House of Correction

Tabitha finds herself in a prison cell, charged with the murder of a man from her small coastal village, with no memory of the day in question. Nicci French's standalone thriller traps its protagonist in a nightmare of institutional helplessness: the evidence stacks against her, her mind offers no alibi, and the trial looms. Faced with an overworked lawyer and a system that has already written her off, Tabitha takes her defense into her own hands, piecing together the truth from behind bars through letters, testimony, and sheer determination.

Gemma Whelan brings an urgent, rawness to Tabitha's voice that suits the story's claustrophobic tension perfectly. Known for her work in prestige television, Whelan navigates the character's emotional deterioration and stubborn resilience with precision, making the isolation of the cell feel tactile. The audio format amplifies the novel's pressure-cooker pacing, as each new revelation lands with the weight of Tabitha's confinement pressing against it.