Emma is an MP, a politician struggling for women’s rights, currently trying to get a revenge porn act requiring more than just a slap on the wrist passed through the government. She was informed about a woman named Amy who took her own life once the photos/videos were released because she saw no way out. Her attacker received next to no punishment for his actions, so she takes on the cause for Amy and her remaining family to prevent the same from happening to others in the future. An honest, incredibly hard-working woman, she believes in doing what is right for women everywhere. Emma fights hard and works diligently, the destruction of her marriage in no small part because of her career. She is the subject of merciless online bullying, threats, insults. She has to take every security measure when home or meeting her constituents for a weekly one-on-one, including a panic button, water for acid attacks, etc. She is viciously threatened during one such meeting by a veteran who is looking for her to fight for mental health support and food/housing security for vets returning from active duty, and is getting random phone calls/texts from an unknown number. Her daughter Flora is everything to her; she has also been the victim of extreme bullying at school and makes a horrible, split-second decision that she regrets. Because of this, both her and Emma’s lives interlace dramatically, and Emma’s life is shattered. The outcome? Well, let me quote from the book review of “Crime Reads” via Amazon.com: “ Reputation brilliantly illustrates that it isn’t who you are that matters…it’s who people think you are.”

What an incredible read! It’s pertinent, up-to-the-minute, dramatic, realistic, and eye-opening. Being in the public eye is no joke, and leaves one wide open to hate, stalkers, and threats (or acts) of violence. “Reputation” is a stellar book, engaging and unputdownable, offering a glimpse into a glamorous life that is anything but. I enjoyed the writing tremendously, it grabbed my attention from page one until the last word. Author Sarah Vaughan is truly a force of nature. I would highly recommend it to all who are fans of the thriller/mystery genres and who have the time to finish it once it’s picked up!

Id like to thank NetGalley, Sarah Vaughan, and Emily Bestler Books/Atria for the ability to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another book that I have mixed emotions about. I love a good mystery/thriller and I had high expectations with this one after reading the blurbs about it. I will admit, this is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Vaughan. I know there are those that will absolutely love this book, I’m just not one of them. There are subject matters that can set off triggers so be aware. Some of those triggers I will say may truly have been part of my issue with the story. I’m going to give the book 3 stars which means that I am not at all opposed to reading another of Vaughn’s title’s, it just means that this was not a favorite of mine.

Thank you to #netgalley and #atriabooks for allowing me to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

So I actually saw this one on NetGalley and was like "what the heck, let me take a chance". It didn't disappoint. It was captured from the very first moment. Excellent and well written.

I have to say I had mixed feelings about this one. The story was intriguing. It is focused from the POV of our protagonist, a woman who is an MP representing an area of constituents who are largely working class people. She is very mindful of her reputation and not appearing "too posh" for the everyday person. Her pet project is protecting women mostly from crimes like rape and revenge porn and similar topics. She takes a lot of heat from "trolls" regarding her main political agenda, as it is not of concern to the blue-collared employed men in her district. She lives in London with 2 other female MPs during the workweek and then is at home with her family for the weekend. When she is working on a new piece of legislation, called "Amy's law" , she finds an unexpected ally in a tabloid new reporter and the story takes off from there.
I found the writing about the difficulties specific to women in the political world to be interesting. But there was something about the pace of the story that had me finding myself more or less interested overall at different times. It felt like some parts dragged and other parts gripped me.
I enjoyed it overall and would recommend to people that love a legal thriller.

#Reputation #NetGalley #AtriaBooks #EmilyBestlerBooks

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Will keep this fairly minimalist because I don't like to bash a book too terribly much, but I felt that this was pretty lame overall. Points for the interesting premise of the story and decent execution. Cons: Not nearly exciting, engaging, mysterious or engaging - mostly just a social drama and further examination of the #metoo movement (which isn't a bad thing, of course, but I've read a lot of books about it and was hoping of a straight up thriller or at least more of a whodunit.) I also found the main character to be not only less engaging than what it takes to establish a connection, I found that I just didn't really care about her. Found all the characters unlikeable, and the even the teenage daughter more annoying than not. Not such a minimalist, bashless review afer all - oops. I am, however, enjoying Anatomy of a Scandal on Netflix.

