LOCAL author Wendy Robertson’s latest literary offering is a collection of short stories inspired by the dark side of life she experienced as writer in residence at Low Newton prison in Durham City.

There’s the young burglar who falls through a glass roof and ends up helping the house-bound vicar’s wife in Glass, then the shy young man who dares venture out of his comfort zone only to escape a knife-wielding mad woman in Knives. Robertson explores weighty issues such as self-harm, sexual abuse and bullying – and she doesn’t shy away from giving graphic details – but others are filled with friendship, emancipation and kindness. Sometimes, though, I did feel I wanted more to know more about the characters than the limited word count of the short story allowed.