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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
3.5⭐️ - A gripping and interesting look at the nature of truth, consent, and power. Put me in mind of Erin Kelly’s He Said/She Said. Makes me happy to read more fiction that challenges notions of implied consent and examines the justice system. Also some moments in here that made me fist pump - some brilliant female characters who are three dimensional and awesome.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault
Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to this prior to publication in exchange for my review.
A timely story, focusing on the abuse of power, sexual dynamics and the extent to which the old boys’ network is used to hide all manner of activities.
Our tale takes in a fairly large time-frame, first introducing us to key characters as they attend Oxford University and later as they go about their lives. Our key focus is barrister, Kate, harbouring a terrible secret that drives her in her determination to get justice for those who deserve it. She finds herself prosecuting friend to the Prime Minister, James, a man used to getting what he wants and perfectly capable of manipulating a situation to his advantage. When he is charged with rape many are shocked. His wife, Sophie, desperately hopes it will go away but we soon see this case is bringing to the fore little cracks that were first apparent years earlier.
My overwhelming feeling as I read this was a sense of sickening disgust at the awful behaviour exhibited by those who feel money grants them all manner of privileges. Many stereotypes are perpetuated here but i liked the fact we got to see more than the obvious story.
A timely story, focusing on the abuse of power, sexual dynamics and the extent to which the old boys’ network is used to hide all manner of activities.
Our tale takes in a fairly large time-frame, first introducing us to key characters as they attend Oxford University and later as they go about their lives. Our key focus is barrister, Kate, harbouring a terrible secret that drives her in her determination to get justice for those who deserve it. She finds herself prosecuting friend to the Prime Minister, James, a man used to getting what he wants and perfectly capable of manipulating a situation to his advantage. When he is charged with rape many are shocked. His wife, Sophie, desperately hopes it will go away but we soon see this case is bringing to the fore little cracks that were first apparent years earlier.
My overwhelming feeling as I read this was a sense of sickening disgust at the awful behaviour exhibited by those who feel money grants them all manner of privileges. Many stereotypes are perpetuated here but i liked the fact we got to see more than the obvious story.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Probably 3.5 stars, really engaging book, but admittedly was let down by the promise of this being a legal thriller, which unfortunately lacked any thrills to be honest.
It's over a week later, and I did that thing where I forgot to actually properly review this book but I'm going to rectify that now. Also, the timing of reading this book right before this whole scandal happening at the moment with a minister being caught with his political aide, the coincidence is reaal.
Anyways, my rating has gone down since my initial impressions immediately after finishing this one. I still think it was written in such a way that it was a breeze to get through and it kept you turning the pages as quickly as physically possible. I also did enjoy reading the novel from the different perspectives, and there was a certain character's chapters which were guaranteed to disgust me and anger me into keeping myself invested in what would happen next! Where I felt let down was that there was a certain 'revelation' which was one I could see coming from a few chapters in (and to this day, I'm still trying to work out whether it was actually an intentional choice to make this aspect obvious, or if it was just badly handled). I did initially think it was the Vaughan's intention to slowly reveal and that there were more twists and thrills to come as the legal case continued, but nothing else really happened, so I'm starting to think it might have not been handled too well? I'm keeping my rating at about 3.5 just as a benefit of the doubt thing, but I am slightly skeptical.
Also, I found that on reflection, while this novel was framed as a legal case, it basically covers a case where the aide with whom a minister had an affair with accuses him of rape, it didn't feel much like a legal thriller? The case that Kate, one of the main characters/POVs in this novel, and the prosecution lawyer for Olivia, the political aide in question, makes is just very emotive because of her own past, and it just didn't feel like it was particularly realistic for a barrister who's been in the job for about 20 years, especially if she actually wanted to win the case as much as she claimed to. I don't know, it just felt a bit off?