This is an excellent book told mostly from Emma's POV with some chapters from the daughter Flora, the ex-husband's wife Caroline and the reporter Mike Stone. It was nice to read a story about a strong woman who isn't a lawyer or a police detective and I loved her moments of introspection. My heart was breaking for her and for Flora. So many cruel people in the world. The story was very intense and my attention never wavered while I was reading despite the fact that there was a lot of repetition of the facts. My one criticism would be that we were totally misled by the narrator at around 40%; in fact I had the distinct feeling that she outright lied to us but upon re-reading I realize it was more a lie of omission but, still, it left a bad taste in my mouth. The 'reputation' theme is definitely hammered home but also "the impact of social media and 24-hour news" (that's a direct quote from the book!) In spite of the one niggle I think this is an important book and I highly recommend it.

I haven't read Anatomy of a Scandal but watched and liked the Netflix series and I'd definitely read another book by this author.

Thanks to Atria Books via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this fine novel. All opinions expressed are my own. This book was published July 5, 2022 and is available now.

DNF @ 20% - the style of writing just wasn’t for me … I tend to like legal or political thrillers but this one was so glacier slow and felt like it was going in circle 🥴 maybe I’ll pick this one up again in the future but for now, it’s a DNF from me.

As a politician, Emma knows how important her reputation is and will do anything to protect it. She’s sacrificed a great deal for her career, even putting her relationship with her daughter, Flora, in jeopardy. Emma is a strong advocate fir women’s rights and when Flora is viciously bullied at school, their personal lives intersect. When the unthinkable happens and a dead body is found in Emma’s apartment will she be able exonerated of the crime and still be able to keep her reputation in tack? This was a slow burn of a thriller that didn’t heat up until after the halfway mark. Being on the slow side and repetitive in several instances, this book was just an OK read.

Emma, a former teacher, is now a Member of Parliament (MP). As such, her life has changed greatly-- she's now divorced and her relationship with her teenage daughter, Flora, is strained. Emma often finds herself in the spotlight as she campaigns hard for women's issues. She's also subjected to endless threats and online bullying. Flora, too, is being bullied at school--a secret she keeps from her mother. As Emma works to get a new law passed to protect women and girls from the effects of revenge porn, she and Flora find their lives uncomfortably intertwining. And then--a horrible incident occurs, and Emma finds a man dead in her home. The focus increases on her considerably, and she find herself fighting for her reputation and perhaps even her life.

This is another smartly written thriller from Vaughan. It's a bit of a slow-mover, but it certainly gets you thinking. It skips around in time a lot, which made it harder to immediately get into the narrative, along with the fact that I'm not as familiar with the Parliament political system as I'd like. But it's fairly easy to catch up. Vaughan covers the familiar topic of cyber bullying, but with a twist, as Emma is campaigning for stricter laws against it, while Flora is enmeshed in various scandals at school.

REPUTATION does an excellent job in highlighting all the various ways women (and girls) face violence in their daily lives as well as what female public figures must endure. Honestly, Emma could be a bit tedious at times and some plot pieces seemed a little repetitive, but overall, this was a pretty interesting read. There are no huge twists, but Vaughan certainly throws in some good surprises. The insight into female violence and cyber bullying was well-done, and Vaughan writes excellent courtroom drama. The themes of family, motherhood, and (of course) reputation are strong.

This one was a bit slow moving at times but was still a quick read! I had trouble feeling attached to the MC. The feminist themes and how societies expectation's impacts the consequences of women's actions were interesting. This is a legal thriller and I think I prefer those on the TV as opposed to in books.
Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the eARC of this one!

This was such an interesting story. Courtroom scenes always suck me right in. I also appreciated the look at women and how their reputations could be ruined so easily and needlessly. This was a dynamic book, one that I’m glad I got to read.

I didn't really get into this one until the court stuff picked up. Before that a lot felt almost repetitive and like it could have gotten to the point faster. I do love an unreliable narrator but did guess part of the "big reveals" at the end Overall it was slow to start but I did enjoy the overall read.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Reputation is political, psychological, and a mystery thriller. It follows mainly Emma Webster, a female British MP (member of parliament), a position equivalent to a US congressman but it involves multiple POVs. Emma, a defender of women’s rights and unduly protective of her daughter despite their relationship somewhat strained. As a politician and mother, Emma had to make hard choices. Her reputation at stake and under constant and harsh scrutiny by reporters and constituents.

