House of Correction — Nicci French

In this heart-pounding standalone from the internationally bestselling author that People calls “razor sharp,” a woman accused of murder attempts to solve her own case from the confines of prison -- but as she unravels the truth, everything is called into question, including her own certainty that she is innocent.


Tabitha is not a murderer.
She knows she's not.

She thinks she's not.

She hopes...

Tabitha moved back to her childhood hometown in Okeham, England, a few weeks ago, quietly taking up residence in a fixer-upper house. Reclusive and absorbed with home improvement, she hardly had a chance to reacquaint herself with familiar faces around the village. Then her handyman discovers a dead body in her shed. The police arrive to investigate -- and shockingly, Tabitha finds herself being placed in handcuffs and taken into custody. It is a mistake. The police and her lawyer will sort it out and let her go. But as Tabitha is shepherded through the system, she becomes less confident of her imminent release. Everything about her past is called into question -- her history of depression and medications, her decision to move back to a town she supposedly hated, and of course, her relationship to the victim, Tabitha's former teacher. And most unsettling, Tabitha's own memories of that day are a blur.

Waiting passively for justice to run its course is no longer an option, so Tabitha takes matters into her own hands. From the isolation of the correctional facility, she dissects every piece of evidence, every testimony she can get her hands on, matching them against her own recollections and memories from her childhood. The deeper she digs, the more peculiar the case becomes. Her guilt seems undeniable -- so much so, that Tabitha begins to question whether she might have committed this horrible act after all. But if she did not, someone has gone to great lengths to make it seem that way.

Crackling with suspense and packed with emotion, House of Correction is a subversive twist on a locked-room mystery, perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Paula Hawkins.