it stop.

In the meantime, Kristy befriends Clifton, an inmate on death row. Clifton is scheduled for execution about being found guilty of murdering his young children ten years ago.  Kristy is conflicted because she believes the Clifton is innocent but there's nothing she can do about it except be his friend. 

This is the first book I've read by this author.  Despite it being an intense subject, I enjoyed this book.  It is written in third person perspective from Kristy's point of view.  Alternating with some of the chapters are letters Clifton writes to Kristy.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I liked Kristy, Pops and Ryan, though I must admit that in the beginning I found Ryan annoying ... he was a weird outspoken kid.  Lance was terrifying and controlling.