Notes on a Drowning
- Author Anna Sharpe
- Narrator Hanako Footman
- Publisher Orion
- Publish Date 23 January 2025
- Run Time 9 hours and 40 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Thriller / suspense fiction.
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What to expect
'Powerful' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Gripping' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'High-octane' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Grabs you' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Atmospheric' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Timely' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alex knows she risks getting fired from her law firm if she takes on another unpaid case, but when she hears Rosa's desperate voice at the other end of the phone, she knows she has to help: the body of Rosa's shy teenage sister, Natalia, has been dragged, lifeless, from the Thames. Alex can't help but think of her own missing little sister. She knows how a lack of answers can eat you alive.
Kat has worked hard to become Special Adviser to the Home Secretary, and is eager to finally put the dark and tragic part of her past behind her. But when she discovers a series of cover-ups, she begins to wonder whether her seemingly perfect new boss could be involved. Then she's shocked to discover a letter that raises worrying questions about a girl found drowned in London... Natalia.
There are complex and painful reasons for Alex and Kat not to work together, but when it becomes clear that there are powerful people involved in Natalia's death, and that other girls are at risk, Alex and Kat must overcome their differences to find answers. Will they save the girls and discover the truth? Or will the high-powered players in this game stop Alex and Kat for good?
'It's excellent - razor sharp writing, a gripping plot and a level of authenticity that comes straight from years of legal experience right at the coal face. Highly recommended' Harriet Tyce
'Fast-paced, topical, sharp and with a heart, I could see Notes on a Drowning played out on screen. Hope Anna Sharpe's cracking out the next one.' Sarah Vaughan
'Witty and warm' Adele Parks, Platinum
'My kind of thriller: pacy, absorbing and smart, with great characters and brilliant dialogue on every page. I loved it!' TM Logan
'A whip-smart, taut thriller...It zips along like a high-end Netflix drama you can't help but binge.' Jane Casey
'A whip-smart thriller, and I adored Alex, a clever, funny lawyer who is trying to hold together her career and failing marriage while trying to find out what really happened to her sister. Both gripping and compassionate, I really hope this is a series, and it would be perfect for TV.' Jo Callaghan
'A belter of a book. Shrewd, powerful, and constructed of smoke and mirrors, it's contemporary thriller writing at its breathless best. Anna Sharpe knows how to weave a tale.' Helen Fields
'Gripping' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'High-octane' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Grabs you' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Atmospheric' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Timely' Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alex knows she risks getting fired from her law firm if she takes on another unpaid case, but when she hears Rosa's desperate voice at the other end of the phone, she knows she has to help: the body of Rosa's shy teenage sister, Natalia, has been dragged, lifeless, from the Thames. Alex can't help but think of her own missing little sister. She knows how a lack of answers can eat you alive.
Kat has worked hard to become Special Adviser to the Home Secretary, and is eager to finally put the dark and tragic part of her past behind her. But when she discovers a series of cover-ups, she begins to wonder whether her seemingly perfect new boss could be involved. Then she's shocked to discover a letter that raises worrying questions about a girl found drowned in London... Natalia.
There are complex and painful reasons for Alex and Kat not to work together, but when it becomes clear that there are powerful people involved in Natalia's death, and that other girls are at risk, Alex and Kat must overcome their differences to find answers. Will they save the girls and discover the truth? Or will the high-powered players in this game stop Alex and Kat for good?
What your favourite thriller writers are saying about Notes on a Drowning:
'It's excellent - razor sharp writing, a gripping plot and a level of authenticity that comes straight from years of legal experience right at the coal face. Highly recommended' Harriet Tyce
'Fast-paced, topical, sharp and with a heart, I could see Notes on a Drowning played out on screen. Hope Anna Sharpe's cracking out the next one.' Sarah Vaughan
'Witty and warm' Adele Parks, Platinum
'My kind of thriller: pacy, absorbing and smart, with great characters and brilliant dialogue on every page. I loved it!' TM Logan
'A whip-smart, taut thriller...It zips along like a high-end Netflix drama you can't help but binge.' Jane Casey
'A whip-smart thriller, and I adored Alex, a clever, funny lawyer who is trying to hold together her career and failing marriage while trying to find out what really happened to her sister. Both gripping and compassionate, I really hope this is a series, and it would be perfect for TV.' Jo Callaghan
'A belter of a book. Shrewd, powerful, and constructed of smoke and mirrors, it's contemporary thriller writing at its breathless best. Anna Sharpe knows how to weave a tale.' Helen Fields
Critics Review
A propulsive, authentic, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, written with biting wit and real heart
A sharp sense of the realities of power in modern Britain
My kind of thriller: pacy, absorbing and smart, with great characters and brilliant dialogue on every page. I loved it!
