I loved True Crime Story which is why I chose to read this book. On reflection they're two very different books and I prefer the narrative structure andcwriting style of TCS. This book was too much in the vein of espionage for my tastes. It's well written but just not for me.

Fast paced thriller with lots of twists and turns. Kept me guessing right until the end! Really enjoyable read would definitely recommend.

Loved the book. Fast, funny, twisty , great horrible characters. Read it in a couple of sittings as I had to see if I guessed the perpetrator ……….
No I was wrong! Excellent.

A con artist meets an heiress in a hotel, he is the spit of her missing brother and she is about to check in to rehab.
This book has a fabulous opening and I was hooked from the outset.
The book is well written, has interesting characters and a great pace.
I struggled in places to keep up and understand some of the intricate twists and turns. The plot in the latter half of the book is quite complex, even after finishing I’m not 100% sure I understood it.
Not a book to read if you’re sleepy or can only read small chunks at a time, it needs attention and concentration.
Overall an enjoyable read, but it didn’t quite live up to the excellent opening.

Imposter Syndrome by Joseph Knox

There’s no way to do this storyline justice in a short post, and you can read the official blurb for that.

To give you a quick flavour, we have our ‘hero’ Lynch, a down on his luck con-artist who becomes mixed up with two unlikable uber-rich families - one with dead sons, a druggie daughter, and actress mother; the second with a ‘Howard Hughes’ dad and the twins he’s feeding on.

Then there are security guys, influencers, a fixer, and a cast of henchmen as long as your arm. Put these together with a load of secrets and a chase through London, and you’ll get the drift.

It’s an enjoyable twisty whodunn-what and why. It didn’t grab me like True Crime (the format’s not as unique and it’s not as believable) but I still wanted to get to the bottom of it all. 3.5/5 stars

Thanks to @netgalley for the drc to review

Lynch, a down-on-his-luck conman, flees from Paris to London with nothing to his name. On arrival, he meets wealthy Bobbie, on her way to rehab, who is drawn to him by his resemblance to her brother Heydon, who disappeared some years before under suspicious circumstances. Bobbie sends Lynch to her family home, where her mother, Miranda, hires him to impersonate Heydon to try to flush out those who caused his death, but soon Lynch is involved with some very dangerous people whilst trying to unravel the truth from a web of lies. Like Knox’s earlier books this is a dark, violent and intricately plotted crime novel with a morally dubious, but still somehow likeable, leading man. I particularly enjoyed seeing Lynch’s character develop and grow a conscience. Fast-paced and twisty, and very intelligently written with a wry humour, it kept me guessing, and even by the end I wasn’t entirely sure about who had done what, but it was a thrilling ride.

I really thought I was going to love this from the way the book started but I found the plot went down some rabbit holes and ultimately lost me a bit.

Full review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6463922903

Imposter Syndrome - Joseph Knox

A con-artist, an heiress and a missing doppelganger. I had no idea these 3 components could make for such a good story!

Lynch bumps into a secretive heiress, on her way to rehab, who recognises the similarities between him and her missing brother. After a hazy night together, Bobbie disappears, leaving Lynch in a hotel room with a seemingly random tattoo on his face and information that will allow him access to a family with more money than they know what to do with.

After striking a deal, Lynch gets invested in the case of his missing doppelganger as surprising clues keep falling into his hands. The deeper he gets, the harder it becomes to walk away.

Lynch’s investigation is enticing, leaving the reader to think the mysteries about to be solved after each emerging clue. However, you find yourself falling deeper into the questionable disappearance along with Lynch himself.

This is a brilliantly written book. One which is difficult to predict and comes with many surprising plot twists.

I struggled slightly with understanding the roles that each character plays, finding it quite complex and difficult to follow at times. However, persistence is key and as I progressed through the book, each event and character began to make more sense and become relevant to the story itself.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in return for an honest review!

When Lynch, a conman, arrives in London, fleeing a situation he wanted to escape in Paris, he bumps into Bobbie Pierce, whose brother went missing years earlier and to whole Lynch apparently bears a striking resemblance. Drawn into the Pierce family’s murky world, Lynch tries to find out what happened to Heydon Pierce and who might have been responsible.

