A girl who went missing. A family who never gave up. A lonely young woman who only wanted to help . . .
Anna Wharton’s fiction debut, The Imposter, is a gripping story of obsession, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves in order to live with ourselves . . .
Chloe lives a quiet life. Working as a newspaper archivist in the day and taking care of her Nan in the evening, she's happy simply to read about the lives of others as she files away the news clippings from the safety of her desk.
But there's one story that she can't stop thinking about. The case of Angie Kyle - a girl, Chloe's age, who went missing as a child. A girl whose parents never gave up hope.
When Chloe's Nan gets moved into a nursing home, leaving Chloe on the brink of homelessness, she takes a desperate step: answering an ad to be a lodger in the missing girl's family home. It could be the perfect opportunity to get closer to the story she's read so much about. But it's not long until she realizes this couple aren't all they seem from the outside . . .
But with everyone in the house hiding something, the question is – whose secrets are the most dangerous?
My Thoughts:
On the surface it might sound like The Imposter is a straight forward story and even when I was reading I thought I understood what it was all about. However it soon became much more than I anticipated. The nuances of the plot slowly unravelling much like the mental health of some of the characters.
Chloe works at a newspaper as an archivist. She seems pretty happy doing this and minding her own business. She has her Nan to take care of after all. Nan has got Alzheimers and is becoming more and more forgetful and difficult to look after. Chloe initially out of distraction I guess becomes obsessed with the story of a girl that went missing called Angie. The story soon becomes all Chloe can think about and if she can't reign it in she is going to lose everything.
After Nan goes missing social services are wanting to put her in a home. Chloe feels a sense of abandonment and doesn't know what to do with herself, at this stage her behaviour also becomes more erratic and dangerous with even her best friend Hollie unable to get through to her.
Call it fate or more like fate and a little bit of digging Chloe answers an advert to become a lodger in the home of Angie's parents. I can't possibly tell you what happens next though but I guess the question would be does Chloe get the happy ever after she so desperately seeks.
I found this story whilst a mystery was so much more thought provoking than just the mystery element. The Imposter is a story about a search for a place to call home, a place to feel loved and wanted. It is also about the lengths people would go to be accepted. So well written, completely gripping and a conclusion that was satisfying and unexpected.
The tension built as every page turned and the complexities of the multi faceted characters is something to be admired. An assured and brilliant first novel.
About the Author:
ANNA WHARTON has been a print and broadcast journalist for more than twenty years, writing for newspapers including The Times, Guardian, Sunday Times Magazine, Grazia and Red. She was formally an executive editor at The Daily Mail. Anna has ghostwritten four memoirs including the Sunday Times bestseller Somebody I Used To Know and Orwell Prize longlisted CUT: One Woman’s Fight Against FGM in Britain Today. The Imposter is her first novel.
Please do have a look at the other stops on the blog tour.
Thanks for the blog tour support Leah x
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