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rating 5/5

Verdict: There are books you just know should be a bestseller - and The Imposter by Anna Wharton is definitely one! It has this eerie, bewitching tone akin to The Silent Patient or The Girl on the Train. If this is how Anna debuts, then I am willing to sign up for her next book already!

My Opinion: Go for it! It is certainly slow paced, but somehow that adds to its very bewitching quality. The book is written for readers who like to get into the head of the narrator, and experience the world as she sees it. I tore through this book at a rapid pace, and I really think that is how it should be read - to keep the momentum going.

The characters aren't fleshed out completely, and there is good reason for it. Since, you are seeing the world from the protagonist's POV you can grasp only so much.

I did, however, want to know more about Chloe. It surely closes more quickly than the entire pace of the book, but perhaps that is for effect.

Such a thought provoking noval with some heart wretching moments that will resonate with many.

Chloe the main character do the book is a complex misunderstood girl and the way that Anna develops her as the story unfolds is genius.

Look forward to seeing what this author writes next. 🤗

spoiler alert ** The main character in this,Chloe ,comes across as lonely and a little bit sad.
Caring for a nan with dementia and having one friend,her life isn't all that.
The story is very much a slow drip feed and piecing things together,Chloe becomes increasingly sinister and obsessive.
Right up till the last few pages when you realise you've read the whole situation wrong...
From someone who feels they've seen enough twists in this type of book... this was a good on

Although this book has an age old concept,there are also some twists and novel ideas running through it too,I certainly did not guess the true extent of how the main character lives her life,that was a complete surprise to me,which I found refreshing.
Chloe the main character definitely has some major flaws,but despite that,I did find myself warming to her and feeling sympathy and empathy for Chloe.
There were times when I thought I had worked out what had happened to Angie,the four year old little girl who had gone missing some years ago whilst at the park with her Dad,but then another character would be highlighted and I'd change my mind.
The idea of Maureen,(Angie's Mum), convincing herself that Chloe was her missing daughter and therefore treating her as she did Angie at the age of four was a good one and certainly gave the book more depth, which again I enjoyed.
Chloe had her own ideas of what had happened to Angie and without giving too much away those ideas took her down several different paths,which also gave the book more depth
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to family and friends to read.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it pre publication in exchange for an independent review.

Chloe is working as a newspaper archivist. One day, clipping stories from the paper, she spots a name that catches her eye. Drawn into the story of a missing girl and her parents, Chloe seems captivated by the circumstances surrounding the girls' disappearance. Or is she?

I really, really loved this book. From the start, there was something I couldn't quite put my finger on, an unease threading through the story. As we learn more about Chloe, the tension grows. I can't say I liked Chloe, but she is a fascinating character and I couldn't tear myself away from the pages. As soon as I put the book down, I had to pick it back up again - I was gripped!

The suspense built and built throughout. As Chloe's Nan is moved into a care home, suffering from dementia, Chloe's obsession with the missing girl and her family moves up a notch, but not in a shocking way - more of a slow, growing darkness that I hadn't realised had been creeping up all along. And the ending! I gasped out loud - completely out of the blue. I loved it.

Brilliant book, a massive 5 stars, definitely read it!

This Was a brilliant book. I really count read it quick enough and did not who to trust. Great. Highly recommended xx

Chloe is a woman with a challenging childhood behind her and all she has in her life is a job working in archives, an elderly nan with dementia and a friend called Hollie.

While working Chloe comes across a story of a child who went missing 25 years ago and gets involved in trying to solve the mystery. She becomes too involved with the child’s parents, she has pressure from her Nan’s illness and loses her sense of reality.

But who is Chloe? What are her real motives?!

I couldn’t put this down and got caught up in Chloe’s investigations. Would definitely recommend it!

