Sarah Vaughan

Instant International Bestseller “A nuanced story line perfectly in tune with our #metoo times.”—People, Book of the Week “One of the season’s most buzzed-about thrillers.”—Bookish “A strong choice for book clubs. Former political correspondent Vaughan makes an impressive debut with this savvy, propulsive courtroom drama.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Vaughan offers gripping insight into a political scandal’s hidden machinations and the tension between justice and privilege…Absorbing, polished.”—Booklist (starred review) “Skillfully interweaving the story of the unfolding scandal, Vaughan gradually reveals just how shockingly high the stakes are…Sinewy…engrossing, twist-filled.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) You want to believe your husband. She wants to destroy him. An astonishingly incisive and suspenseful novel about a scandal amongst Britain’s privileged elite and the women caught up in its wake. Sophie’s husband James is a loving father, a handsome man, a charismatic and successful public figure. And yet he stands accused of a terrible crime. Sophie is convinced he is innocent and desperate to protect her precious family from the lies that threaten to rip them apart. Kate is the lawyer hired to prosecute the case: an experienced professional who knows that the law is all about winning the argument. And yet Kate seeks the truth at all times. She is certain James is guilty and is determined he will pay for his crimes. Who is right about James? Sophie or Kate? And is either of them informed by anything more than instinct and personal experience? Despite her privileged upbringing, Sophie is well aware that her beautiful life is not inviolable. She has known it since she and James were first lovers, at Oxford, and she witnessed how easily pleasure could tip into tragedy. Most people would prefer not to try to understand what passes between a man and a woman when they are alone: alone in bed, alone in an embrace, alone in an elevator… Or alone in the moonlit courtyard of an Oxford college, where a girl once stood before a boy, heart pounding with excitement, then fear. Sophie never understood why her tutorial partner Holly left Oxford so abruptly. What would she think, if she knew the truth?

A Novel

Anatomy of a Scandal

Cindy

My Review Of 
  

   Anatomy Of A Scandal 
  


This took awhile for me to get into but once I did it unfolded beautifully. It read more like a mystery to me. The plot was well developed as were the characters although I admit I was not overly fond of them. I loved to hate some of the characters in this book. I did have a hard time getting through some parts of this book but it was a solid read for me. It really brings into question how much would you cover up and or stand by your spouse if you think or know that they are guilty of an awful crime.

James was not one of my favorite characters and I thought Sophie needed a backbone at times. The writing was superb, the plot did keep me interested and on my toes. I look forward to this authors next book.

