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...

With the power and intrigue of Jessie Burton'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.

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...?

"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" - My Chronicle Book Box

"A beautifully conceived tale, with spot-on settings and finely drawn characters" - Crime Fiction Lover

"Kirby writes with skill and gusto" - The Times

"The Victorian setting of Carolyn Kirby's The Conviction of Cora Burns is both familiar and strange" - Sunday Times Crime Club