The bestselling author of Anatomy of a Scandal—now a hit Netflix series—returns with a new psychological thriller about a politician whose less-than-perfect personal life is thrust into the spotlight when a body is discovered in her home….
“Sarah Vaughan has done it again. Superb.”
— SHARI LAPENA
As a politician, Emma has sacrificed a great deal for her career—including her marriage and her relationship with her daughter, Flora.
A former teacher, the glare of the spotlight is unnerving for Emma, particularly when it leads to countless insults, threats, and trolling as she tries to work in the public eye. As a woman, she knows her reputation is worth its weight in gold but as a politician, she discovers it only takes one slip-up to destroy it completely.
Fourteen-year-old Flora is learning the same hard lessons at school as she encounters heartless bullying. When another teenager takes her own life, Emma lobbies for a new law to protect women and girls from the effects of online abuse. Now, Emma and Flora find their personal lives uncomfortably intersected…but then the unthinkable happens.
A man is found dead in Emma’s home. A man she had every reason to be afraid of and to want gone. Fighting to protect her reputation, and determined to protect her family at all costs, Emma is pushed to the limits as the worst happens and her life is torn apart.
Another breathless and twisty novel from an absolute “master of suspense” (CrimeReads), Reputation brilliantly illustrates that it isn’t who you are that matters…it’s who people think you are.
“Astonishingly timely and clever, it’s also utterly gripping. I loved it.”
— LUCY FOLEY, #1 NYTimes bestselling author of The Paris Apartment
“I simply couldn’t put it down. It is current, compelling and very clever.”
— BA PARIS, NYTimes bestselling author of The Therapist
“An absolute nail-biter of a novel.”
— GILLY MACMILLAN, NYTimes bestselling author of The Long Weekend
“Astonishingly timely, sharply written, unsettlingly believable. A thing of wonder”
— ELLERY LLOYD, NYTimes bestselling author of The Club
“The novel races along through storylines so tense and sharp and well-crafted, there’s not a minute to put it down. An outstanding read.”
— ASHELY AUDRAIN, NYTimes bestselling author of The Push
"I'm lost in admiration . . . Masterful. An elegant, intelligent, 5 star thriller."
— MARIAN KEYES, internationally bestselling author of Grown Ups
“Perceptive, elegant, thriller and addictive.”
— CHRIS WHITAKER, NYTimes bestselling author of We Begin at the End
“A bold, nuanced exposé of the impossible choices one woman must face to pursue her ambitions, fight for change, and protect her family.”
— WENDY WALKER, international bestselling author, Don’t Look For Me
"Revenge, politics, and self-preservation collide as one woman desperately fights for her life. Masterful and nail-bitingly suspenseful, this story will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page. Don’t miss it.”
— LIV CONSTANTINE, internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish
"Once again, Sarah Vaughan has distilled the zeitgeist into a pulse-racing thriller. Gripping all the way."
— ERIN KELLY, internationally bestselling author of Watch Her Fall
"A gripping read with fascinating insights by a writer who knows her world inside out. Couldn't put it down."
— RENÉE KNIGHT, author of The Secretary
“Tense. Gripping. And gang up to date. This is a rollercoaster of a book.”
— IMRAN MAHMOOD
“I read Reputation in one sitting, which is my highest possible praise.”
— BELLA MACKIE, Sunday Times bestselling author
“Wonderfully written, tense, taut and timely. I loved it.”
— CLAIRE DOUGLAS, International bestselling author
"Vaughan offers a cast of strong characters that are sharply realistic and consummately human. A complex, slow-burning examination of double standards, misogyny, and public image that shares strong appeal with Scott Turow’s literary legal thrillers."
— BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW ★)
“British writer Vaughan considers the corrosive impact of social media on the lives of girls and women in this timely, twisty story… as thoughtful as it is surprising.”
— PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY
“Enthralling… Reputation lacks the stunning topicality of Anatomy of a Scandal, but it may be a superior novel. It’s more intricately crafted with more nuanced characterization – the Emma/Flora relationship is particularly well observed – and its points about the impact of misogyny on women (especially those in public life) and girls emerge more naturally from the plot.”
— SUNDAY TIMES, THRILLER OF THE MONTH
“Uncannily timely… As dark and gripping as you’d expect from the author of Anatomy of a Scandal.”
— OBSERVER
“Slickly topical...Inventive...Order, order.”
— THE TIMES, THRILLERS OF THE MONTH
“Anatomy, with its exploration of consent and privilege, felt uncannily timely when it was published four years ago. Vaughan’s forthcoming novel, Reputation, might be even more so.”
— GUARDIAN, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
“I loved this. Misogyny and the hounding of women from a contemporary perspective. Brilliant.”
— NICOLA STURGEON, FIRST MINISTER OF SCOTLAND