 
 Read An Excerpt: 
My wig slumps on my desk where I have tossed it. A beached
jellyfish. Out of court, I am careless with this crucial part of
my wardrobe, showing it the opposite of what it should command:
respect. Handmade from horsehair and worth nearly
six hundred pounds, I want it to age; to accrue the gravitas I
sometimes fear I lack. For the hairline to yellow with years
of perspiration, the tight, cream curls to relax or to grey with
dust. Nineteen years since I was called to the Bar, my wig is
still that of a conscientious new girl – not a barrister who has
inherited it from her, or more usually his, father. That’s the
sort of wig I want: one dulled with the patina of tradition,
entitlement and age.
I kick off my shoes: black patent courts with gold braid
on the front, shoes for a Regency fop; for Parliament’s Black
Rod; or a female barrister who delights in the history, the
rigmarole, the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Expensive shoes
are important. Chatting with fellow counsel or clients, with
ushers and police, we all look down from time to time so as
not to appear confrontational. Anyone who glances at my
shoes sees someone who understands this quirk of human
psychology and who takes herself seriously. They see a
woman who dresses as if she believes she will win.
I like to look the part, you see. To do things properly.
Female barristers can wear a collarette: a scrap of cotton and
lace that acts like a bib – a false front that goes just around
the neck – and that costs around thirty pounds. Or they can
dress as I do: a white collarless tunic with a collar attached
by collar studs to the front and back. Cuff links. A black wool
jacket and skirt or trousers; and – depending on their success
and seniority – a black wool or wool and silk gown.
I’m not wearing all of that now. I have shed part of my
disguise in the robing room of the Bailey. Robes off. Collar
and cuffs undone; my medium-length blonde hair – tied back
in a ponytail in court – released from its bobble; just a little
mussed up.
I am more feminine, shed of my garb. With my wig on and
my heavy-rimmed glasses, I know I look asexual. Certainly
not attractive – though you may note my cheekbones: two
sharp blades that emerged in my twenties and have hardened
and sharpened, as I have hardened and sharpened,
over the years.
I am more myself without the wig. More me. The me I am
at heart, not the me I present to the court or any previous
incarnations of my personality. This is me: Kate Woodcroft,
QC; criminal barrister; member of the Inner Temple; a
highly experienced specialist in prosecuting sexual crimes.
Forty-two years old; divorced, single, childless. I rest my
head in my hands for a moment and let a breath ease out
of me in one long flow, willing myself just to give up for a
minute. It’s no good. I can’t relax. I’ve a small patch of eczema
on my wrist and I smear E45 cream there, resisting the desire
to scratch it. To scratch at my dissatisfaction with life.
Instead, I look up at the high ceilings of my chambers. A
set of rooms in an oasis of calm in the very heart of London.
Eighteenth-century, with ornate cornicing, gold leaf around
the ceiling rose and a view  – through the towering sash
windows  – of Inner Temple’s courtyard and the round
twelfth-century Temple Church.
This is my world. Archaic, anachronistic, privileged,
exclusive. Everything I should – and normally would – profess
to hate. And yet I love it. I love it because all this – this
nest of buildings at the edge of the City, tucked off the Strand
and flowing down towards the river; the pomp and the hierarchy;
the status, history and tradition – is something I once
never knew existed; and to which I never thought I could
aspire. All of this shows how far I have come.
It’s the reason that, if I’m not with my colleagues, I slip
a hot chocolate  – with extra sachets of sugar  – to the girl
hunched in her sleeping bag in a doorway on the Strand
whenever I grab a cappuccino. Most people won’t have
noticed her. The homeless are good at being invisible or we
are good at making them so: averting our eyes from their
khaki sleeping bags; their grey faces and matted hair; their
bodies bundled in oversized jumpers and their equally
skinny wolfhounds as we scurry past on our way to the
seductive glitz of Covent Garden or the cultural thrills of the
South Bank.
But hang around any court for a while and you will see
just how precarious life can be. How your world can come
tumbling down all too rapidly if you make the wrong call:
if, just for one fatal split second, you behave unlawfully. Or
rather, if you are poor and you break the law. For courts, like
hospitals, are magnets for those dealt a rough hand from the
start of life; who choose the wrong men or the wrong mates
and become so mired in bad fortune that they lose their
moral compass. The rich aren’t quite as affected. Look at tax
avoidance – or fraud, as it might be called if perpetrated by
someone without the benefit of a skilled accountant. Bad
luck – or lack of acumen – doesn’t seem to dog the rich quite
as assiduously as the poor.
Oh, I’m in a bad mood. You can tell I’m in a bad mood
when I start thinking like a student politician. Most of the
time I keep my Guardian-reading tendencies to myself. They
can sit oddly with the more traditional members of my
chambers; make for heated discussions at formal dinners,
as we eat the sort of mass-catered food you might get at
weddings – chicken, or salmon en croute – and drink our
equally mediocre wine. Far more diplomatic to limit oneself
to legal gossip: which QC is receiving so little work they’re
applying to be a Crown Court judge; who will next be made....This review was originally posted on My Fiction Obsession

Helen Borham

I really enjoyed this book. It was a clever story full of morally grey characters. I liked the way it explored power and privilege along with the inevitable fall. Like Vaughans other book it also highlighted behaviour towards women and explored the lasting impacts of sexual assault.