I think one of the more interesting perspective chapters where from Sophie, the wife of the man being accused of rape, and I think Vaughan did a great job of showing us how much of her identity was lost in her relationship and marriage to this man, but that might have come at the detriment of us feeling much for her because she was (and I am trying not to be so savage with the description but...) just so lacking in a personality/identity throughout? And I think it was a missed opportunity to not include Olivia herself in the chapter POVs but I was otherwise happy with the character insights we had outside of those instances.
Again, v rambly review which I'm sure future me is going to hate me for. Regardless of the issues I found with this one, I did think it was a great way to pass a couple of days and it kept me hooked throughout which has been a massive problem for me over the last few months. Might have to pick up stuff within thrillers to keep my reading momentum going? 3.5 final rating.
It's over a week later, and I did that thing where I forgot to actually properly review this book but I'm going to rectify that now. Also, the timing of reading this book right before this whole scandal happening at the moment with a minister being caught with his political aide, the coincidence is reaal.
Anyways, my rating has gone down since my initial impressions immediately after finishing this one. I still think it was written in such a way that it was a breeze to get through and it kept you turning the pages as quickly as physically possible. I also did enjoy reading the novel from the different perspectives, and there was a certain character's chapters which were guaranteed to disgust me and anger me into keeping myself invested in what would happen next! Where I felt let down was that there was a certain 'revelation' which was one I could see coming from a few chapters in (and to this day, I'm still trying to work out whether it was actually an intentional choice to make this aspect obvious, or if it was just badly handled). I did initially think it was the Vaughan's intention to slowly reveal
Spoiler
that Kate and Holly were the same personAlso, I found that on reflection, while this novel was framed as a legal case, it basically covers a case where the aide with whom a minister had an affair with accuses him of rape, it didn't feel much like a legal thriller? The case that Kate, one of the main characters/POVs in this novel, and the prosecution lawyer for Olivia, the political aide in question, makes is just very emotive because of her own past, and it just didn't feel like it was particularly realistic for a barrister who's been in the job for about 20 years, especially if she actually wanted to win the case as much as she claimed to. I don't know, it just felt a bit off?
I think one of the more interesting perspective chapters where from Sophie, the wife of the man being accused of rape, and I think Vaughan did a great job of showing us how much of her identity was lost in her relationship and marriage to this man, but that might have come at the detriment of us feeling much for her because she was (and I am trying not to be so savage with the description but...) just so lacking in a personality/identity throughout? And I think it was a missed opportunity to not include Olivia herself in the chapter POVs but I was otherwise happy with the character insights we had outside of those instances.
Again, v rambly review which I'm sure future me is going to hate me for. Regardless of the issues I found with this one, I did think it was a great way to pass a couple of days and it kept me hooked throughout which has been a massive problem for me over the last few months. Might have to pick up stuff within thrillers to keep my reading momentum going? 3.5 final rating.
Our lives are inextricably shaped by the material facts of our birth. And for the young men living their gilded youths at Oxford University in the early 1990s, they’re pretty much untouchable. Our narrator describes the ‘smooth, smiling faces’ of ‘men who will sail through life: Eton, Oxford, parliament, government.’
And twenty-five years later, these men have risen to seats of power, just as they always expected to. In close-enough to the present day (although 2016 seems like a lifetime ago now), our narrator Kate Woodcroft is a prosecutor, specialising in convicting perpetrators of sexual assault.
One day, the papers get their hands on a grubby new story: a junior Tory minister, James Whitehouse, has been caught with his trousers down as his affair with a much younger member of staff is exposed. The Prime Minister being a close friend from Oxford, James is reassured the whole nasty matter will quickly blow over – until his mistress, Olivia, comes forward with an accusation of rape. James’s wife, Sophie, determines to remain the doting and devoted wife, even as doubt begins to gnaw at her.
