Wow!

A very topical character driven legal thriller following Emma Webster MP, as she tries to balance the strains of motherhood, constituency life and the Westminster political and media bubble.

Emma Webster is telegenic, the media's favourite 'MPILF' and an outspoken voice for women's issues. She gets more than her fair share of online abuse, threats and sometimes struggles to put on a brave face and keep it away from her family.

The prologue reveals something very bad happens. Emma will be a defendant in a very serious crime.

The character writing is absolutely superb. There is a real depth to the characters and their emotions, motivations and fears.

The court case is brilliant, with facts and evidence teased out and interwoven with what we already know. There is very real tension. I was completely transfixed by Emma and her life.

This is transcendent writing, nothing else matters when you are reading this book.

Many legal based thrillers effectively end with the verdict, not this one. No spoilers, but this books finishes brilliantly adding extra depth, layers and twists involving all the main characters.

I can only shower the very highest praise on this book, easily up there with very best of Gillian McAllister's and Kia Abdullah's legal thrillers.

A must, must, must read as soon you can.

A very real contender for my book of the year.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK

This is a very good read from Sarah Vaughan, author of ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’. Full of suspense ad great characters make this an excellent read.

Emma Webster is a politician whose life is permanently in the spotlight, her personal life is far from perfect she is the talk of the town. Emma has sacrificed a lot for her career including her marriage and the relationship with her daughter Flora. She is not comfortable under the scrutiny of the media and the insults that follow her in work and public life. Her good reputation is a necessity in her role as a politician and one slip can be fatal to her career.

Emma’s fourteen-year-old Flora is struggling at school and having to deal with constant bullying from her classmates. When another teenager takes her own life, Emma lobbies for a new law to protect women and girls from the effects of online abuse causing Emma and Flora problems in their personal lives.

The dead body found at Emma’s home is a man she had every reason to be afraid of and to want gone. She now faces a fight to protect her reputation, and to protect her family and is willing to do it at all costs.

I really enjoyed this and expect it to be another best seller for this talented author.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

From the brilliant reviews here on netgalley I realise I'm very much in the minority but this book just wasn't for me.
I found the political sneaking around too infuriating, it stopped me being able to engage with the characters and I gave up reading a third of the way through the book....... Sorry!

As in her superlative courtroom drama ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’. Sarah Vaughan perfectly sums up the political zeitgeist with this timely and perceptive account of the pressures on women in public life - at the mercy of online trolls and other misogynist elements in society. Shocking, riveting and chilling!

Reputation is a legal thriller with a cast of characters that jump off the page with their depth and nuances.
Emma is a well respected MP, she works hard for her constituents, so much so it caused the break up of her marriage. Her fourteen year old daughter Flora is being bullied and in retaliation Flora does something that causes horrific ramifications for Emma.
Emma is accused of murdering a journalist, one that she was worried was going to print a story about her daughter.
The subsequent court case is riveting, arguments from prosecution and defence are brilliantly written and you have no idea what the verdict will be.
With a couple of fantastic twists at the end this is a wonderfully constructed thriller, page turning and thought provoking particularly in todays pressure inducing climate.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

I loved this tense story of politics, scandal and a courtroom drama and raced through it in one sitting. It highlighted the many imbalances that are present for women who choose to work in politics and the abuse they receive when they put their head above the parapet

This was sadly so realistic that at times I forgot it was fiction and wanted to google Emma Webster. It's appalling to think that it's inevitable that women will experience abuse if they choose to work from a feminist agenda.

I felt it mirrored too closely the life of many women in politics and the risks that they take on a daily basis, as well as being judged and the personal sacrifices they have to make. Often receiving death, rape and security threats from the toxic side of social media and working alongside sexism and misogyny.

A powerful, thought provoking and important book highlighting the many pressures women are under

"This is what life's like if you're in the public eye - perhaps particularly if you're a woman. You need to take these precautions everyday"

Reputation by the brilliant Sarah Vaughan follows a female MP called Emma on trial for the murder of a journalist. The less said the better, because there are lots of twists. This thrilling read sheds a light on the abuse faced by female political figures in the spotlight. There’s also issues of revenge porn covered in this novel and there are bleak themes that are difficult to read. I did find though that the first half of the novel was stronger and the second part which covers the trial rehashes scenes we’ve already read and subsequently the pace slows. Nonetheless a fascinating suspense read that is topical and relevant.

This is another very good courtroom drama from Sarah Vaughn. Emma is a divorced MP fighting to protect women. Her daughter makes a mistake after being bullied at school and Emma wants to prevent the details from becoming public. But Emma herself is traumatised by internet trolls and cyberbullies. She has a brief relationship with a journalist which ends tragically and she is put on trial for murder. The characters and relationships in this story are well-rounded and believable. There are twists along the way and the ending is satisfying.

This is a thought provoking book about bullying, sexual harrassment and sexism,esp for public figures. It is also a story of what happens when your reputation becomes very important. This is a slow burn, mainly from one point of view, but added members of her family and the press. An interesting read

A story about revenge porn and a female MP could have been a predictable David vs Goliath tale but Sarah Vaughan doesn’t do mundanity.. Each character and their perspective is crafted with precision while the layers that link them are delicately pulled together with detail and huge emotional intelligence. If anyone says they guessed the ending, they’re lying! A really enjoyable and satisfying read.

This was one of those books which I knew I was going to love. It involves politics and a courtroom drama - what's not to love??

What I also loved was just how current the issues are within the book. Misogyny within society aimed at women in positions of power, social media, threats against female MP's, pick up a newspaper today and you will see them all.

Added to this I loved Anatomy of a Scandal so I knew I was onto a winner and I was.

This is one of those novels I read in only two sittings which is the highest praise I can give it.

Genuinely a tale for our times and a cautionary tale for all women who may be thinking about pursuing a political career.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I had some free time this morning and i raced through this book. Well this could not be more apt for our times. I wanted to read this with the recent goings on at No 10 and the author has a keen eye for what can and does happen behind the closed doors of power. There is a real thriller aspect to it as well as we get to see behind the scenes of the most powerful people in the land. There’s aspects of bullying too towards the MPs family which was a sad side effect of the whole situation. A more insightful and relevant novel for our times would be hard to find.

Another knockout, thought-provoking read. The genius in addressing such important, topical issues on a foundation of brilliant storytelling is a recipe for success.

#AnatomyOfAScandal completely blew me away, and #Reputation has done the same. Thank you Sarah Vaughan, your books will stay with me for a long time and will help me navigate through the many issues that women face on a day-to-day basis, as well as raising a daughter of my own.

One of my favourite authors, one of my favourite books that I've read this year, one of the books you NEED to get your hands on.

#Reputation #NetGalley
Excellent.
Sarah Vaughan writes thriller which make you question everything and everyone. I loved her Little Disasters and now this is more awesome than it. It's an intriguing read perfect for the fans of The Rival by Charlotte Duckworth. I'm not saying anything about the story because it will ruin your fun. Go and grab it. Highly recommend this one to everyone.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Schuster for giving me an advance copy.

This book perfectly places us in the world of MPs, hacks and scandal. It was really well paced and the characters were all very believable. I really like the way the author weaved in the main theme which kept popping up, but not in a way that felt at all contrived. The London setting was atmospheric – a greasy place of secrets, rain and menace.

I would really recommend this to anyone who enjoys a pacy thriller – what elevates this above the rest is the realism that the author manages to create around the occupation of the characters. An easy 5/5