Lynch, a burned out con-artist, arrives, broke, in London, trying not to dwell on the mistakes that got him there. When he bumps into Bobbie, a rehab-bound heiress – and when she briefly mistakes him for her missing brother – Lynch senses the opportunity, as well as the danger…
Bobbie’s brother, Heydon, was a troubled young man. Five years ago, he walked out of the family home and never went back. His car was found parked on a bridge overlooking the Thames, in the early hours of the same morning. Unsettled by Bobbie’s story, and suffering from a rare attack of conscience, Lynch tries to back off.
But when Bobbie leaves for rehab the following day, he finds himself drawn to her luxurious family home, and into a meeting with her mother, the formidable Miranda. Seeing the same resemblance that her daughter did, Miranda proposes she hire Lynch to assume her son’s identity, in a last-ditch effort to try and flush out his killer.
As Lynch begins to impersonate him, dark forces are lured out of the shadows, and he realises too late that Heydon wasn’t paranoid at all. Someone was watching his every move, and they’ll kill to keep it a secret.
This is the first book by Joseph Knox that I’ve read (though I must confess to a couple lurking on my TBR shelves) and I loved it. The writing is compelling, the characters dark and often unpleasant, and it’s had me reading way past my bedtime to find out what happened. Strong echoes of Highsmith’s Ripley (no bad thing) and more twists and turns than a seaside ride. Who is Lynch? Why did he leave Paris with nothing more than the clothes on his back? Who are the mysteriously weird Pierce family and what are they trying to hide?
It’s a splendidly dark tale of lies and deception where you have no idea who to trust. Fantastic, compelling read, and hugely recommended.
And now I need to go and find the other books by Joseph Knox on my shelves, as he’s now an author I will very much be looking out to see what he does next.
Imposter Syndrome by Joseph Knox is published by Transworld in June 2024. Many thanks to the publisher for an advance copy to review via Netgalley.
