An unusual setting but very relevant. Multiple layers and captures your attention and keeps it to the very last page. A modern female, gaining a very visible public profile, broken family and social media stalking.
I felt my heart racing in time with the anxiety levels of the characters.
An engrossing read.

Interesting complex thriller which was a quick fast paced read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an Arc in exchange for an honest opinion

Emma Webster is a backbencher but she gains publicity after a Guardian interview with striking photos and especially when she makes the case of a girl who committed suicide after being cyberbullied with a private video of her ex-partner her prime topic. But then, things go quickly down the hill, she is harassed and threatened increasingly by frustrated men, her daughter Flora becomes the victim of bullying at school and online and makes a huge mistake. Emma, too, loses her temper and thus becomes the prime suspect in a murder case. How could this all go so wrong when she just wanted to protect her own and her daughter’s reputation?

I totally adored Sarah Vaughan’s novels “Notes on a Scandal” and “Little Disasters”. Her latest, “Reputation”, too, did definitely not disappoint. The author greatly used an important topic to fire up the plot and brilliantly outlines how, still in 2022, there is much more men can do than women and how fragile their public picture is. With Emma, she created an authentic protagonist whose point of view shows the contradictory feelings and constraints a woman in a public position is under.

On the one hand, the novel is a murder mystery in which you are repeatedly surprised as little bits and pieces surface unexpectedly making things appear in a different light. On the other hand, the novel lives on the personal perspective of Emma and her daughter being subject to bullying and harassment. Sarah Vaughn greatly develops the characters who come under ever more pressure until it gets too much and they do things they themselves would have considered unimaginable. The female characters are brilliantly developed since they have mixed feelings which make it all but easy to decide what to do and thus underline that life is far from being just black and white.

A great read with an important topic that outlines how cruel people can be and how important it is to have good friends you can rely on.

A brilliant read that left me wanting more, Gripping and engaging, I couldnt put it down, the writing was immersive and really set up the story. I cannot wait to read more.

Sadly, Emma Webster's character is an utterly believable portrayal of a woman working in a male dominated industry. As a female MP, she faces abuse, trolling on social media, danger from being stalked and even her home, the one place where she should feel safe, is compromised. Her reputation means everything to her. It matters to her that she represents a positive image, a role model to other women as she campaigns against violence towards women. Her daughter is being bullied at school, made a laughing stock by her friends, until she retaliates in a way that could forever damage her own reputation. Bloody hell, teenage girls can be such bitches! So when Emma is put into a position where she must defend both hers and her daughter's reputation, her actions have devastating consequences which threaten to ruin them both. For me this was a book of two halves. The first, I found a little bit slow. It didn't grab me, or compel me to turn the pages. Then the second half got going and BAM! I couldn't put it down until I got to the end and the final, very clever twist. A solid 4 star read, and my thanks to the author, Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

This is a fabulous read! A gripping page turner, a thriller with some court room drama. The tension builds as the pages turn.
Emma Webster is a high profile politician, she has been working in collaboration with a well known journalist and to celebrate the success of their joint work they go out to dinner together, a few short weeks later though he is dead.
Emma finds herself on trial for his murder. She has been under huge stress and strain with online abuse, critics and threats, her 14 year old daughter Flora has also been involved in an incident which she certainly did not want her journalist friend Mike to print, she is angry with him but did she intend to kill him when she finds him as an intruder in her home?
This book demonstrates on many levels how reputations can be built but more so how easily a reputation can be destroyed and there are many reputations at stake here.
Great ending with some surprising twists Another outstanding novel from Sarah Vaughan

Many thanks to Net Galley and Simon for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

A tight paced, gripping, realistic and truly terrifying story that is an unmissable. A story of bullying, sexual and harassment. It kept me guessing as to what was underneath the event. I loved the fast pace and the finding out of the actual event that occurred that brought it all to a head.

This was a tough read but I was expecting that, having read Sarah Vaughan's previous work and it was so compelling I raced through it. An intelligent thriller with lots to think about. Ideal for book groups.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.
When we view the past the picture we have comes not just from history books but from the literature written at the time. If in a hundred years' time a snapshot of life in 2022 is gained from reading this book then we will appear to be a very sad lot.
This is a book about women, about power, about the use and misuse of the popular press. and the pressures public life can exert on private and family life. It is a book about the misuse of social media to terrorise. It is about lies and deceit But who is lying, and who is deceiving or has deceived who. A large part of the story covers a court case in which we the readers are in the same position as the jurors. Would we reach the same verdict? How far would we go to protect those we love?
It is a story of our times, and the fears women feel even in the 21st century.
The ending twists and turns in unforeseen ways right up to the final sentence.
It is a book well worth reading and well written. A book about women but should be read by all.