This is a very readable thriller. I really liked our main character, and could read more with him in. His conman persona, switching between who he needs to be in the arising situation I think meant we didn’t get to know him all that well and I’d be intrigued to know more.

This is a VERY twisty book so PAY ATTENTION! There were some interesting elements at play in the plot and I was dying to find out what had happened.

Recommended to anyone looking for a twisty thriller.

Mr Lynch arrives at the airport. He bumps into Bobby Pierce who mistakes him for her brother who went missing and before he knows Mr Lynch is working out what did happen to Hayden Pierce. Is he dead or alive?

A great story full of twists. I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't stop reading. Thank you for letting me read it.

4+
First of all, I love the cover which does the book justice!

A gouger : a charlatan, a cheater, a con artist, a chiseller and at the very least of the definition, a rascal.
Yes, Lynch is all of the above and he’s currently fleeing from Paris. He’s bound for London with no luggage, no money and a dying phone. At Heathrow, he accidentally bumps into Bobbie Pierce who mistakes Lynch for her brother Heydon who has been missing for five years. This chance encounter takes Lynch into the orbit of the Pierce family, in particular Bobbie’s formidable mother, former actress, Miranda. Miranda also sees Lynchs resemblance to her missing son and hires him to assume Heydon’s identity with the objective of drawing out the truth. However, ever since he arrives in the UK, Lynch has a sense of being watched. Paranoia or something way more sinister?

Joseph Knox delivers an excellent read yet again with corkscrew plot twists right from Heathrow and you need to keep up as it’s complex and could cause your head to spin! You think you’ve sorted out who’s behind the nefarious deeds only to find there are shadowy and even more dangerous characters or organisations lurking behind them. Lynch goes back and forth, back and forth, often retracing steps sometimes advancing his grasp on the goings on and sometimes just to clarify what he thinks MIGHT be going on! Heydon’s story is immersive, it’s twisty, his backstory tugs at the heart as it seems he’s prey but who is his predator or predators? That’s the billion dollar question and why? Joseph Knox has set us a very enigmatic puzzle full of many characters to navigate.

Lynch has certainly entered a lions den and his characterisation is so good. He’s tough, not necessarily likeable but he’s doggedly determined and he doesn’t baulk as he encounters yet another scary dude, suggesting for once, he’s trying to do the right thing. He’s a complicated man, I find him very intriguing and definitely would want to keep on his right side!

It’s an addictive read as I try to solve the riddles posed and what is ultimately revealed is a tense and dark tale of deception upon deception with very dangerous players. Think ‘Hustle’ but with characters from the darkest gangster film that you can think of.

Overall, it’s a different and wild ride, keeping you in suspense. The moral of the tale ? Trust no one.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Transworld for the much appreciated in return for an honest review.

This starts with a guy (who we will later call "Mr Lynch") leaving Paris in something of a hurry by train and wearing a cheap suit. He is obviously wondering whether anyone is after him. From London he heads to Heathrow apparently without purpose. When he gets there, a woman called Bobbie thinks she recognises him as her missing brother who has not been heard of for five years. However he lacks Heydon's distinctive tattoo. After a night with Bobbie, Lynch wakes up to finds he has been given that tattoo in the night…. Bobbie has left for rehab in LA as she had planned however she suggests he might go to her family home and gives him the PIN number for the key safe.

This is one of those "gradual reveal" stories where we get to add pieces to the jigsaw from time to time. The story follows Lynch, who initially agrees to pretend he is Heydon to try and find out what actually happened to him and why. It's fair to say that the family are not wholeheartedly behind this nor are some security personally who are working for the family. There is a roller coaster ride ahead. There are enough red herrings to go around here!

I'm a fan of some of Joseph Knox's work. I loved his Aidan Waits series and would recommend that to anyone. I wasn't particular happy with True Crime story though. In this one I really like Lynch as a character and there are a number of others who are decent too. The pace and tension are very good indeed (as was the case in the Aidan Waits books). It certainly kept me reading. I guess for me the ending was a little too convoluted - one or two of the twists were very strange. I would stress that I did enjoy reading this book however it left me a little less than satisfied I think. 3.5/5 however rounded up for the characters and the pace.