Her characters actually speak like real people - a rarity in thrillers - and her depiction of the men who do as they please in the corridors of power and behind the shutters of Mayfair has the tang of righteous anger.
A witty and warm political thriller
Whip-smart political thriller... A brilliantly pacy page-turner with a deeply compassionate centre. Topical and thought-provoking.
Razor-sharp writing, a gripping plot and a level of authenticity that comes straight from years of legal experience right at the coal face. Highly recommended.
A whip-smart thriller, and I adored Alex... Both gripping and compassionate, I really hope this is a series, and it would be perfect for TV.
A whip-smart, taut thriller from the pen of the brilliant Anna Sharpe about powerful people behaving badly, written with compassion for their victims as well as an astute eye for the world of politics and the law. What is the connection between a dead Moldovan girl found floating in the Thames and a young woman's experiences in Tokyo years earlier? It zips along like a high-end Netflix drama you can't help but binge. Out in January!
I loved Notes on a Drowning... A tense political thriller but one that never forgets its heart. A new venture from mega-talented Anna Sharpe. Read it!
A rare thing - a high-octane, page turning thriller, but with characters who are fully rounded
Thought-provoking, timely, and elegant in execution... a novel that marries the intelligence of legal noir with the tension of a cutting-edge thriller... Simply outstanding.
Anna Sharpe is a masterful storyteller. Here, she crafts a riveting account of corruption at the dark heart of Westminster. Smart, propulsive and horrifyingly believable, Notes on a Drowning explores the cowardice of the powerful and the courage of those they subjugate. Along with a shockingly timely theme, I found not one but two of that ever-elusive heroine: tough and resilient but also human and relatable. I desperately hope to see Alex and Kat again.
A compelling, emotional and unputdownable thriller
A timely and hugely entertaining political thriller written with humour and sensitivity, and an important story at its heart. Anna Sharpe has created something fresh and new, and I can't wait for the next one.
Smart, sharp, and restlessly entertaining with dialogue that dances off the page, Notes on a Drowning is riveting from the get-go. Loved this trip into the seedy underbelly of politics and corruption.
Well that was a ride and a half. Brava @Anna_Mazz If you want murder and thrills and mafias and spooks and some trafficking oh and drowning obviously. This is your book. Oh and lawyers too. Breakneck plot skilfully delivered with writing to die for ??????'
A belter of a book. Shrewd, powerful, and constructed of smoke and mirrors, it's contemporary thriller writing at its breathless best. Anna Sharpe knows how to weave a tale.
Slick, stylish and sharp as a tack, I really enjoyed this wry and urgent novel from a blistering new voice in contemporary crime.
Two women united by a painful secret take on the establishment in this tense, big-hearted, super-smart legal thriller. Anna Sharpe is one to watch.
This Anna Sharpe is a bit good. Compelling characters, glamorous locations with a deep dive into a dark and murky world. Loved it!
A gripping political thriller from an exciting new voice. I can't wait to read what Anna Sharpe writes next.
1) It is ridiculously good. Taut, tense, all too heartbreakingly true. And also very funny.
2) Alex and Kat should definitely ride again.
3) There should be more cats called Steve.
2) Alex and Kat should definitely ride again.
3) There should be more cats called Steve.
Slick, stylish and sharp as a tack, I really enjoyed this wry and urgent novel from a blistering new voice in contemporary crime.
Ooo, this is a belter. Slick, pacy, with tension that ratchets up in the most delicious way. Add in masterful plotting, witty dialogue, some sleazy, powerful people behaving badly, and you've a surefire hit.
A terrific, gripping page turner that tackles societal and political issues with sensitivity and a subtle touch of humour. Loved it.
A gripping thriller
A propulsive, authentic, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, written with biting wit and real heart.
Ooo, this is a belter. Slick, pacy, with tension that ratchets up in the most delicious way. Add in masterful plotting, witty dialogue, some sleazy, powerful people behaving badly, and you've a surefire hit. Out Jan 25!
User Reviews
05/03/2025
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