What follows is a nail-biting courtroom drama, where driven, successful Kate is convinced of James’s guilt – but has her work cut out in trying to ensure justice is served. The world of the court is one that she admits is ‘archaic, anachronistic, privileged, exclusive’. And these privileged, white, upper-class men truly believe them are impervious to the rules – of law, of morality, of common decency. (It was interesting to read this not long after the story broke of the UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, having an affair with a coworker in the midst of stringent lockdowns where you weren’t allowed to hug your mum, much less fornicate with a colleague…)
‘“I sometimes wonder if we spoiled him. Let him believe that his opinion was always right? I suppose school inculcated that feeling—and Charles, of course, never brooking an argument. Perhaps it’s a male thing? That complete self-belief: the conviction that you never need doubt your opinion. The girls don’t have it and neither do I. He was like it as a little boy: always lying at Cluedo; always cheating at Monopoly, insisting he could change the rules. He was so sweet, so persuasive, he got away with it. I wonder if that’s why he thinks he still can?”’
Vaughan shifts timelines and perspectives, keeping the varied pace of the novel and giving us historical context that feeds into the present-day drama which is unfurling. Whilst there aren’t many twists and turns to be had, this is suspenseful and well-crafted book that lays bare the lives of the rich and powerful, puts consent and conviction under a microscope, and explores the ramifications of toxic masculinity – when combined with money and privilege, a lethal cocktail. A slow burn, but a recommended read nonetheless.
And twenty-five years later, these men have risen to seats of power, just as they always expected to. In close-enough to the present day (although 2016 seems like a lifetime ago now), our narrator Kate Woodcroft is a prosecutor, specialising in convicting perpetrators of sexual assault.
One day, the papers get their hands on a grubby new story: a junior Tory minister, James Whitehouse, has been caught with his trousers down as his affair with a much younger member of staff is exposed. The Prime Minister being a close friend from Oxford, James is reassured the whole nasty matter will quickly blow over – until his mistress, Olivia, comes forward with an accusation of rape. James’s wife, Sophie, determines to remain the doting and devoted wife, even as doubt begins to gnaw at her.
What follows is a nail-biting courtroom drama, where driven, successful Kate is convinced of James’s guilt – but has her work cut out in trying to ensure justice is served. The world of the court is one that she admits is ‘archaic, anachronistic, privileged, exclusive’. And these privileged, white, upper-class men truly believe them are impervious to the rules – of law, of morality, of common decency. (It was interesting to read this not long after the story broke of the UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, having an affair with a coworker in the midst of stringent lockdowns where you weren’t allowed to hug your mum, much less fornicate with a colleague…)
‘“I sometimes wonder if we spoiled him. Let him believe that his opinion was always right? I suppose school inculcated that feeling—and Charles, of course, never brooking an argument. Perhaps it’s a male thing? That complete self-belief: the conviction that you never need doubt your opinion. The girls don’t have it and neither do I. He was like it as a little boy: always lying at Cluedo; always cheating at Monopoly, insisting he could change the rules. He was so sweet, so persuasive, he got away with it. I wonder if that’s why he thinks he still can?”’
Vaughan shifts timelines and perspectives, keeping the varied pace of the novel and giving us historical context that feeds into the present-day drama which is unfurling. Whilst there aren’t many twists and turns to be had, this is suspenseful and well-crafted book that lays bare the lives of the rich and powerful, puts consent and conviction under a microscope, and explores the ramifications of toxic masculinity – when combined with money and privilege, a lethal cocktail. A slow burn, but a recommended read nonetheless.
We've all been there: all dressed up and ready to go out, waiting for our partner or spouse so we can begin our evening, watching the minutes tick by until they are supposed to arrive. The kids are in bed, and Sophie is watching the clock as time goes by ever so slowly, and her husband is still not home. The language Vaughan uses to create the scene has me biting my own nails in anticipation of the husband's arrival. There is some reference of a past transgression that leads you to conclude that the husband is most likely not caught up in some sort of emergency, but rather is late/not coming home because of another woman. When the husband finally arrives, my eyes begin reading faster than my brain can comprehend, because I'm dying to know what kept him so late and forced Sophie to cancel their plans. His demeanor and behavior alludes to something far more scandalous than your run of the mill office affair. And then he says it, and you know that there is going to be so much more to this, because "the story's about to break."
LOVED THIS!!! Was not expecting to like it as much as I did.