House of Correction - Nicci French

I love reading thrillers. That’s the genre that I can read any day. So when Simon & Schuster offered a review copy of House of Correction, I was thrilled at the chance. I was also intrigued by the fact that the author was husband and wife who have written books that were well received in the past.

The Blurb

“Tabitha is accused of murder. She is in prison awaiting trial.There is a strong case against her, and she can’t remember what happened on December 21st.She is alone, frightened and confused.But somehow, from the confines of her cell, she needs to prove everyone wrong.“

The Book

Tabitha Hardy is a small woman who finds herself in jail for the supposed murder of her neighbour Stuart Rees. Like with any murder conviction, it is important to have a motive, and it is soon discovered that Stuart and Tabitha had an illicit relationship when Tabitha was a minor. If this isn’t enough, the body was found in Tabitha’s basement, and she claims to not remember any details of the day. Everyone believes that she did it, even her lawyer, which is why Tabitha must now fire her and be her own legal representative. While the reader wants to scream at Tabitha for making a very stupid decision, this is where the fun actually begins.

Tabitha is a character that is not immediately likable. She rubs everyone she meets the wrong way, including the reader. But as the story progresses, you can’t help but wonder if she actually is innocent. But what can she do when she cannot remember what she did the entire day? The authors take us through Tabitha’s days in jail as well as repeated tours of the day of the murder as Tabitha begins to figure the day out, piece by painful piece.

The descriptions of the inmates’ feelings of being trapped, of having to look out for themselves as well as for each other, the indifference of the legal representatives, and Tabitha’s experience with depression were very real. It was scary to think that a person’s entire life could change in a moment, and they can only hope to get out of the nightmare with some quick thinking. While Tabitha was seemingly incompetent in the beginning, you quickly begin to realise that she is arguing her case based on irrefutable logic. But is that enough to prove her innocence? The authors keep the readers on their toes, wondering how the case would be taken by the jury, revealing the twist only in the last few pages of the book. I was thoroughly entertained and could not put the book down, reading way past my bedtime on most days.

The Author(s)

The husband and wife team, Nicci Gerrard and Sean French write together under the pseudonym Nicci French but also write separately.

Nicci Gerrard was born in June 1958 in Worcestershire. After graduating with a first class honours degree in English Literature from Oxford University, she began her first job, working with emotionally disturbed children in Sheffield. In the early eighties she taught English Literature in Sheffield, London and Los Angeles, but moved into publishing in 1985 with the launch of Women’s Review, a magazine for women on art, literature and female issues.

In 1989 she became acting literary editor at the New Statesman, before moving to the Observer, where she was deputy literary editor for five years, and then a feature writer and executive editor. It was while she was at the New Statesman that she met Sean French.

Sean French was born in May 1959 in Bristol, to a British father and Swedish mother. He too studied English Literature at Oxford University at the same time as Nicci, also graduating with a first class degree, but their paths didn’t cross until 1990. In 1981 he won Vogue magazine’s Writing Talent Contest, and from 1981 to 1986 he was their theatre critic. During that time he also worked at the Sunday Times as deputy literary editor and television critic, and was the film critic for Marie Claire and deputy editor of New Society.

Sean and Nicci were married in Hackney in October 1990. In 1995 Nicci and Sean began work on their first joint novel and adopted the pseudonym of Nicci French. Nicci and Sean also continue to write separately. Nicci still works as a journalist for the Observer, covering high-profile trials.