A woman sits in prison awaiting trial for murder. She dismisses her lawyer, preferring to conduct her own defense in spite of having no prior legal experience. How does she prove her innocence while incarcerated? Two thirds of House of Correction takes place within the prison, with the final third dedicated to the trial itself and its aftermath. Nicci French sets herself an interesting challenge, but it’s one she fails to pull off. Why? For the age-old reason that neither the central character nor the story line are interesting enough to make the experiment worthwhile. Plot ingenuity is all very well, but in itself it’s not enough to make a compelling novel.