Reputation is thought-provoking, emotional, and disturbing. The court scenes did take half of the book and dragged a bit. Yet for every interrogation, you can’t help but be sympathetic and at times, angry. The internal monologue can be annoying. There is a twist at the end which was unexpected.

The plot was great, engaging but some areas seem repetitive. Still a good read. If you like court drama, this one’s for you.

Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the copy of this ARC.

I DNFed this 1/3 of the way in. I just couldn’t get into the story and didn’t like all the sexualization of everything happening in the story and the focus on porn / revenge porn. It just wasn’t for me.

A politician on trial for murder is facing the loss of her stature in Parliament and her reputation may be destroyed forever.

Emma Webster is an MP who has been campaigning hard for new laws to protect against revenge porn and other abusive acts against women. Every time she appears in the news, she has to read horrific tweets and posts about herself -- and most of them involve violent suggestions or hints about acts that make her anxious and fearful for her safety. Finding someone to trust has been difficult since her divorce, but she is determined to make sure that her 14-year-old daughter, Flora, is protected. When events conspire to bring Emma face to face with the biggest threat to her reputation, she fights back.

Unfamiliar as I am with British court, law, and the role of the MP, I still managed to find this story compelling and timely. Tired of all the misogyny in many aspects of life, I wasn't quite sure where this story was going to go. I rounded down from 3.5 stars because much of the prose seemed to ramble and was a bit repetitive with so many questions about things that were happening and never feeling that Emma was a reliable narrator. The sections told from the point of view of Emma, Caroline, and Flora were sometimes at odds and I just wanted to get to the truth of the matter so I could decide how I felt about everything that happened. Given my extreme dislike for tabloid journalism, most social media, and politicians in general, I was really finding it hard to pick a side. What struck me hardest is that there's no question in my mind that women always get the worst backlash in every situation. They are harassed, trolled, ridiculed, saddled with unrealistic expectations of behavior and reactions, and objectified in ways that no man has to experience.

Every woman knows fear -- and it seems that nothing has changed to make things safer. Women are held to a different standard and, despite all the efforts, I have not seen much change. So, the social issues within this novel dramatize how women are perceived and damaged in overt and subtle ways. It is part family and social drama, includes courtroom scenes, and not really a thriller but more a psychological study. It boils down to this -- how much could any life stand up to intense scrutiny and how important is it what others think of us.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this e-book ARC to read and review.

An intriguing and relevant story, REPUTATION touches on many elements of being in the public eye in the age of social media. Emma Webster is an MP dealing with harassment, threats, and the press—and things ramp up when her teenage daughter makes a mistake and also is threatened with exposure. The structure of the book is interesting and keeps tension high, although it did lead to 3-4 "ending" chapters that were a bit anticlimactic. Also, the repetition of the word "reputation" in the second half is a bit heavy-handed, thematically! But overall an interesting and compelling read.

Thank you to the publisher for a free copy.

I really enjoyed the plot of this story. The format of the flashbacks and different point of views went, The ending, and how we found out the real story, was enjoyable.

Please know going in that this is more a court room and political drama than a thriller. I did not know much going in and that was at my benefit I think.

My biggest issue with the book, as was with the other book I read by Vaughan, was pacing. At some points this dragged a smidge, as we read the full opening and closing arguments from both sides of the court. It felt almost repetitive when we got to the closing arguments.

Reputation by Sarah Vaughan has an intriguing premise. A female politician with a messy personal life has a dead body found in her home with the double standards faced by women in power weaved in. The whole time she is trying to protect her reputation. It is the one thing in life everyone wants to have a good impression and reputation. I found this book to be a wonderful, suspenseful read. I definitely encourage others to give a go!

This had a strong start and a very intriguing end, but for me, things faltered a bit in the middle. Once the story reached the trial, the story lost some of its momentum. A different format might have worked to better tease out some of the most important bits of information, rather than just rehashing the same story across multiple witnesses over several chapters in the trial.

Sadly, I did not care for this novel. It was so repetitive, chapter after chapter, getting nowhere. I loved Anatomy of a Scandal, and loved the Netflix series as well. But this one fell flat for me. I really didn’t care for the main character Emma either.