The Conviction of Cora Burns, Carolyn Kirby

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher *

Author: Carolyn Kirby
Publisher: No Exit Press
Pages: 320
Format: DRC
ISBN-10: 0857302949
ISBN-13: 9780857302946
Publisher: various formats

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…?

There are some interesting topics going on in this book. Though it is historical and we know now how things happened back then it still gives some food for thought. Pregnant inmates and how to deal with their kids? The heredity of criminal behaviour and if facial characteristics stand for a type of criminal. It is something that sounds scary with the current knowledge on these topics but it did make me think about things.
It is difficult to get a hold on Cora. It is clear there are a lot of things going on that she is trying to get a grip on but her train of thought is not always easy to follow. Partly understandable due to her past but there are some things lingering too that are never revealed which left me a bit unsatisfied.
The build up of the story does not work help with this either. There is Cora her story, told in current time and flashbacks but if you do not read the chapter headings carefully it is not always clear if it is a now or than part. The journal entries by some other players in the story do not always seem to fit in the timeline that Cora her story seems to be in. In the end the different story lines do come together.