The Imposter - Anna Wharton

I'm so pleased to be on the blog tour for this book today.

Description

They say you can't choose your family . . . But what if they're wrong?

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 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 is moved into care, 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 isn't all they seem. In a house where everyone has something to hide, is it possible to get too close?

Anna Wharton’s debut, The Imposter, is a thought-provoking story of obsession, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves in order to live with ourselves.

'Evocative and compelling' – Karen Hamilton, author of The Perfect Girlfriend and The Last Wife

Review

Chloe is not like any character I've met in a book before. At first I was struggling with her as she seemed to lack the wherewithal to take charge of her life. Then I became scared of her, and then I became very scared for her!

There is a trigger warning for dementia with this book. The scenes are so realistic that it could be painful for some to read. Very sensitively written and it's so spot on with the dialogue and scenes concerning dementia. 

On the surface it seems like this will be a gentle read. A young woman whose Nan is going to have to go into care as she can't cope with her, no matter when she thinks herself. An interest in an old case Chloe finds through her archivist job at the newspaper of a missing four year old. But oh how the tension builds, I had my heart in my mouth several times for Chloe, silently screaming at her, as she carried out what I deemed reckless actions. At times it felt like you were watching scenes from a psychological horror film.

I can hardly believe this is the authors first book as she led us through so many twists and turns. At one point in the book I felt the scales fall from my eyes and was enthusiastically shouting that I knew what was happening. I couldn't then wait to get to the end of the book, however, what was to follow only confirmed how good a writer Anna is, because I was so, so wrong. 

Once I had finished the book, I went back and re read some of the beginning - that's when I personally know it's been a very good read. So of course I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. I will be the first in line to read whatever Anna Wharton writes next. My thanks to Random Things Tours and netgalley for the book and ARC to review.

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.