After a couple of pages into this book, you’d be forgiven for mistakenly thinking this is a textbook murder mystery.
“Based on a True Story” by Sarah Vaughan, revolves around Dame Eleanor Kingman. She’s a famous and wealthy children’s author who is hosting her 70th birthday party at her gorgeous mansion along the North Cornwall coastline, which is perched on a clifftop overlooking the sea. On the night of the party, a sudden violent rainstorm threatens to cut the outdoor event short. But that isn’t the real threat.
Eleanor’s middle daughter Rachel is convinced something is wrong and believes her mother is in dire trouble. While most of the guests take shelter in the house, Rachel ignores the raging storm and makes her way down a cliff path to the beach, where she discovers a body, newly deceased.
You can’t get much more of a classic whodunit beginning than this: the dramatic setting, the obscuring cover of a downpour, a wealthy party full of guests, each of whom might be the murderer. By the end of the prologue, you would expect a clever but eccentric detective, á la Hercule Poirot, to be en route, ready to gather everyone in the drawing room and shout “J’accuse!”
Drama Over Mystery
But “Based on a True Story” turns out to be a family drama, more about the Kingman clan than the murder, per se.
It centers on the undisputed Kingman matriarch, Eleanor, and those connected to her, each bearing smoldering grievances and unresolved trauma that threaten to erupt—probably during the party. The prologue merely lets you know that not everyone will make it out alive by the end.
The first chapter moves us back in time to two days before the party. From here, the author takes her time positioning each player and letting you know what’s at stake. Short chapters are slow reveals about their brewing crises and the moments in their history that led up to this point.
Outwardly, Eleanor is the stalwart creative artist and businesswoman that everyone admires, a rock of confidence and talent. As she is about to begin her seventh decade, is still at the top of her writing career. She’s also starring in a documentary about her life, and the party will be featured in the footage.
However, a series of anonymous, threatening emails has been appearing in her private account for weeks. The sender seems to know a lot about her and claims they have information that could destroy her reputation and career.
Unsettled, Eleanor decides to use the party as an excuse to bring together several people who have access to her personal info, or might have a grudge against her. Little does she know that her daughters have grievances of their own.
Daughter Dearest
Rachel is desperate to get a loan from her mother to pay off her husband Tom’s gambling debts. This is a tricky prospect, given her stingy mother’s strong belief in self-reliance and solving one’s own problems. Ashamed by his addiction, Tom is afraid the bookie might quickly become violent at the party.
Delia, the youngest daughter, is a social media influencer with a history of substance abuse. She’s full of resentment toward her entire family and itching to cause problems. Gilly, the eldest, manages her mother’s affairs but is increasingly frustrated with her role.
The non-family attendees have their own gripes. Eleanor’s ex-agent, Peter, was fired before she became a huge success, and he knows about an unpublished manuscript that could be very troublesome. Aiysha, a young illustrator who was influential in the success of Eleanor’s last series, feels she’s been cheated out of the massive profits.
Some ex-family members might also show up, including Eleanor’s ex-husband Michael, who was forced out of the family picture for ages and has resentment to spare.
To top it off, the handsome documentary filmmaker, Ned Simpson, has begun to give Eleanor untrustworthy vibes. Is he going to stray into areas of her past that she desperately wants to stay buried? If the mysterious email writer exposes her secrets now, the documentary may unintentionally become her undoing.
Promises at the start of a novel are important. Authors get into trouble when they present a whodunnit but end up providing a “this is how we got here” tale. It might seem like a bait-and-switch at first, but fans of Vaughan know that her biggest strengths lie in personal drama, and she definitely delivers it here.
All the delicious elements of high drama are present: staggering wealth, family secrets, murder, sibling resentment, and fame. The death on the beach is ultimately the culmination of events, not the catalyst.
“Based on a True Story” is a bit unusual in its presentation, but it works on all the right levels for a family crisis story. Although the loose ends might be a little too neatly sewn up at the end, most will likely enjoy the dramatic conclusion.
‘Based on a True Story’
By Sarah Vaughan
Harper: June 9, 2026
Hardcover, 416 pages
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