Notes on a Drowning

Paperback / ISBN-13: 9781398715592

Price: £9.99

ON SALE: 17th July 2025

Genre: Crime & Mystery / Legal Thriller / Organized Crime / Suspense

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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 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?

Reviews

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.
Caz Frear
A sharp sense of the realities of power in modern Britain
Daily Mail
A gripping political thriller from an exciting new voice. I can't wait to read what Anna Sharpe writes next.
Cass Green
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.
Tammy Cohen
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.
Jo Callaghan
A compelling, emotional and unputdownable thriller
Nadine Matheson
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!
Jane Casey
A witty and warm political thriller
Adele Parks
A rare thing - a high-octane, page turning thriller, but with characters who are fully rounded
Jennie Godfrey
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.
Amanda Jennings
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
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.
Abir Mukherjee, Sunday Times bestselling and CWA award-winning author of Hunted
A propulsive, authentic, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, written with biting wit and real heart
Erin Kelly
Slick, stylish and sharp as a tack, I really enjoyed this wry and urgent novel from a blistering new voice in contemporary crime.
Holly Seddon
A terrific, gripping page turner that tackles societal and political issues with sensitivity and a subtle touch of humour. Loved it.
Nikki Smith
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
Slick, stylish and sharp as a tack, I really enjoyed this wry and urgent novel from a blistering new voice in contemporary crime.
Holly Seddon
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.
Charlotte Philby
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!
Elly Griffiths
This Anna Sharpe is a bit good. Compelling characters, glamorous locations with a deep dive into a dark and murky world. Loved it!
Rachel Wolf
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.
Kia Abdullah
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.
Sam Holland, award-winning and bestselling author of The Echo Man
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 ??????'
Imran Mahmood
My kind of thriller: pacy, absorbing and smart, with great characters and brilliant dialogue on every page. I loved it!
TM Logan