House of Correction

‘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
‘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
‘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
‘A novel that blissfully plays with two genres: on the one hand an against-the-odds legal thriller à la John Grisham where the defence lawyer is even more disadvantaged than usual; and on the other a Miss Marple whodunnit set in a Devon village, where the amateur sleuth is herself the prime suspect and has to conduct her investigation from jail. Enthrallingly, the reader knows where the plot is heading, but has no idea how the great escape can be pulled off’ * Sunday Times *
‘Engrossing… In this clever courtroom drama, Tabitha is on trial for the murder of a neighbour. The evidence against her is strong and due to the medication she takes, she has virtually no memory of what happened, but she’s sure she’s innocent and has to build a case to clear her name’ * Good Housekeeping *
‘I wanted everything to stop so I could read this book, there was something that grabbed me from the opening… This is a clever, well-crafted novel with twists and turns right until the end… The courtroom scenes are especially good and strike that balance between honour and order as well as farcical at times. 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. There is detail to sift through, CCTV footage to analyse, behaviour of the villagers to decipher. We become Tabitha’s shadow as the events surrounding that fateful day become clearer and more revealing. 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 *
‘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, who sets out to investigate what happened to herself, from prison. Sad, small, yet gloriously tough, she summons the inhabitants of the place where the murder happened to speak to her and slowly pieces together her case… House of Correction allows the readers to puzzle out what happened alongside Tabitha, while cheering her effort’ * Observer *
‘First-class’ * Independent *
‘The husband-and-wife team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French… have taken the ingredients of the classic village mystery and transformed them into something up to date and gripping… Now that the criminal justice system is shamefully underfunded, this is a timely as well as an entertaining novel’ * Literary Review *
‘Tabitha is in prison, charged with the murder of the teacher who once abused her. With no one convinced as she protests her innocence, she launches her own campaign to clear her name. Gritty and moving – the husband-and-wife team have scored another hit’ * Best *
‘Tabitha is in prison, awaiting trial for the murder of a man found dead in her shed. The day is such a blur, though, she can’t clearly remember what happened. But she knows she’s no capable of murder. The only one she can trust is herself, so she must fight against all the odds… A twisty and shocking read’ * Bella *

Nicci French is the pseudonym for the writing partnership of journalists Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. The couple are married and live in London and Suffolk.

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