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. 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?

Autorentext

Sarah Vaughan is the million-copy bestselling author of six novels, which have been translated into twenty-eight languages. Brought up in Devon, she read English at Oxford and went on to become a journalist. After training at the Press Association, Sarah spent eleven years at the Guardian as a news reporter, political correspondent and health correspondent, before leaving to freelance and write fiction. Her previous novels include Anatomy of a Scandal, an instant international bestseller translated into twenty-six languages and adapted for a major Netflix series in 2022. Sarah’s fourth novel, Little Disasters, has recently come to screen starring Diane Kruger, airing on Paramount+ in 2025. Based on a True Story is Sarah’s sixth novel, published in March 2026.

Klappentext

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

ALL FAMILIES HAVE SECRETS. BUT IT'S THE LIES THAT CAN KILL.

The compelling new novel about power, money and lies from the author of Anatomy of a Scandal.

'A timely and compelling study of family guilt. Sarah Vaughan's finest novel yet' MICK HERRON 

'Sarah Vaughan is a writer I could read forever. This is every bit as genius as everyone is saying. The plotting is fiendishly brilliant, and the characters are just beautifully rendered.' THE SECRET BARRISTER

'Vaughan's novels are not just screenplay drafts: her cool, careful prose is a pleasure to read' TELEGRAPH

'Expertly plotted and crackling with tension, this is dysfunctional family psychodrama at its unputdownable best' GUARDIAN  

'This is talented Vaughan's sixth novel and cements her place as one of our finest thriller writers' DAILY MAIL

'The gap between public image and private life is the theme of this clever novel...Intriguing' THE TIMES 

'Sarah Vaughan doesn't miss a beat in this intricate family thriller ... As the jeopardy builds, so does the brilliant characterisation' SAINSBURYS MAGAZINE

'Shades of King Lear in this gripping tale of three daughters coming together to celebrate the 70th birthday of their mother ... A notably, well-written, thoughtful thriller, strong on family dynamics' MAIL ON SUNDAY

'Vaughan elegantly toys with readers' expectations as she parcels out details about Eleanor's family and relationships and explores themes of class, power, and the magpie-like nature of authorship...a canny, suspenseful tale' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 

'Packed with twists and oozing with menace, this sharp-edged tale is a taut triumph' CRIME MONTHLY 

'Gripping' CLOSER

A lavish 70th birthday party. A body found on a storm-lashed beach. And a secret that someone is dying** to tell... **

Famed children's author Dame Eleanor Kingman has summoned her family and friends to her exquisite manor house on the cliffs. They're celebrating her birthday - and her latest number one bestseller in her series of books based on a mother fox and her cubs.

But the night before the party, Eleanor receives an email: an email that threatens to expose the lie she's kept up for over half a century.

Someone knows her secret. Is it her estranged literary agent? Is it her ex-husband, to whom she no longer speaks? Is it the nanny she fired all those years ago, who always did have a knack for storytelling? Or is it one of her three daughters, all of whom have a stake in the publishing empire she has built...

With a TV crew arriving to film a documentary of her life, Eleanor needs to find out who sent the email - and preserve her multimillion-pound career.

But when push comes to shove, and it's time to tell the truth - will anyone actually believe her?