Reputation is a compelling crime novel providing a nuanced social and cultural commentary on a modern society.
While I was reading Reputation by Sarah Vaughan, I could not stop thinking about a Labour MP Jo Cox who was murdered in 2016 by the man who was shouting ‘Britain First’, and a Conservatives MP David Amess murdered at his constituency surgery just last year in 2021 by a man who considered himself an affiliate of IS.
Reputation has an MP Emma Webster at its centre. This book explores many social issues prevalent in the British society including an often toxic relationship between politicians and press, the role of social media in our daily life and the extent to which our mental as well as physical well – being can be affected by online threats, bullying, and abuse; the position of women in a modern society, especially when they step out of so-called social and cultural expectations asserting their freedom of choice; the objectification of women in many spheres of public life including politics; the impact of how we look on the perception others have of us leading to deeper questions on social values and norms; the relation between the roles we take on in our lives and its impact on the lives of our loved ones, especially those dependent on us, in particular our children.
Reputation challenges the reader with many nuances especially on the subject of women’s issues, self-righteousness, and often hypocrisy and detachment from the reality of those who claim to be advocates for the most vulnerable ones.
This is a thought-provoking novel, providing a much needed escapist experience in these dark times. I highly recommend it.
I want thank to a lovely team at Tandem Collective, Sarah Vaughan and Simon & Schuster UK Publishing House for having me on this wonderful readalong.