Having already had the pleasure of experiencing this author’s talent through her non-fiction writing, I was very excited to get an early opportunity to read this, her fiction debut. I was not disappointed. Her impressive ability to capture emotion, vulnerability and the human condition generally has served her well in creating a psychological thriller that does what it says on the tin - keeping you on your toes throughout and delivering the requisite twist – although not necessarily the one you were expecting. Above all, it is all worryingly plausible. The pace is good throughout – the seemingly slow start is deceptive and I suspect many readers will be flicking back and cursing themselves as they check things they have missed. There are also some truly suspenseful scenes which will speed up your reading and your heart rate.
Set against the bleak and hauntingly-captured backdrop of the Fens and centring on the long-standing mystery surrounding a missing child, the story encompasses a range of topical issues, including the pain of caring for a loved one with dementia, loneliness, the short-comings of the care system, and the idea of deceit as a means of shielding those you love. As a character, the protagonist, Chloe, is a risk – she has unlikeable traits, and might be viewed as shallow and irritating. But what is extremely clever about her creation is that she is therefore easy to underestimate. At the heart of this story is a group of vulnerable people, the secrets they keep, willingly or unwillingly, to protect themselves and the impact upon others when those secrets are revealed. It is this aspect that keeps the characters alive well after the story is done and, after you have finished reading you may, like me, find yourself spending time thinking about them and questioning how you have judged them.

I am very grateful to both the author and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for which I have agreed to give an honest review.

I really loved this and I can't quite work out what it was about it that really spoke to me- the main protagonist Chloe is probably key - a disconnected soul who ends up obsessed with a missing child case to the extent that she inserts herself into the lives of the grieving parents..

History, memory and the many layers of grief are a central theme here. Chloe floats through the novel, always a kind of ethereal presence. Of course there's a mystery element but that is really secondary to the people here- it is an addictive, cleverly crafted tale that really hits the sweet spot in atmosphere and emotional resonance.

Really excellent. Highly recommended. One to watch in 2021.

If half stars are a thing then this is 4.5 stars!

Wow, this is one hell of a debut! It’s taken me a few days to get my head together to write this review, this book floored me.

The start was a little slow but having said that, there was a lot of character/plot building going on. Chloe is a complex character, we know just enough about her without knowing too much. As the story goes on and we learn more it becomes clearer as to why she does what she does, thinks as she thinks. I really liked that, the author has taken the time to give the characters back story and it influences their current thoughts and actions. By around 40% of the way through we really see a change in the pacing and the plot really starts to take off. This is where I got hooked.

Books like this one can so often end up predictable and the whole thing gets lost in layer upon layer of silly, unnecessary twists. I didn’t find The Imposter like that at all. I couldn’t tell which way we were headed and as for the end, I didn’t see that coming at all.!

If there are any flaws, they’re minor. There were a couple of plot points that didn’t feel believable and it did leave some questions unanswered which I would have like answers to. However, I feel this is personal preference.

Overall this is a dark, gripping read that will be enjoyed by fans of Gone Girl, The Silent Patient etc etc although, in my opinion, it is far superior to these. I wish the author every success with this, it is a book I will still be thinking about in a year or more. I would love to read more about Chloe. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity of reading this fantastic book.

The Imposter is a novel that has an original plot. It's quite slow to start with, but really get to know the protagonist, Chloe, because of how in-depth we know her we really feel it when the story begins to pick up the pace and hits its crescendo with the ending.

Newspaper archivist Chloe hasn’t had the best life, but she’s been loved by Nan - until she has to move into a nursing home - loves her job - until others feel she shouldn’t be there - and has a best friend who only wants life to treat her kindly. So when Chloe reads of a 25-year-old missing girl, her heart beats a little faster learning about the parents, desperate for knowledge of what happened and their belief that they’ll see their daughter again. When the parents advertise for a lodger, and Chloe’s life has taken a pretty downward spiral, she does what you know she’ll do (you’re almost shouting at the book at this stage) and moves in. But life with parents of a missing child is not easy and everyone’s got secrets to hide. I liked this throughout but the ending is just brilliant, fantastically clever.

Chloe works in the newspaper archives and lives with Nan, who is succumbing to dementia. As social workers move her into a home, Chloe becomes obsessed with the story she finds in the archives of a family who lost their 4 year old daughter - a child who would have been around the same age as Chloe. Chloe starts to try to investigate, and then the couple advertise for a lodger.

