Notes on a Drowning
On sale
29th January 2026
Price: £10.99
Genre
Crime & Mystery / Legal Thriller / Organized Crime / Suspense
Notes on a Drowning is the unmissable thriller from award-winning author Anna Sharpe. Perfect for fans of Sarah Vaughan and Karin Slaughter.
Alex risks losing her job if she takes on more unpaid legal work, but then comes a case she can’t refuse. A young girl’s lifeless body has been dragged from the Thames and her sister is convinced it wasn’t an accident. Still haunted by the disappearance of her own sister Alex begins to investigate.
Kat has worked hard to become Special Adviser to the Home Secretary and is determined to keep dark events from her youth in the past. But when she discovers a series of cover-ups, and a letter that raises questions about a drowned girl, Kat wonders if her seemingly perfect boss could be involved.
As Alex and Kat delve deeper, it becomes clear that other girls are at risk. Can the women overcome their differences and uncover the full story in time to save them? Or will the powerful men pulling the strings silence them for good?
Readers love Notes on a Drowning:
‘Powerful’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Gripping’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘High-octane’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Grabs you’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Atmospheric’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Timely’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alex risks losing her job if she takes on more unpaid legal work, but then comes a case she can’t refuse. A young girl’s lifeless body has been dragged from the Thames and her sister is convinced it wasn’t an accident. Still haunted by the disappearance of her own sister Alex begins to investigate.
Kat has worked hard to become Special Adviser to the Home Secretary and is determined to keep dark events from her youth in the past. But when she discovers a series of cover-ups, and a letter that raises questions about a drowned girl, Kat wonders if her seemingly perfect boss could be involved.
As Alex and Kat delve deeper, it becomes clear that other girls are at risk. Can the women overcome their differences and uncover the full story in time to save them? Or will the powerful men pulling the strings silence them for good?
Readers love Notes on a Drowning:
‘Powerful’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Gripping’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘High-octane’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Grabs you’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Atmospheric’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Timely’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
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!
This Anna Sharpe is a bit good. Compelling characters, glamorous locations with a deep dive into a dark and murky world. Loved it!
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.
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 ??????'
My kind of thriller: pacy, absorbing and smart, with great characters and brilliant dialogue on every page. I loved it!
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.
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.
Slick, stylish and sharp as a tack, I really enjoyed this wry and urgent novel from a blistering new voice in contemporary crime.
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.
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 witty and warm political thriller
A rare thing - a high-octane, page turning thriller, but with characters who are fully rounded
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 compelling, emotional and unputdownable thriller
A gripping thriller
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!
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.
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.
A sharp sense of the realities of power in modern Britain
Whip-smart political thriller... A brilliantly pacy page-turner with a deeply compassionate centre. Topical and thought-provoking.
A gripping political thriller from an exciting new voice. I can't wait to read what Anna Sharpe writes next.
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.
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.
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.
A propulsive, authentic, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, written with biting wit and real heart
Slick, stylish and sharp as a tack, I really enjoyed this wry and urgent novel from a blistering new voice in contemporary crime.
A terrific, gripping page turner that tackles societal and political issues with sensitivity and a subtle touch of humour. Loved it.