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cmhknitz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
abookloversdiary's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
wishknots's review against another edition
1.0
Wow! What utter bollocks.
I should start by saying this is probably the 4th or 5th Nicci French book I’ve read and I’ve disliked them all. Why do I keep reading them? Because I bought them before I read the first and I hate wasting money. Also, I have 6 sitting there and I challenged myself to get through them all and maybe find one I like. It’s not going well.
Not only are all NF characters atrocious human beings, their character flaws are not adequately excused by their backstory, despite NF thinking it’s all wrapped up in a neat little stereotype. In this book we have a neat little bundle of anger and mental health crisis/blackouts, explained by a history of bereavement and abuse. This backstory has rendered the character unable to control her temper or her language in court, while on trial for murder. Yet somehow she has been able to get a good education and a career, buy and renovate a house, be independent and forget about being groomed by her teacher. She is able to relocate to the village it all happened in, opposite the house he lives in and she has no resentment or problem with him.
We meet her after she has been arrested and is on remand in prison. Very quickly she is acting like the stereotypical violent prisoner who takes no crap. She reacts to everything with aggression and we are supposed to be on her side. We know she is innocent and this is the story of how she defends herself at trial and gets off but I didn’t care. She was horrible. The worst, most cringey thing is that the prosecution council tells her she did a great job. Pass me the sick bucket!
So, out of prison she sets about visiting the person she has worked out must have killed the victim. She explains how it is done. However, despite the scene being replayed over and over throughout the book, the writing simply isn’t good enough to enable you to picture it happening. Something about a bus blocking the cctv and the driver not being the driver. It wasn’t convincing in the least. Not well told, not described evocatively, just dumped on you.
The bit about getting the signed confession was absolutely stupid and completely unnecessary. The murderer had no reason to sign it and she had no reason to ask for it. It seems like it was thrown in there to demonstrate that the main character cared about what the murderer might do to other people because murders are like Pringles, apparently. Ah, see! She is a sweet little human after all! Yuck!
I’m sorry but why are the publishers still putting out Nicci French books and who the hell is giving them good reviews? I don’t think it’s fans of mystery thrillers because we know better. I do not think I will be reading my last NF book. Life is too short for such twaddle. They’re terrible, terrible writers. One book was so boring it felt like reading a shopping list and then you are reading the character’s shopping list! So much padding. It’s time to tell the Emperor he is naked and stop publishing NF books.
I should start by saying this is probably the 4th or 5th Nicci French book I’ve read and I’ve disliked them all. Why do I keep reading them? Because I bought them before I read the first and I hate wasting money. Also, I have 6 sitting there and I challenged myself to get through them all and maybe find one I like. It’s not going well.
Not only are all NF characters atrocious human beings, their character flaws are not adequately excused by their backstory, despite NF thinking it’s all wrapped up in a neat little stereotype. In this book we have a neat little bundle of anger and mental health crisis/blackouts, explained by a history of bereavement and abuse. This backstory has rendered the character unable to control her temper or her language in court, while on trial for murder. Yet somehow she has been able to get a good education and a career, buy and renovate a house, be independent and forget about being groomed by her teacher. She is able to relocate to the village it all happened in, opposite the house he lives in and she has no resentment or problem with him.
We meet her after she has been arrested and is on remand in prison. Very quickly she is acting like the stereotypical violent prisoner who takes no crap. She reacts to everything with aggression and we are supposed to be on her side. We know she is innocent and this is the story of how she defends herself at trial and gets off but I didn’t care. She was horrible. The worst, most cringey thing is that the prosecution council tells her she did a great job. Pass me the sick bucket!
So, out of prison she sets about visiting the person she has worked out must have killed the victim. She explains how it is done. However, despite the scene being replayed over and over throughout the book, the writing simply isn’t good enough to enable you to picture it happening. Something about a bus blocking the cctv and the driver not being the driver. It wasn’t convincing in the least. Not well told, not described evocatively, just dumped on you.
The bit about getting the signed confession was absolutely stupid and completely unnecessary. The murderer had no reason to sign it and she had no reason to ask for it. It seems like it was thrown in there to demonstrate that the main character cared about what the murderer might do to other people because murders are like Pringles, apparently. Ah, see! She is a sweet little human after all! Yuck!
I’m sorry but why are the publishers still putting out Nicci French books and who the hell is giving them good reviews? I don’t think it’s fans of mystery thrillers because we know better. I do not think I will be reading my last NF book. Life is too short for such twaddle. They’re terrible, terrible writers. One book was so boring it felt like reading a shopping list and then you are reading the character’s shopping list! So much padding. It’s time to tell the Emperor he is naked and stop publishing NF books.
j3rkin's review against another edition
4.0
Read this one for a book club I am a part of. This was surprisingly better than what I thought it would be. Had me guessing right to the end, but if I’m honest I didn’t like the ending...
jenell's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Fun! Absolutely hated Tabitha. But kept reading!
averyvaughn11's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
gkelch's review against another edition
4.0
This legal thriller kept me engaged and trying to guess the ending. It was an interesting take, having the main character try to solve a crime from inside prison with limited resources. Some parts were difficult to believe and I did catch one editing error which referred to the main character by the wrong last name....at first I thought it was going to be a plot point. Overall a fun mystery!
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
4.0
Tabitha Hardy is in prison, charged with murder. She's in shock. She can't believe this has happened to her, and she can't really remember how she got here. There was a dead man in her shed, her former teacher. What could she have to do with this?
At first Tabitha seems like a bewildered victim, but as the real Tabitha is slowly reeled out before us, we see someone who is deeply depressed, prickly, difficult, reactive, strange. She bought a house in the village she grew up in and has returned to remodel it and live there. It's a funny choice because Tabitha was never happy in Oakham and she left behind some difficult relationships including one with the dead teacher who abused her in high school. Things are pretty stacked against her, and then she decides to defend herself. Foul-mouthed and screechy, she refuses any help.
"House of Correction" scoops you right in and keeps you there until the end. The novel is full of unpleasant people, and even though Tabitha seems to be at the top of that list you will wonder where this is going. All the evidence is stacked against her, and the entire village turns out to blast her, even though the dead man was not liked either. Tabitha seems bright, but can't get out of her own way.
This is my first Nicci French and I'll be back for more. The writing is smooth, the characters surprising, and the plot plenty quirky. A delicious escape when we need it!
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
At first Tabitha seems like a bewildered victim, but as the real Tabitha is slowly reeled out before us, we see someone who is deeply depressed, prickly, difficult, reactive, strange. She bought a house in the village she grew up in and has returned to remodel it and live there. It's a funny choice because Tabitha was never happy in Oakham and she left behind some difficult relationships including one with the dead teacher who abused her in high school. Things are pretty stacked against her, and then she decides to defend herself. Foul-mouthed and screechy, she refuses any help.
"House of Correction" scoops you right in and keeps you there until the end. The novel is full of unpleasant people, and even though Tabitha seems to be at the top of that list you will wonder where this is going. All the evidence is stacked against her, and the entire village turns out to blast her, even though the dead man was not liked either. Tabitha seems bright, but can't get out of her own way.
This is my first Nicci French and I'll be back for more. The writing is smooth, the characters surprising, and the plot plenty quirky. A delicious escape when we need it!
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
pollyanna_lee's review against another edition
4.0
The sections of this book in court made it a 4. I just wish there'd been a tiny bit more satisfaction in the ending. Michaela is the best character, Tabitha did my head in most of the time but she made a brilliant story
lehete92's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0