Publication Date: 2nd March 2022
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
My thanks to publisher Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.
Book Description:
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: The story you tell about yourself. And the lies others choose to believe…
My Thoughts:
Having read Sarah Vaughan's previous book Anatomy of a Scandal I was excited to be able to read her new novel, Reputation, ahead of publication. The main character Emma Webster is an MP whose political career took off rather more quickly than expected when she was elected first time as a candidate. The pressures this put on her family caused her marriage to crumble, leaving her as a part-time parent to daughter Flora while her husband sought the company offered in the arms of his daughter's music teacher. Emma is left with huge trust issues which, together with the long-term effects of the abuse she receives on a daily basis in the course of her work, have the worst possible consequences.
This book gives us a taste of what it must be like to be a prominent figure in the public eye. MPs, celebrities from TV and film, the music industry, big business and royalty are all in the spotlight in our media - but does their job/position mean that it's okay for them to be subject of scrutiny 24-7? Are they not allowed a modicum of privacy in their lives? It's not a position I would ever wish to find myself in.
The pacing of the storytelling is spot on, with timely switches between events as they happen, references to historical events and also the ensuing court case as it happens. The emotions of the various characters are presented to us, the ripple effect of how one person's actions knock-on to family, friends and even those without any particularly strong connections to us. The author manages to keep sufficient information up her sleeve in order to give us a great conclusion to the book - one which caught me completely off guard; I was kicking myself though, because the clues are there however only with the benefit of hindsight.
An excellent read which had me completely invested from the first page to the very last paragraph.About the Author:
Sarah Vaughan read English at Oxford and went on to become a journalist. After training at the Press Association, she spent eleven years at the Guardian as a news reporter and political correspondent before leaving to freelance and write fiction. Her first two novels, The Art of Baking Blind and The Farm at the Edge of the World, were followed by her first psychological thriller, Anatomy of a Scandal: a Sunday Times bestseller, and Richard & Judy pick of the decade, developed as a Netflix series starring Rupert Friend, Michelle Dockery and Sienna Miller. Her fourth novel, Little Disasters, a Waterstone’s thriller of the month, was published in 2020. Reputation is her fifth novel.
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