Tiffany Robinson

Sophie and James have been married for years and seem to be living the perfect life. All that changes when James gets accused of rape and goes on trail. Kate is the lawyer that is brought in to prosecute him and she will stop at nothing to see justice severed. As the trail goes forward a lot of secrets that were meant to stay buried start to surface. 
Going into this book I was pretty excited to read since it sounded so juicy. At first I was really enjoying it, but as the book went on it lost my interest even though I did manage to make it through to the end. I felt like all the twists were easy to figure out so when they were finally reveled they fell flat. For the most part the pace was pretty steady, but it did feel like it dragged on in some places. I didn't completely hate it, but I thought it could have been so much more. 

I received an advance copy of this book.

Anna Concannon 

Dan Hardaker

Shannon Cullum

**SOON TO BE A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES** 'Timely and compelling' Shari Lapena, Books of the Year, Sunday Times Crime Club 'People are calling this the new Apple Tree Yard, but I’d beg to differ… I’d argue its infinitely better' The Pool ‘Well-written, pacy and full of twists and turns’ Independent 'Gripping. A savage indictment of class, privilege and toxic masculinity in Britain ... Almost impossible to put down' Louise O’Neill A high-profile marriage thrust into the spotlight. A prosecutor who believes justice has been a long time coming. A scandal that will rock Westminster. And the women caught at the heart of it. Praise for Anatomy of a Scandal: 'Deftly plotted... with an eerie relevance to the current debate surrounding the attitudes to and experiences of women in Westminster, Hollywood and beyond' Laura Barnett ‘The best courtroom drama since Apple Tree Yard … sensational’ Clare Mackintosh 'A compulsive read with completely layered characters. Superb' John Boyne 'I love it when a book lives up the hype – and this one does. It is quite shockingly good' Sun 'This clever plot raises many issues of the moment' Marcel Berlins, The Times 'Once the trial of MP James Whitehouse starts, you could not have prised the book from hands for love or money' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express 'An absolute masterpiece – prepare to be very impressed' heat 'A lot of reviews claim that a novel has them ‘hooked from the start’ – but with this story, it’s painfully true' Grazia 'One of the best books you’ll read this year' Closer ‘Sarah Vaughan drip feeds revelations while exploring thepower and privilege of political elite’ Good Housekeeping ‘Think last year’s drama Liar with a dash of Apple Tree Yard’ Sunday Mirror: Notebook ‘A timely thriller about marriage, but also about power, who wields it, and how that affects who we believe’ Stylist

