House of Correction
A twisty and shocking thriller from the master of psychological suspense
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4.3 • 100 Ratings
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
**HIGHLY COMMENDED FOR THE 2021 CWA GOLD DAGGER AWARD**
She’s a murderer.
Everyone knows she killed Stuart Rees – why else would his dead body be found in her shed?
So now Tabitha is in prison, awaiting trial.
Coming back to the remote coastal village where she grew up was a mistake. She didn’t fit in then, and she doesn’t fit in now.
That day is such a blur, she can’t remember clearly what happened. There is something she is missing, something important… She only knows one thing. She is not capable of murder.
And the only one she can trust to help her out of this situation is herself.
So she must fight. Against the odds.
For her life.
Beautifully written about prejudice, loneliness and fighting spirit, this new book by Nicci French is shocking, twisty and utterly compelling.
Praise for House of Correction:
‘A novel that blissfully plays with two genres: on the one hand an against-the-odds legal thriller à la John Grisham… and on the other a Miss Marple whodunnit set in a Devon village’ Sunday Times
‘Nicci French husband-and-wife writing team responsible for some of the UK’s best psychological thrillers have created a gem of a protagonist in Tabitha… House of Correction allows the readers to puzzle out what happened alongside Tabitha, while cheering her effort’ Observer
‘First-class’ Independent
‘Gripping’ Literary Review
‘Gritty and moving – the husband-and-wife team have scored another hit’ Best
‘A twisty and shocking read’ Bella
‘Engrossing’ Good Housekeeping
‘I wanted everything to stop so I could read this book… Definitely a favourite read of mine for 2020’ Woman’s Way (Ireland)
‘Describing it as a suspenseful prison thriller, or riveting courtroom drama doesn’t do this meticulously written detective novel justice… As well as its finely drawn characters and clever storyline, this is a novel that provokes you into pondering the workings of the wider justice system, police methods and prison life’ Bookanista
‘Great writing, razor-sharp plotting, and powerful characterisation. I was 100 pages in before I even drew breath, and I defy anyone to see the ending coming’ Cara Hunter
‘Part ingenious locked-room mystery. Part you’ve-got-thewrong-person nightmare drama. Part intricate memory game. Yet all seamlessly woven together. French’s best book yet’ A J Finn
‘Clever, compelling, original and twisty. This unputdownable David-and-Goliath story has the flawed, funny, totally unforgettable Tabitha at its heart and I read until the early hours, desperate to know her fate’ Erin Kelly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Accused murderer Tabitha Hardy, the protagonist of this ambitious standalone from the pseudonymous French (the Frieda Klein series), starts with two strikes against her. First, the London copy editor impulsively fires her court-appointed counsel and demands to represent herself against the charge that within weeks of moving home to remote Okeham, England, she fatally stabbed neighbor Stuart Rees, her secondary school math teacher, who abused her when she was 15. Second, though Tabitha believes herself incapable of killing anybody, she can't remember much of the fateful day. And so the stage is set for a suspenseful battle of wits and wills, as the vulnerable loner takes on the Crown Prosecutor and her own often self-defeating psychology. Though Tabitha's depressive personality palls over the course of 500 pages, one can't help rooting for her. French, the British husband-and-wife writing team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, seamlessly shifts from prison drama to procedural to legal thriller and finally to an ingenious twist on the locked-room mystery. French continues to impress.
Customer Reviews
A very good read
At first I found the main character annoying and didn’t like her at all, however as the book went on I felt myself rooting for her. I always really enjoy Nicci French books and this one I read within a few days which is something I haven’t done for a while, that definitely goes to show how good this books is, I would definitely recommend
Very good
This was a brilliant story. By the end I was really rooting for Tabitha.