Based on a True Story by Sarah Vaughan

Once upon a time there was a family. Everything else is a lie. The compelling new novel about power, money and lies from the author of Anatomy of a Scandal.

‘A flawlessly constructed thriller, perfectly paced and filled with smart reveals. This is a read-in-one-sitting delight of a novel!’ LUCY CLARKE, The Surf House

‘Secrets, lies, subterfuge, scandal and sibling rivalry – the perfect recipe for a page-turner. I devoured it!’ VERONICA HENRY, One Night at the Chateau

‘A rich, intoxicating brew, I loved it’ LOUISE CANDLISH, Our House

‘Glorious Cornish clifftops, a glittering party and a swirling vortex of family secrets … Sarah Vaughan lobs an explosive cocktail into Golden Age Crime to create something wholly new and deeply satisfying. I drank it up’ SARAH HILARY, Sharp Glass

‘This is a compelling story, with deep roots, which asks us to think about the stories we tell not just publicly, but also privately, to make up a life. It manages that rare trick of being both addictive and thoughtful’ ARAMINTA HALL, One of the Good Guys

Generations of children have grown up with Dame Eleanor Kingman’s stories. Her status as the country’s best-loved storyteller is unrivalled. But now it is under attack. Because while her fans regard her as a national treasure, someone seems to know the truth about who she really is…

Eleanor is turning seventy and marking the occasion with a beautiful party at her new clifftop Cornish home. A retrospective television show has been commissioned to commemorate her and the great and the good will be there to toast Eleanor’s success.

But as her three daughters and her many friends gather, the stories Eleanor has been telling about her own life and family seem less and less convincing. Not every story has a happy ending: and every family has its secrets. As the threats against her escalate, will Eleanor be forced to tell the truth at last?

Once upon a time there was a family. Everything else is a lie. The compelling new novel about power, money and lies from the author of Anatomy of a Scandal.

About the Author: Sarah Vaughan read English at Oxford and went on to become a journalist. After training at the Press Association, she spent eleven years at the Guardian as a news reporter and political correspondent before leaving to freelance and write fiction. Her first two novels, The Art of Baking Blind and The Farm at the Edge of the World, were followed by her first psychological thriller, Anatomy of a Scandal: a Sunday Times bestseller, and Richard & Judy pick of the decade, developed as a Netflix series starring Rupert Friend, Michelle Dockery and Sienna Miller. Her fourth novel, Little Disasters, a Waterstone’s thriller of the month, was published in 2020. Reputation is her fifth novel.

26 Mar 2026
 

Based on a True Story: The gripping new suspense novel from the bestselling author of ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’, guaranteed to keep you up all night… by Sarah Vaughan ISBN 9781398502093