House of Correction

I have been a huge fan of the Nicci French duo ever since picking up THE SAFE HOUSE a couple of decades ago. Ever since then, I have greedily devoured everything they have written, and have never been disappointed. I was beyond excited to get the opportunity to review an ARC of their latest novel, HOUSE OF CORRECTION, and am happy to report that the winning streak is continuing!

If you mourned the end of the Frieda Klein series as much as I did, then you will be happy to hear that Tabitha, the protagonist of French’s new book, has been created in the same mould as Frieda. Tabitha is a loner, she has no filter between her brain and her mouth, she is prickly and a bit of a loner and whilst Frieda walks for hours to clear her head, Tabitha prefers a swim in the icy ocean. Having returned to her old hometown, which holds few good memories for her, Tabitha still finds herself an outsider, shunned by most of the villagers. So it’s not a big stretch for them to immediately point the finger at her when one of the village’s stalwarts is found brutally murdered, his body disposed of in Tabitha’s garden shed. The police are more than happy to agree that Tabitha not only had the opportunity and means, but also a motive for the murder. Even her own solicitor doesn’t believe her when she proclaims her innocence. So Tabitha does the unthinkable – she fires her solicitor and plans on defending herself in the murder trial. She has only a few weeks to find enough evidence to clear her name – from her prison cell.

I’m not sure what exactly it is about French’s writing that perfectly hits the mark for me, but as soon as I started reading I knew that this was going to be another winner for me. With its claustrophobic small town setting and cast of characters who all seem to have something to hide, the clock was ticking for Tabitha to find a way to break out of jail. On the day of Robert Rees’ murder, the village had been cut off from civilisation by a fallen tree, narrowing the cast of characters to the ones who had been trapped in town. This gave the book an old-fashioned closed door mystery feel I loved! As Tabitha discovers evidence, one clue at a time, I was not only cheering her on but felt as if I was playing detective with her. I love books where I am just as much in the dark as the main character – someone I am not even sure I fully trust. The stage thus set, I settled in for the ride.

Again, the French team have created a mysterious, aloof and yet compelling protagonist who may even keep her readers at arms’ length, and yet still wormed her way into my heart. Perhaps you will find Tabitha unlikeable and prickly, but I bet you will fight in her corner, even though one small part of you will suspect that she is not telling the full truth. Is she? That’s something you will have to find out for yourself.

All in all, with HOUSE OF CORRECTION, the French writing duo have continued their winning streak for me. Perhaps it was the claustrophobic setting, or the ticking clock, or the closed-door mystery style writing, but I sat up all night reading and don’t hesitate giving it a full five stars. It’s a book that will appeal to readers who enjoy a slow burning, character driven mystery that slowly unfolds, clue by clue, keeping you guessing until the end. I can’t wait to find out what the duo will come up with next!