Title: Anatomy of a Scandal
Author: Sarah Vaughan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

[Synopsis]

You want to believe your husband. She wants to destroy him.
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 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.

[My Review]

I’d heard so many great things before starting this novel, and really hoped it would live up to the hype.
It definitely did!
This is a novel that manages to combine sensitive (and very topical) issues with a gripping, scandalous storyline, all without being too over-dramatic, glib or thoughtless. The balance is just right and the writing itself is brilliant.
There are plenty of very convincing-feeling characters who I hugely enjoyed reading about, even though I didn’t necessarily like all of them. The themes are very pertinent to today’s issues and it’s quite hard to read at times, but I loved the way Sarah Vaughan has you questioning right from the off who is telling the truth, making me as the reader swing between believing one side or the other, between anger towards certain characters and the world they live in, and sympathy for others. It’s also interesting to read about someone married to the accused, as you don’t always see things from their point of view and understand how very confusing and hard that must be. I loved both Kate and Sophie, though neither were perfect people, and found myself rooting for them at different times and for different things.
I  absolutely loved the structure of this novel, with its combination of courtroom drama and homelife of the various characters, as well as jumping backwards in time to certain character’s younger years. I don’t want to give too much away but everything comes together so brilliantly, and though at times I felt real anger that things progressed as they did and cursed the British justice system, other parts made me feel very satisfied.
Anatomy of a Scandal is a rollercoaster of a read at times, but one I hugely enjoyed, already making me desperate to read Sarah’s future novels!

[Rating: 5/5]

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.

Anatomy of a Scandal is out in the UK on 11 January 2018!

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