The premise of this novel is great, unfortunately Chloe is incredibly annoying - so much so that I couldn't bear to read any more after the lodger advert. The pace is slow, and I was so put off by Chloe that I gave up. Other reviewers have said there's a great twist to it but I didn't get far enough to find out what it was. A psychological suspense thriller will usually draw me in and this didn't quite make the grade.

An interesting read with many twists and turns. A little slow at times but intriguing plot although I found the main character somewhat irritating but also rather a sad person which all comes to the fore at the end. Keeps the reader gripped as one tries to work out all the missing pieces in the underlying plot. Well written, at times, chilling book set in the isolation of the Norfolk fens.

The Imposter has an intruiging premise that initially made for a tense, fast-paced and gripping plot. There were several edge-of-your-seat moments, full of suspense and tension. I figured out very early on what the main plot would involve but I was very shocked by the twist at the end.

Unfortunately, Chloe is an immensely irritating character. She is an unreliable narrator and not a very nice person. I found it hard to empathise with her which made the last half of the book a bit of a chore. Whilst I enjoyed the ending of the novel and found it surprising, I also felt there was a lot of potential within it and to reduce it to a few short pages was disappointing. That being said, if it was expanded into another book, I wouldn't read it as Chloe was so irritating.

Perhaps worth a read if you enjoy psychological suspense novels but not the best of the genre.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan, Mantle and NetGalley for the ARC.

Anna Wharton has created a sympathetic character in Chloe. Unappreciated at work and often mistaken by Nan for her dead daughter, she feels alone, bothered even by the apparently well-intentioned concerns of her friend Hollie. The premise is chilling and there’s a real sense of creeping dread as the story unfurls, helped along by the desolate Fen setting.
Chloe really doesn’t help herself sometimes but I think that makes her realistic – it’s a short step from just about hanging on to completely losing all perspective or sticking your head in the sand. Angie’s unresolved disappearance inevitably set my mind running off to several what-if scenarios. Is she still alive? Who was responsible for her disappearance? What happened to Stella? Just who is telling the biggest pack of lies?
I guessed one part of the ending but not the slap around the face of the big reveal. Very well done.

Thanks to Netgalley for a preview of this book. It was a great read, I sympathised so much with Chloe and her nans battle with Alzheimer's. The book had plenty of twists and turns and the ending was really good. I'd definitely recommend this book.

What an incredible story! A gripping tale of mystery, intrigue, heartache and a longing to belong. The twists and turns along the way really do keep the reader engaged and guessing right to the final page. Love it!

At first I felt I couldn’t quite get into the story, it felt a little long and drawn out, but am I glad I stuck with it!

A child goes missing at a park, the parents never give up hope, giving a newspaper interview year after year, trying to spark interest in the case. Chloe works in the newspaper archives and her interest is sparked by the couple who never give up. When Chloe's life begins to fall apart, she sees an advert to rent a room in the couples house; she sees this as a sign, but is Chloe in danger, and what did happen to their daughter?

I was totally immersed in Chloe's journey, I stayed up late because I needed to reach the end and it was worth it! The ending is not what I expected, it took me by surprise (in a good way). Really recommend The Imposter.

I know it's still summer, but The Imposter is one of my favourite reads of the year so far. WHAT. A. BOOK. I was hooked from the very beginning, but also had to pace myself - it was the kind of novel I didn't just want to devour in one sitting.

Newspaper archivist Chloe's life isn't going as planned. Her grandmother's dementia has worsened, so much so that she no longer remembers Chloe. Their house is about to be sold. She's at risk of losing her job. And while she struggles, her best friend Hollie is living a seemingly perfect life of houses and holidays with her husband.

So when Chloe comes across cuttings for a decades-old local story, she can't help but feel drawn to it. In 1979, 4-year-old Angela Kyle went missing, and was never found. The Kyles still live in hope that one day their daughter will return home, even though the police closed the investigation years ago.

Chloe wants to help. And soon she finds herself way too involved in the story.

This may be a fantastic thriller, but it's also warm and heartfelt. Even though it has some great surprises, this book doesn't rely on shock twists - it simply doesn't need to. Instead, there are realistic characters and a tense, harrowing story. It's addictive from the very beginning and and keeps you guessing throughout - a unique and original novel that pulled me in from page one. (I loved the ending!)