My review of
SURVIVING HELL
by Nick Dunn
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I received an ARC of this book from @netgalley in return for my honest review.

In 2013, the MV Seaman Guard Ohio, a vessel employed on anti-piracy duties in the Indian ocean, was boarded by Indian coastguard and the crew arrested on fabricated weapons charges. Among them were six former British soldiers, including Nick Dunn, veteran of Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These men would become known as the Chennai Six.
Although it was plain to see that any and all charges against the men were false, the British foreign office did little to push for their release, and their employers had abandoned them to their fates in a country as well known for its corrupt officials as it was for its starving population.
What followed was a four year struggle to clear their names, led by Nick's sister Lisa.

This is a well written narrative of Nick's experiences at the hands of a corrupt system. The entries made by Lisa added a personal perspective to the fight for justice back in the UK, which helped make the story more relatable.
I gave Surviving Hell five stars and am happy to recommend it to anyone with an interest in military non-fiction.
Nick, Respect brother.

A true account of imprisonment of the ex paratrooper tagged as a member of the Chennai Six.
Horrible in its detail of the struggle to keep fit and sane in awful circumstances, but inspirational and easy to read.
The courage of his family and his sister show how strong families can be
I read in one day it had me hooked.

Having followed the horrendous time Nick Dunn had and the hard work his sister put in in real time (local news reports) to get his release from prison, this was a very interesting read. It confirmed the horrendous life Nick had in prison and the lack of help from our government. How scary it is to know that when you are most in need, the foreign office isn’t galloping over the horizon to rescue you. If it wasn’t for Nicks sister and family he would still be in hell. A good book confirming the hell he went through.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into crime/thriller books and even psychological thrillers too so I am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

I enjoyed this very much. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Brilliant true account by Nick Dunn, one of the Chennai Six, of his time in India following bogus charges brought against him and 34 others when he was employed as a security guard on a foreign ship.
This book details Nick’s hellish journey, via his time as a paratrooper, when he spent four years in India facing trumped up charges for straying into Indian waters and possession of illegal weapons. Both charges were clearly nonsense, but the Indian authorities were doggedly pursuing them despite no evidence to support them.
Although I was already aware of the background of this story, having followed it on the news at the time, this was a fascinating and heartbreaking read. Nick and his sister Lisa both detail their experience so very well.
I would highly recommend this book to people who already know of the story of the Chennai six and to those coming completely afresh to this story.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Surviving Hell is an eye-opening page-turner reading very much like a thrilling and utterly gripping work of fiction yet this is real life and you really have to keep reminding yourself of that every step of the way. British ex-paratrooper and Afghanisten Veteran Nick Dunn pens a memoir infused with fighting spirit and the importance of finding hope in a seemingly hopeless world. It tells the tale of what happened to Nick and five colleagues in 2013 as they surveilled the waters of the Indian Ocean on the MV Seaman Guard Ohio as part of the response to Somali piracy. Despite having the required permission from the British government to carry weaponry they were all imprisoned for a five year period in Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai, south eastern India. After winning an appeal on their convictions of weapons charges they were released from their prison hell and back into society.

It a deeply thought-provoking and absorbing memoir and the first time Nick has ever opened up about this topic. This case of the Chennai Six interests me greatly as someone who holds a law degree but there is much more to it than that. It highlights the human cost of a miscarriage of justice which affects not only the person directly targeted but their family and friends too. It is a tale of triumphing over adversity and keeping the spark of hope alive throughout a dire time. This was a nightmarish experience for the lads from start to finish and illustrates the hit and miss legal system that is in place in India. A courageous and captivating account of lives altered by wrongful charges, this is an intriguing read right from the opening pages. They really did go through hell but they were all reunited with their family in the end. Many thanks to Mirror Books for an ARC.

I found this book an eye opener, how harrowing the prison sounds and such a brave account of what was encountered. It does literally sound like you survived hell, but the main thing is you survived.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.