Review – Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan

Posted May 18, 2022 by Carole in Reviews / 16 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review – Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah VaughanAnatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan
Narrator: Julie Teal, Luke Thompson, Esther Wane, Sarah Feathers
Published by Atria Books, Simon and Schuster Audio on January 23, 2018
Genres: Fiction / Literary
Length: 10 hours 56 minutes
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Library, Publisher
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four-stars

Some people’s secrets are darker than others.

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?

I really enjoyed this book! I have had this book on my shelf for years but never got around to it for some reason. I recently heard that there is now a Netflix show based on this book so I thought that this would be the perfect time to finally pick it up. I liked this book from the start and had a hard time setting it down when life got in the way. I am so glad that I finally gave this book a try.

This book is told from several different points of view. James is a married father of two that holds a prestigious position in government. Sophie is his wife who feels that she must stand behind her husband even though he hasn’t been the best partner. Kate is the lawyer who is bringing a case against James. This book is a legal thriller with much of the book occurring around events in court. In addition to the scenes in court, we see how the key players are being impacted by the case. The book also delves into the past to really give the reader all the backstory needed to understand how things evolved the way they did.

I think that the book had a realistic feel to it. It was a story of power and privilege featuring flawed characters. James was easy to hate but Sophie and Kate seemed to be trying their best to deal with the situation that they found themselves in. There were some twists and turns in the story that I did not see coming which kept me glued to the story. I thought that this book did a great job of dealing with some difficult issues in a realistic and entertaining manner.

I thought that the cast of narrators did a great job with this story. Each narrator did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life. I liked having different narrators read the various points of view since it made it very clear when the perspective had shifted. They all had very pleasant voices and were able to add just the right amount of emotion to their reading.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. I was pulled into this story right away and couldn’t wait to see how things would work out for the key players. I would not hesitate to read more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a review copy of this book from Atria Books and borrowed a copy of the audiobook.

16 responses to “Review – Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan

  1. I don’t mind several different point of views in reads, especially if they are all treated with the same care. Also, if a book sounds realistic, then kudos to the author!

    • I like a story that is told from several different points of view. It worked well in this story.

  2. I read this one a few years ago and loved it, but then the Netflix show came out and I was excited to join the characters again. Great review!

  3. Oh this looks good and I am so like you having reads on my shelf for long periods. I’ll have to look into the Netflix show too.

  4. I love an audio that uses multiple narrators for multiple POV books. This one does sound interesting and intriguing.