The captivating and unsettling new novel from the award winning author of The Silent Companions.Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain? Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder. When Dorothea`s charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she finds herself drawn to Ruth, a teenage seamstress - and self-confessed murderess - who nurses a dark and uncanny secret. A secret that is leading her straight to the gallows. As Ruth reveals her disturbing past to Dorothea, the fates of these two women entwine, and with every revelation, a new layer of doubt is cast... Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?`The Corset is a contender for my Book of the Year. Beautifully written, intricately plotted, a masterpiece` Sarah Hilary `Laura is a masterful writer, her deliciously gothic stories so skilfully woven that you can`t get them out of your head even if you wanted to` Stacey Halls, author of the Sunday Times bestseller, The Familiars.