Slander by Rhiannon Barnsley
Published by HarperCollins, One More Chapter
Publication Date: 8th August 2025
Book Description:
What happens when the whole world watches your life come crashing down…
When Hollywood actor Ethan Simmons sues his wife Tori for allegedly lying about his infidelity, the world is captivated. Once the darlings of the social scene, the case will tear apart their perfect exteriors.
For Riley Grey, a true crime influencer, the case might hold the key to the disappearance of her sister, Alice, after an anonymous source tips her off.
As the high-profile trial begins, it soon becomes clear that both parties are willing to air their dirty laundry in public. And when Tori hints at an even darker secret, Ethan’s reputation could be destroyed once and for all.
And as the media frenzy intensifies, and the courtroom holds their breath, who will win the defamation case of the century?
My Thoughts:
I absolutely loved The Clique by this author last year (see my review at
The Clique Rhiannon B) and was extremely excited to be contacted by Grace at One More Chapter with the offer to read Slander ahead of publication. No spoilers here, but I am going to say that this is a very strong follow up novel (not a sequel, just her next fantastic book).
I chose to read this during my recent trip to London, and perhaps the fact that a big part of the book is set there helped me get a feel for the story? I don't know - whatever it was, it worked for me. Now anyone who knows me knows that I am not a follower of celebrities and their associated gossip, but I am a lover of a courtroom thriller and that's probably what swayed me to opt to read this book. The two main characters are darlings of the celebrity gossip columns, drop-dead gorgeous TV star Ethan Simmonds and his popstar wife Tori. After both achieving celebrity status for their respective roles, things have spiralled pretty quickly downwards when Tori, who's a bit tipsy, spills the tea at the Christmas party to Ethan's director that he's been having an affair. It transpires that this is a mega no-no, as Ethan has a morality clause in his contract which means he has to be 100% squeaky clean in the respectability stakes, and an affair would be a huge breach of said contract. Ethan gets fired, no questions asked and all his lucrative sponsorship deals go out of the window with the job. Cue the defamation trial and multimillion claim against Tori for loss of earnings which is the backbone of the book.
Alongside this, there are chapters featuring a podcaster named Riley Grey, a young woman from the USA whose sister Alice went missing a year before in London. She's battling to keep her sister's name in the news until she finds out what happened to her and indeed whether she's even still alive. But what's the connection between Alice and our celebrity couple? There are no clues, but my gut was telling me there's more to this than meets the eye.
I was completely absorbed by this story, despite only being able to read short sections at a time - I would have loved to binge read it all in one go, but sadly this was not an option. Who is telling the truth? Ethan or Tori? The way the author has written this book gives nothing away - you don't know who to trust, whether anything anyone is saying can be believed, and why on earth would Tori risk losing everything by blabbing about Ethan's infidelity? Did it even happen? Then, just as I was getting a sneaky chapter under my belt before work one morning, I was left at the end of a chapter on the biggest precipice of a cliffhanger possible! I had a whole 8 hours plus to wait before I could possibly find out what was going on - once you've read the book, you'll know where I'd reached in the book.
I found the pacing of this book absolutely spot on, the story worked so well with tiny hints of information hinted at along the first two thirds or so of the book, enough to get you forming theories and making connections which may or may not be real. The final third turns those drips into bigger drops, then the climax to the book pours out the whole reservoir of facts into your brain. The deluge blew my mind, and impressed me so much with the how the author managed to smoke screen so many details for so long. Did justice play out in the end? In some ways I'd say yes, but as in real life court cases not everyone gets what they deserve. That's as much as I'm saying because I think that part of the story is very subjective. I strongly recommend you give this book a go, even if you're not a courtroom drama lover or - like me - don't really "do" the whole celebrity gossip scene. There's so much more to this book, but it still didn't quite make the full 5 stars for me. A shiny 4.5 feels more accurate.
About the Author:
Originally from the West Midlands, Rhiannon currently lives in London with her fiancé and her cat Salem. She's a corporate lawyer by day and writes after work and during weekends.
She is a Faber Academy Writing a Novel graduate and loves to write dark and twisty thrillers with a particular focus on women. When she's not writing, she can often be found reading or training with her cheerleading team.
