Julie's Review: Reputation

Author: Sara Shepard
Series: none
Publication Date: December 3, 2019
Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 384
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Psychological Thriller
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Twisty look at what secrets people hide to perpetuate their public repuation
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Summary: 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. ~amazon.com

Review: Ms. Shepard does a really good job of showing white/rich privilege in her latest book, Reputation. What she examines is how many private thoughts and events we put into email and how people will try to maintain appearances even in the wake of them becoming public. What is your reputation worth? Will it cost you your family and friends? Your job? How much value is there in a reputation?

Kit Manning appears to have it all; 2 great teen girls, a handsome husband and a great job. As you know, things are always as they appear. Sure her husband is handsome but lately he's been distant and they've only been married a short period of time. Kit starts to wonder if she made a mistake in marrying him. Then she comes home from a fundraising gala and finds him stabbed to death in their  house. The only problem is that she doesn't remember much from that night. Could she have done it?

Enter her sister, Willa, in from California to help with the funeral and the girls. It also helps that she's an investigative journalist and starts doing her own digging. Just be careful what you go digging into because it might not be exactly what you think you need to know.

There are some twist and turns throughout the book but it's more a study of human behavior that a whodunit.