Emma is a Labour MP, famous for changing the law around revenge porn. Mike is a tabloid journalist who has a story that will ruin both Emma’s reputation and that of someone she loves. When Mike is found gravely injured at the bottom of Emma’s stairs, what will become of Emma’s reputation now?

Sarah Vaughan’s novel is part psychological thriller, part legal thriller told through multiple character’s perspective. The concept and plotting is clever and it raises many important questions about how women are seen and judged in society, in private and in the public eye, by the men in their life and by their fellow women. All of this makes it and interesting read. However, I just didn’t get emotionally invested in Emma and the ordeal she goes through. In fact all but one of the characters are pretty unlikeable and because of this I found the pace a bit laboured. I felt detached from the events of the book so they didn’t hit home like they might have. Having said this, I thought the ending and particularly the last chapter was really clever and captured the theme of the novel in the perfect way.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

It's not often the hype about a book is actually deserved, but this meets every expectation. . Intense, gripping and absolutely a book of our times, this is probably the best book I've read this year. Yes, I know we're still only in February, but...

Emma Webster, single mother to teenage daughter Flora, and MP for the Labour party becomes a target of online trolls and face-to-face hatred when she campaigns for a law to protect victims of “revenge porn”. She is a strong woman, not easily frightened or dissuaded. 14-year old Flora, herself target of bullying, does something extremely stupid which puts her and her mother in a precarious position, one which threatens to ruin their reputation. Emma will do anything to protect Flora and when a journalist threatens to write about Flora, Emma reacts. But did she do what she's accused of?

It's such a change to read a book with “teeth”, in other words it has a gripping intense plot, believable characters and dialogue. Well constructed, t's up to the minute with revenge porn, internet trolling, violence against women and the media's responsibility. It really makes you think about what our society has become.

This is the first book I've read by this author but I'm now going to have a look at her others. If they're as goo as this I'll not be disappointed.

As a political thriller I found this lacking, but on another shelf in the library there is a spot for this book. The book is broken into four seamless parts, the first slowly builds the story, with the remaining parts swiftly moving through.

Although this novel didn’t meet my expectations, it did offer an insight into the world of female Members of Parliament, living through abusive messages, threats of attack and revenge porn, etc alongside befriending political correspondents and journalists. On a daily basis these MP’s loose their privacy and risk exposure and scrutiny of any act or deed whilst living in the public eye. Emma Webster is no exception but the story is evoked by a revengeful act of her daughter. Later we read of the lies that Emma tells, which should surely crush her reputation, but she appears to bounce back - which erodes any remaining respect we may have of these so-called upstanding politicians. I struggled with this latter point and would have preferred a somewhat different outcome of the court case!

An interesting, intelligent novel broaching an all too familiar issue. My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review

I thought Sarah Vaughan's previous novel 'Anatomy of a Scandal' was amazing, so was delighted to be granted an ARC of her latest work 'Reputation' that I review here. 'Reputation' also features a female protagonist trying to hold down a challenging job that creates backlashes, whilst dealing with further turmoil in her domestic setting. The protagonist here is Labour MP Emma Webster, whose campaign against revenge porn makes her a target for evil and faceless online trolls. In a variation of tautly plotted courtroom scenes and domestic scenes, we learn more about Emma herself, her daughter Flora, and Flora's stepmother Caroline. WIth her expert plotting and superbly crafted prose, Vaughan is at the height of her craft here, and I cannot recommend this book enough to lovers of thrillers. I would like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for the free ARC that allowed me to review this thriller here.

What a gripping and well-written novel.
Emma Webster is a hard-working MP and single mother. She’s successfully campaigning to get the law on revenge porn changed.
But suddenly things spiral out of control and first her teenage daughter and then she are involved in events that threaten to derail her career and even to land her in prison.
Vaughan has really researched the misogyny and threatened internet/trolling and violence that female MPs suffer and the subsequent court case centring on these issues is gripping and feels very real.
Emma’s reputation is at stake and there are those who would destroy her.
Vaughan’s narrative switches between the voices of her main protagonist including Emma, her daughter Flora, and her ex-husband’s wife Caroline.
All the voices are strong, and Vaughan has a great turn of phrase and eye for vivid description.
Highly recommended: believable and fast-paced political and domestic thriller for our times.