soon to be a major Netflix series

katherine

Avinash Yadav

Sara labeck

Alistair James

Shreya Punj

Camryn Swinamer 

Sara Piteira 

Denislava 

From the bestselling author of Anatomy of a Scandal - a new thought-provoking novel exploring the complexity of motherhood and all that connects and disconnects us. You think you know her... But look a little closer She is a stay-at-home mother-of-three with boundless reserves of patience, energy and love. After being friends for a decade, this is how Liz sees Jess. Then one moment changes everything. Dark thoughts and carefully guarded secrets surface - and Liz is left questioning everything she thought she knew about her friend, and about herself. Praise for Little Disasters: ''A deep dive into the dark side of motherhood. Highly recommended'' Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said ''Compelling, beautifully written, so perceptive and emotionally devastating. Like Anatomy of a Scandal, it feels like an important book as well as a brilliant read'' Lucy Foley, author of The Hunting Party ''Sarah Vaughan turns her pin-sharp attentions to the blame game that is early parenthood, raising the stakes to truly fearful levels. This tense, absorbing read will have parents - in fact, all readers - turning the pages deep into the night'' Louise Candlish, author of Those People ''Little Disasters takes on another topical and emotive issue with the same skill and command Vaughan showed in Anatomy of a Scandal'' Cara Hunter, author of All The Rage ''An emotionally terrifying story. Sarah has impressively created characters whose pain and fear is all too real. I could not put this book down'' Heidi Parks, author of Now You See Her ''Vaughan explores the darker impulses of motherhood - the fear, fury and despair; the frantic juggling, loss of control and exhaustion - and of course the overwhelming love. Refreshingly assured and punchy writing that is sure to hit a nerve'' Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane ''A brilliant storyteller, Vaughan serves up every mother''s nightmare with consummate skill and a big heart. Clever. Totally compelling. Impossible to put down'' Eve Chase, author of Black Rabbit Hall ''I loved it and didn''t want to put it down. So, so good on motherhood and friendship'' Laura Marshall, author of Friend Request ''I read this with a fascinated, mounting sense of horror because it could all be too true. Compulsive reading with an ending I didn''t see coming'' Jane Corry, author of I Looked Away ''A true psychological thriller shows us, as all the best ones do, that the scariest place is not the dark alleyway but inside the pathways of our own minds. Compelling... and important'' Araminta Hall, author of Our Kind of Cruelty ''An immaculately researched and compelling story about the devastating fall out from one mistake'' Jane Shemilt, author of The Playground ''Each character is brilliantly drawn, and the book delivers surprise after surprise'' Claire Fuller, author of Bitter Orange ''Absolutely brilliant; an emotionally devastating story, brave and honest'' Emma Curtis, author of One Little Mistake ''Sarah''s writing is so impressive and skilful - the book is gripping, meticulous, and touches the raw nerves of parenthood'' Terry Stiastny, author of Conflicts of Interest ''A fabulous twisty look at early motherhood and friendships. Domestic noir and psyche thriller, it''s brave and brilliant'' Fionnuala Kearney, author of The Book of Love ''Sarah Vaughan manages to hit that rare sweet spot between satisfying, literary writing and a plot that grips you by the throat. Little Disasters is every bit as brilliant as Anatomy of a Scandal. Superb'' Cass Green, author of The Killer Inside ''An emotionally intelligent and beautifully written thriller that oozes with tension. Just when I thought I had things figured out, Sarah throws us a curveball which turns everything on its head. Rich and authentic, this is a truly remarkable book'' Claire Douglas, author of Then She Vanishes ''Sarah Vaughan delivers another masterful page-turner, this time tackling early motherhood at its least joyful. As with Anatomy of a Scandal, she writes with intelligence and compassion; the result is a truly gripping read'' Catherine Isaac, author of Messy, Wonderful Us

Claire Knight

''People are calling this the new Apple Tree Yard, but I''d beg to differ - fast, pacy and with enough twists and turns to keep you gripped right to the end, I''d argue its infinitely better'' The Pool ''Well-written, pacy and full of twists and turns'' Independent ''Gripping. A savage indictment of class, privilege and toxic masculinity in Britain ... Almost impossible to put down'' Louise O''Neill ''Deftly plotted ... with an eerie relevance to the current debate surrounding the attitudes to and experiences of women in Westminster, Hollywood and beyond'' Laura Barnett ''The best courtroom drama since Apple Tree Yard ... sensational'' Clare Mackintosh A high-profile marriage thrust into the spotlight. A wife, determined to keep her family safe, must face a prosecutor who believes justice has been a long time coming. A scandal that will rock Westminster. And the women caught at the heart of it. Anatomy of a Scandal centres on a high-profile marriage that begins to unravel when the husband is accused of a terrible crime. Sophie is sure her husband, James, is innocent and desperately hopes to protect her precious family from the lies which might ruin them. Kate is the barrister who will prosecute the case - she is equally certain that James is guilty and determined he will pay for his crimes. ''A compelling and cautionary story about how we can never truly know someone else; how even after twelve years of marriage, a wife might not know everything about her husband. Brilliant, shocking, and gripping, once I started, I couldn''t stop reading'' Claire Fuller, bestselling author of Our Endless Numbered Days ''Sarah Vaughan drip feeds revelations while exploring the power and privilege of political elite'' Good Housekeeping ''Think last year''s drama Liar with a dash of Apple Tree Yard'' Sunday Mirror ''That rare book that combines great writing, spot-on characterisation and a compulsive, page-turning narrative. I read it in one breathless day. Set against a fascinating backdrop of the Houses of Parliament, the Old Bailey and Oxford University, think House of Cards meets The Secret History. Meticulously researched, this is an outstanding read'' Fiona Cummins, author of Rattle ''A timely thriller about marriage, but also about power, who wields it, and how that affects who we believe'' Stylist ''Expertly plotted courtroom drama ... Gripping and beautifully written'' Sunday Post ''Marks a shift in genre for Vaughan and promises to explore the nature of power and privilege among the country''s political elite'' Belfast Telegraph ''Anatomy of a Scandal has bestseller written all over it'' Veronica Henry, author of The Forever House ''I was hooked right from the start. So beautifully written, clever and compelling. I was gripped right up to the final page'' Claire Douglas, bestselling author of The Sisters and Local Girl Missing ''Am I allowed to choose my book of the year in May? Anatomy of a Scandal is astoundingly good - a tour de force. I absolutely loved it'' Eve Chase, bestselling author of Black Rabbit Hall ''Fearless, thought-provoking, unflinching, fascinating, beautifully written'' Rosie Walsh, author of Ghosted ''Incredibly authentic, highly involving character drama here, in a story that could easily be ripped from the headlines'' Booklikes.com ''The Good Wife meets The Affair - fantastic!'' @bleachhouselibrary

