Name: Reputation
Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Author: Sara Shepard

About this book

Summary

Book Summary

In this perfectly-paced new novel from Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars, the women of a tight-knit college town learn through gossip, scandal, betrayal, and even murder, who their neighbors and husbands really are.

Aldrich University is rocked to its core when a hacker dumps 40,000 people's e-mails—the entire faculty, staff, students, alums—onto an easily searchable database. Rumors and affairs immediately leak, but things turn explosive when Kit Manning's handsome husband, Dr. Greg Strasser, is found murdered. Kit's sister, Willa, returns for the funeral, setting foot in a hometown she fled fifteen years ago, after a night she wishes she could forget. As an investigative reporter, Willa knows something isn't right about the night Greg was killed, and she's determined to find the truth. What she doesn't expect is that everyone has something to hide. And with a killer on the loose, Willa and Kit must figure out who killed Greg before someone else is murdered.

Told from multiple points of view, Reputation is full of twists, turns, and shocking reveals. It's a story of intrigue, sabotage, and the secrets we keep—and how far we go to keep them hidden. Number one bestseller Sara Shepard is at the top of her game in this brand-new adult novel.

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Media Reviews

"In this viscerally satisfying thriller, Shepard forces readers to contemplate the inescapable aftereffects of impulsive poor choices." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Shepard throws every cliché imaginable at the reader and then artfully massages them into a brilliant narrative...Everyone is hiding a closetful of secrets, which, when finally revealed, provide some excellent misdirection and a few OMG moments, until one final and shocking truth emerges. Fans of domestic suspense will devour this one." - Booklist (starred review)

"Shepard's plotting breathlessly careens between characters, with each cliffhanger swiftly answered by another, ratcheting up the stakes until the killer is finally unmasked. A fast-paced, twisty-turny mystery perfect for a cozy weekend read." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"[Shepard is] a master at keeping you on your toes—and this novel is no exception. If you're looking for a new novel that draws you in and just won't let go, you've found it." - Marie Claire

"Sara Shepard reaches delicious, vicious heights with Reputation. I felt like I was sucked into a video game, slipping into different skins in every chapter. It's the love child of Dead to Me and Scream, a creepy tale about modern technology and good old fashioned human flaws. We're so lucky that Shepard is out there watching the way we live, seeing the best in us, and oh yes, the cringe-inducing, often laugh out loud worst as well." - Caroline Kepnes, author of You, Hidden Bodies, and Providence

"What an addictive, juicy novel, with a whip-cracking plot full of twists and turns. Reputation is packed to bursting with all of the best elements of commercial fiction. Read this one!" - Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of An Anonymous Girl

"A modern murder mystery that exposes our deepest fears about how vulnerable we are to the parts of ourselves we hide online. As the secrets pile up, Shepard writes her calculating anti-heroines with sharp clarity, daring the reader to keep pace alongside her. I, for one, was breathless." - Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network

This information about Reputation was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own review

Lizzie B

Kept me guessing
This book kept me guessing until the big reveal. Everyone seems to have a motive yet who did it?
When Aldrich's University's emails are hacked and exposed for everyone to read, lives are changed. Kit Manning's husband is murdered, perhaps based on what was in his email ( hint-it wasn't good stuff). But with all the players who had reasons to hate Dr. Greg Strasser, who actually committed the crime?
This novel is told from multiple first person female narrators: Kit, Lynn, Raina, Laura and Willa. Kit is the murder victim's wife, Lynn is Kit's coworker, Raina is a friend of Kit's daughter, Laura works with the good doctor, and Willa is Kit's sister. I kept going back and forth about what really happened while reading. Lots of reveals, lots of frustrations with red herrings, and overall a very satisfying ending for me. I really enjoyed reading this. I thought it was very well played and the ending really got me.

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews
An e-mail hack at a prestigious college reeked havoc on the campus of Aldrich University.

The hack exposed every single e-mail that administrators, doctors, faculty, and students had written.

The e-mails revealed secret affairs, unsavory situations, and other juicy details.

After the hack, one of the surgeons, Greg Strasser, who had his very compromising e-mails revealed is murdered in his home, and that brings more chaos and scandal for the university. His wife, Kit, is obviously the one who they most likely think killed him since she found him.

Each chapter was headed with a character’s story, and there were quite a few characters that could have been the person on the other end of the surgeon’s e-mails and also be his murderer.

The investigation continues, but no one is arrested even though a few characters are definitely hiding something about their relationship with Greg.

Kit’s sister, Willa, stays after the funeral to do some investigation of her own, but she also recalls an incident that happened years ago to her that was difficult to forget.

Along with Willa’s recollection there seem to be a lot of folks in this town with secrets they seem to be hiding.

Every time one of the characters was telling his or her story, they comment about their guilt about something.

Ms. Shepard definitely knows how to keep up the suspense and keep the story intriguing. You think you know who the murderer is and then it appears you are incorrect.

I do need to warn the reader, though, that there are some unsettling, upsetting situations.

REPUTATION is a roller coast of a read with a cover that doesn't seem to fit with the story inside as well as a cover I'm not particularly fond of. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Author Information

Biography
Books by this Author

Sara Shepard Author Biography

Photo: Daniel Snyder

Sara Shepard (born April 8, 1977) graduated from New York University and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. She currently lives in Pittsburgh PA, with her husband and kids. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars series, The Lying Game, The Heiresses, The Elizas, and The Perfectionists.