Sarah Vaughan

Emma Webster is a backbencher but she gains publicity after a Guardian interview with striking photos and especially when she makes the case of a girl who committed suicide after being cyberbullied with a private video of her ex-partner her prime topic. But then, things go quickly down the hill, she is harassed and threatened increasingly by frustrated men, her daughter Flora becomes the victim of bullying at school and online and makes a huge mistake. Emma, too, loses her temper and thus becomes the prime suspect in a murder case. How could this all go so wrong when she just wanted to protect her own and her daughter’s reputation?

I totally adored Sarah Vaughan’s novels “Notes on a Scandal” and “Little Disasters”. Her latest, “Reputation”, too, did definitely not disappoint. The author greatly used an important topic to fire up the plot and brilliantly outlines how, still in 2022, there is much more men can do than women and how fragile their public picture is. With Emma, she created an authentic protagonist whose point of view shows the contradictory feelings and constraints a woman in a public position is under.

On the one hand, the novel is a murder mystery in which you are repeatedly surprised as little bits and pieces surface unexpectedly making things appear in a different light. On the other hand, the novel lives on the personal perspective of Emma and her daughter being subject to bullying and harassment. Sarah Vaughn greatly develops the characters who come under ever more pressure until it gets too much and they do things they themselves would have considered unimaginable. The female characters are brilliantly developed since they have mixed feelings which make it all but easy to decide what to do and thus underline that life is far from being just black and white.

A great read with an important topic that outlines how cruel people can be and how important it is to have good friends you can rely on.

Zusammenfassung:

Jess ist die perfekte Mutter, das sagen ihre Freundinnen über sie und auch ihr Mann kann sich nicht beklagen. Wenn er 15 Stunden am Tag arbeitet, kümmert sie sich um die drei Kinder und macht den Haushalt - so haben sie es ausgemacht.

Als Betsey, das 11 Wochen alte Baby von Jess, jedoch mit einem Schädelbruch ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert wird, beginnt die Fassade zu bröckeln. Jess' Geschichte, die sie Liz, ihrer Freundin und Kinderärztin, erzählt, passt nicht zu der schwerwiegenden Verletzung. Die Polizei und das Sozialamt werden eingeschaltet. Was ist wirklich passiert? Hat Jess ihr Kind verletzt oder war es nur ein grausiger Unfall?

Leseerfahrung:

Das Thema des Buches ist provokant und alleine dadurch ist es bestimmt nichts für zartbesaitete Leser*innen. Ich hatte teilweise Angst, dass die Autorin versucht, durch Verständnis für eine gewalttätige Mutter, diese zu legitimieren - auch für die Leser*innen. Das ist zum Glück nicht der Fall! 

Ich habe das englische Buch sehr schnell beendet und die Geschichte hat mich richtig in den Bann gezogen. Man will wissen, was mit Betsey passiert ist und gleichzeitig hofft man,  dass Jess nicht ihr eigenes Baby vernachlässigt oder verletzt hat.

In den einzelnen Kapiteln blickt man gelegentlich in die Vergangenheit, wodurch, der "Fall" aufgeklärt wird und man einige Motive der Charaktere besser versteht. Man sollte am Anfang eines Kapitels also genau auf das angezeigte Datum achten, ansonsten wird es ein bisschen schwieriger, die Geschichte zu verfolgen.

Besonders interessant fand ich, wie die vielen Plottwists aufgelöst wurden und dass man immer wieder überrascht wurde. Liz' Geschichte hingegen, die auch teilweise 30 Jahre in der Vergangenheit spielt, war mir etwas zu viel und manchmal hätte ich diese gerne übersprungen, um die Hauptstory weiter zu verfolgen.

Die Sprache ist gut zu verstehen und dürft auch für Leser, die weniger auf Englisch lesen, verständlich sein. 

Fazit:

Mit 'Little Disasters' veröffentlicht Sarah Vaughan ein Familiendrama, dass den/die Leser*in vor allem durch die spannenden Thriller- und Krimi-Elemente fesselt. Das provokante Thema ist dabei nicht zu unterschätzen und dürfte einige Leser*innen abschrecken. Mit 4,5/5 Sternen empfehle ich das Buch gerne weiter.

Jess is the absolute role model of a mother, her friends have always admired her diligence and devotion to care for her two sons. When she unexpectedly gets pregnant with a third kid, her husband is over the moon but she does not really share his enthusiasm, she knows how demanding kids can be even for a home-stay-mom. When Betsey indeed turns out to be a rather challenging child, Jess loses her temper, the less she can control the girl, the easier she freaks out until she even gets close to wanting her dead. Her friends Liz, a paediatrist, senses that things do not go too well, but with her own kids and her job, she does not have the time to really take look into the situation. When one evening Jess turns up in the emergency room with Betsey showing obvious signs of neglect and being severely hurt, Liz is trapped between being a friend for Jess and informing the police. How well does she actually know what is going on at her friend’s home? 

Sarah Vaughan masterly plays with truths, half-truths and all the things her characters consider truths. Told from different points of view, the reader over and over again gets caught in a trap by making sense of what you know and deciding on what and how the tragic incident happened. Forget it, you are completely wrong since – just as in real life – there is so much more. 

Even though the main focus is on the one big question around Betsey’s injuries, the author addresses a lot of questions going far beyond the crime plot. The struggle of women who feel pressure to be the perfect wife, perfect mother, have a successful career and who easily prepare parties with exquisite food is palpable throughout the novel. The four women at the centre all struggle with complying with expectations and their very own goals and ideals. Showing weakness does not seem to be an option, just like asking for help and thus, precarious and even dangerous circumstances are silently endured. Additionally, the question of how far a friendship should or must go is tackled. Liz’ remorse is easy to understand and certainly nobody could ever wish to get into such a situation.

I totally adored the novel, after “Anatomy of a Scandal”, another thoroughly convincing plot with authentic characters and a lot of suspense.