Reputation is a powerful story with issues very much of the moment. The treatment of women not only by many men but by some other women is disgraceful, very hard for me to understand, and is worsened by social media. People feel free to say things through social media that they are too cowardly, usually, to say to your face and cause upset and sometimes psychological distrust of everyone you come into contact with. This novel portrays the destructive nature of these issues incredibly clearly. The storyline is complex but clear to follow and the court case shows the complexity of all the surrounding issues in detail. For me, I found the whole court case to be too lengthy and did read through most of it very quickly, however the characterisation and dialogue was very good.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Vaughan does it again. She delivers an absolute masterpiece. She is fast becoming the queen of political drama novels!

In the book, we meet Emma Webster, MP, who's mission is to fight for women's rights.

Her daughter, Flora, gets into a bit of trouble at school, who have no option but to involve the police.

Determined to protect her daughter, Emma meets with the journalist, who is about to tell the world about her daughter in the latest tabloid. The journalist also happens to be Emma's lover. However, Emma finds herself arrested and on trial for his murder. Is she guilty?

This book addresses so may topics. I particuarly sympathised with Flora. She is clearly a very troubled child, who appears to get no support at school on her battle with the bullies! She also appears to have very little support at home, with her mum away for five days a week.

The book is split into four parts. For me, Part 1 felt a bit slow, but once I read on and became more involved with the novel, it was easy to see why the author had set the scene and given the reader so much background and setting. The level of detail becomes apparent later in the novel.

I loved part 2 and 3, particualry the Court scene. As I work in law, it is so refreshing when an author uses legal jargon and portarys the legal scenes in great detail. The level of detail the author goes into in these scenes, does not go unnoticed.

The book is very tense...and then the reader is delivered the verdict! I will let you make your mind up about that when you have read the book.

A superb read...now such a long wait until the next one!!

This is the second Sarah Vaughan book I’ve read, the first being Anatomy of a Scandal. There’s no doubt that Ms Vaughan can write, Emma Webster is portrayed as a character who is desperate to protect her 14 year old daughter from scandal. The title of the book could refer to both protecting the reputation of her daughter, or of herself. The majority of the book focuses on the trial in which Emma is accused of the journalists murder. Overall I enjoyed this book, although I guessed the twist about half way through. Well written, though a bit long winded and I’m still not sure how I actually feel about the main character. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read it as an ARC.

I adore a good courtroom drama, and Reputation is way up there. I literally couldn’t put it down – it was that gripping. Sarah Vaughn has written a sophisticated, intriguing story in which not everything is as it seems. What really happened that fateful day as a man lies mortally wounded at the bottom of the stairs?
This is a layered story, dealing with Emma Webster’s professional life as an MP, and home life as a divorced mother of a fourteen-year-old daughter. She successfully fights for the rights of women who become victims of revenge porn. As a result, she deals with horrific threats and lives in fear of being attacked. There’s a ‘sustained air of menace’ as she is trolled on social media and possibly followed in the real world as well.
Emma’s daughter, Flora, also has to deal with bullying. Worse, in a moment of high emotion, she does something unforgiveable—behaviour that’s close to what Emma has spent her professional life opposing.
The theme running through the entire book is that of the title, ‘reputation’. It is, ultimately, all we have, yet it is so easy for it to be on the line. Once our reputation has been trashed, what is left? In this story, both Emma’s and Flora’s reputations are on the line, but so are those of so many other characters, from the lawyers and judge to Flora’s stepmother.
Reputation is so precarious. As Vaughn writes, it is built over time but can be lost in seconds. Most people, and certainly Emma Webster, will do everything possible to protect theirs, and not let anyone tarnish them. And sometimes unlikely heroes can be allies in this quest….

I love Sarah Vaughan’s books - they’re the perfect mix of suspense, drama, omg moments (and I love the added law/politics stuff!). Reputation is no different and I highly recommend it! ✨

“Emma Webster is a respectable MP. Emma Webster is a devoted mother. Emma Webster is innocent of the murder of a tabloid journalist. Emma Webster is a liar. Reputation: it takes a lifetime to build and just one moment to destroy.”

Told from multiple POVs, Reputation provides a glance into the nefarious worlds of British politics and journalism, and while a lot is amped up for drama, a lot is very accurate such as the vicious trolling and worse MPs (particularly women) face. Now I’m no MP sympathiser (they absolutely work for us and many of them are lying arseholes), but no one should be made to feel scared or threatened for doing their job 💁🏻‍♀️

Add in revenge porn and a fractious court case, plus a very clever title as the issue of ‘reputation’ is ubiquitous throughout the book, and all this makes Reputation an edgy thriller. 🥀

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review 🌟

I was really expecting to love this book but unfortunately I found this novel dragged in parts. The books well written with an intriguing plot but this one wasn’t for me, but I blame it on my mood at the time.