The Conviction of Cora Burns

Carolyn Kirby

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Short-listed for the Crimefest/Specsavers Debut Crime Fiction Award 2020
Longlisted for the Historical Writers Association (HWA) Debut Crown award 2019

To believe in her future, she must uncover her past…

Birmingham, 1885. Born in a gaol and raised in a workhouse, Cora Burns has always struggled to control the violence inside her.

Haunted by memories of a terrible crime, she seeks a new life working as a servant in the house of scientist Thomas Jerwood. Here, Cora befriends a young girl, Violet, who seems to be the subject of a living experiment. But is Jerwood also secretly studying Cora…?

With the power and intrigue of Laura Purcell’s The Silent Companions and Sarah Schmidt’s See What I Have Done, Carolyn Kirby’s stunning debut takes the reader on a heart-breaking journey through Victorian Birmingham and questions where we first learn violence: from our scars or from our hearts.

Category: Thriller / suspense fiction

Paperback

RRP: £8.99

ISBN: 9780857303271

Published: October 23, 2019

Extent: 352 pages

Ebook

RRP: £4.99

ISBN: 9780857302960

Published: March 21, 2019

Reviews

‘It is a Victorian Gothic mystery, perfect for curling up with in the autumn (dark nights and Halloween!). It has a unique protagonist, born in prison and raised in the workhouse Cora Burns is flawed yet affecting’

Louise , My Chronicle Book Box

‘A beautifully conceived tale, with spot-on settings and finely drawn characters’

Sandra Mangan , Crime Fiction Lover

‘Kirby writes with skill and gusto’

Antonia Senior , The Times

‘The Conviction of Cora Burns was featured in the Nov/Dec 2019 edition of Strong Words Magazine as a novel to look out for’

‘The Victorian setting of Carolyn Kirby’s The Conviction of Cora Burns is both familiar and strange’

Karen Robinson , Sunday Times Crime Club

Carolyn Kirby

Carolyn Kirby is the author of two novels. The Conviction of Cora Burns was longlisted for the Historical Writers’ Association Debut Crown Award and shortlisted for the Specsavers Debut Crime Fiction Award. When We Fall, published in May 2020, was chosen by The Times as one of the best novels of 2020 and described by the Daily Mail as ‘a terrific World War II novel’.Carolyn studied history at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in social housing and as a teacher. She has two grown-up daughters and lives with her husband in rural Oxfordshire.

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