Anatomy of a Scandal

Sarah Vaughan is such an excellent writer. A former journalist, she knows how to spin an authentic story and make it into a page-turner.

I loved the plot and the characters and could identify with it and them. Frankly, if you want a book to keep you enthralled for a few hours and not let you down, here it is.

Privilege, entitlement, politics, and sleaze, it’s all here, along with the disturbing sense that many perpetrators get away with far too many misdeeds for most of their lives, while their victims’ lives are instantly thrown into crisis. It’s a solid, twisty psychological thriller with hints of the Bullingdon Club and Westminster bad behaviour.

This book is now a huge Netflix series but I’ve noticed the film version has attracted some negative press reviews. In my opinion, they’re missing the point – these characters are posh and entitled. They do outrageous things and get away with them. They are meant to be unpleasant. The sheer awfulness of what happens, as well as page-turner ingredients, provides themes for book clubs to discuss. When the book came out, the #metoo movement was at its height. The novel vividly shows the lasting impact on a woman's self-esteem when she’s preyed on by a powerful man. The characters… show more.