A really enjoyable read from Joseph Knox author of one of my a favourite ever books True Crime Story published in 2021.
This latest thriller is a must for fans of twisty fast paced mysteries centering around missing Heydon Pierce and the con artist set up to impersonate him; Lynch.
I loved how unflappable Lynch was, although couldn’t really get my head around why he went along with events given how deep he slipped into the intrigue. Some of his retorts, especially with Mike, were laugh out loud moments.
I’ll admit there were a lot of characters and events, which did leave me feeling confused at times, but Knox did recap through the narrative so I did feel able to keep up (mostly!)

I loved True Crime Story however I just struggled to get my head around this although I did persevere to the end. Con man ‘Lynch’ finds himself embroiled in a toxic super rich family due to his resemblance to their son who vanished five years ago and finds himself caught up with some very shady characters whilst trying to uncover what happened to the son. It was very difficult to like any of the characters in this and the concepts of their roles were extreme but also slightly scary. The action takes places over a short time but there’s a lot going on during that time frame however beyond trying to avoid his own life it was difficult to understand what compelled Lynch to continue investigating. This was a good consideration of what the super rich could be capable of with the right connections and how family secrets can come back and bite you hard.

I was hoping i’d enjoy this as much as i enjoyed True Crime Story but unfortunately that didn’t happen. It took me a while to get into the book and until the last few chapters i was enjoying it a lot more than when i started, however the ending for me seems misplaced. i am still left with a few questions (though that may be intended or i simply didn’t pick up what was being put down).

I loved ‘True Crime Story’ and was very excited to get a review copy of Knox’s latest! It’s an episode of ‘Slow Horses’ crossed with a Marx Brothers film, but a bit less slapstick and a bit more… murdery. Fast paced, bloody and excellent.

There was a lot of suspense in tension here as we explored the world of the rich and discovered how dangerous they can be.

Imposter Syndrome review

A whirlwind of a novel, rushing us round a contemporary London which most of us never see-the elevated world of the financial top 0.1%. A world which may not prove as appealing as the protagonist hopes.

Lynch newly back in London after an escapade gone wrong finds himself penniless and alone.

He falls into company with the mysterious Bobbie and her wealthy family-getting himself mixed up in the dubious impersonation of a missing family-member who he superficially resembles.

However the ultra-rich world he embraces proves more duplicitous, cunning and possibly murderous that he could possibly anticipate.

Ever the anti-hero, Lynch somehow becomes heroic, taking on the criminality he finds in the decadent billionaires he encounters. Ultimately he is redeemed, sickened by the sheer corruption of all around him and snatches one last chance to rebuild his life.

Tightly written, the twists and turns of the plot keep the reader guessing until the very end. Imposter Syndrome is sure to become a talking point of the summer as it matches the surprise and impact of the author’s previous novel, True Crime Story.

I am already looking forward to the next brilliant novel from Joseph Knox!

Imposter Syndrome is a fast-moving , quirky and typically dark thriller from Joseph Knox.
Lynch is a man on the run from a con job in Paris that has gone badly wrong,how wrong is hinted at but only revealed later. Broke ,tired and desperate he bumps into Bobbie,an heiress on her way to rehab who mistakes him for the missing brother she hasn't seen for years. A hazy night spent with Bobbie leaves Lynch with a facial tattoo the same as her missing brother's and making an unwise promise to help her by posing as him.
As if that's not complicated enough,when the initial plot goes wrong Lynch finds himself also promising to help Bobbie's mother and sister in another ,equally ill-advised "cunning plan".

I did at first think this was going to be a Ripleyesque tale of a cunning chancer infiltrating a gullible group of rich people but that's very far from the case. Lynch finds himself entering a labyrinth of deception and danger against very dark forces who always seem to be one step ahead of him.

This is a fast-moving and complex tale,often confusing as well as the reader is thrown off track by sudden turns of events and new information that throws a different light on what they think they know.

I loved this.

It is such a twisty, clever story that will keep you on your toes as you navigate all the events and people.

The characters are intriguing, our main protagonist especially, it is also unpredictable and hugely addictive.

I won't give anything away but you'll.devour this, something a bit different and terrific writing.