Kathy Rodger 

Caitlin Snyder

Ang Raf

'Deftly plotted and superbly well researched, with an eerie relevance to the current debate surrounding the attitudes to and experiences of women in Westminster, Hollywood and beyond. An intelligent, absorbing page-turner that avoids all knee-jerk assumptions and easy answers' Laura Barnett, author of The Versions of Us 'The best courtroom drama since Apple Tree Yard ... sensational' Clare Mackintosh A high-profile marriage thrust into the spotlight. A wife, determined to keep her family safe, must face a prosecutor who believes justice has been a long time coming. A scandal that will rock Westminster. And the women caught at the heart of it. Anatomy of a Scandal centres on a high-profile marriage that begins to unravel when the husband is accused of a terrible crime. Sophie is sure her husband, James, is innocent and desperately hopes to protect her precious family from the lies which might ruin them. Kate is the barrister who will prosecute the case - she is equally certain that James is guilty and determined he will pay for his crimes. 'A compelling and cautionary story about how we can never truly know someone else; how even after twelve years of marriage, a wife might not know everything about her husband. Brilliant, shocking, and gripping, once I started, I couldn't stop reading' Claire Fuller, bestselling author of Our Endless Numbered Days 'Sarah Vaughan drip feeds revelations while exploring the power and privilege of political elite' Good Housekeeping 'Think last year's drama Liar with a dash of Apple Tree Yard' Sunday Mirror 'That rare book that combines great writing, spot-on characterisation and a compulsive, page-turning narrative. I read it in one breathless day. Set against a fascinating backdrop of the Houses of Parliament, the Old Bailey and Oxford University, think House of Cards meets The Secret History. Meticulously researched, this is an outstanding read' Fiona Cummins, author of Rattle 'A timely thriller about marriage, but also about power, who wields it, and how that affects who we believe' Stylist 'Expertly plotted courtroom drama ... Gripping and beautifully written' Sunday Post 'Anatomy of a Scandal has bestseller written all over it' Veronica Henry, author of The Forever House 'I was hooked right from the start. So beautifully written, clever and compelling. I was gripped right up to the final page' Claire Douglas, bestselling author of The Sisters and Local Girl Missing 'Am I allowed to choose my book of the year in May? Anatomy of a Scandal is astoundingly good - a tour de force. I absolutely loved it' Eve Chase, bestselling author of Black Rabbit Hall 'Incredibly authentic, highly involving character drama here, in a story that could easily be ripped from the headlines' Booklikes.com

Anatomy of a Scandal A Novel

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