Chloe works in the archiving department of a local paper and comes across the story of a local girl, Angie, who went missing 25 years ago, she becomes obsessed with helping the parents find peace and ends up living with them as their lodger. This obsession and total lack of boundaries is what made me cringe so much!

Chloe is sad and hurting because her Gran is losing herself to dementia and it’s impossible to feel anything but sorry for her. Combined with a sense that she’s hiding something about her past throughout, she’s a character you desperately sympathise with even if you can’t agree with her actions.

The overriding theme in this book is grief. Chloe is coming to terms with losing her gran to dementia, even while she’s still alive, and Angie’s parents are grieving for the little girl who was never found. All of the characters deal with their losses in very different but understandable ways, hitting the reader right in the heart.

Everyone in this story has their secrets, some larger and more outrageous than others and revealed gradually for maximum effect – with some absolute doozies dropped right at the end! This is a fantastic thriller with a huge amount of feeling to it, a strong contender for my book of the year already.

I love the premise of this book but this didn’t really translate for me. Looking at others reviews on good rates and other than platforms, I feel that I am perhaps in the minority. I think my main problem was my huge dislike for the main character Chloe. I found her self obsessed and childish and I really struggle to empathise with her which is a big no-no in stories for me. That was a fast read and I was intrigued to know the outcome which I did end up enjoying.

It seems I'm in the minority with not loving this book, though I did love the premise. Chloe is a 29 year old woman caring for her elderly grandmother who has dementia, juggling this with a job in the archive department of a local newspaper,where she becomes obsessed with the 25 year old cold case of a missing child. I think the problem for me was that I disliked Chloe, in fact I loathed her, childish, self obsessed, possible personality disorder, I just couldn't empathise with her at all, she gave me the creeps - though on reflection, maybe she was meant to? However, the book was a fast read, hard as it was to put up with Chloe, I was intrigued and really wanted to know the outcome, and I have to say the ending was very good indeed, kinda disturbing, I wasn't expecting it. 3 stars and I'd definitely read more by this author. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and Ann Wharton for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The first half of this book is very slow paced and I struggled to continue reading. The second half starts to amp up a little. I feel I expected a little more from this book. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it.

A young woman inserts herself into the life of a couple whose daughter disappeared twenty-five years ago, after discovering articles about the case while working as the local newspaper's archivist.

The first two thirds of this book is very slow. If a fast paced thriller is what you are looking for, this isn't for you. However, the last third is a lot more gripping and begs to be read in one sitting. The conclusion was satisfying. I liked that it didn't wrap everything up in a nice little bow and left me wanting to know more about Chloe as we begin to realise what a fascinating character she is.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was browsing through Netgalley and the cover intrigued me. I read the blurb and this sounded right up my street. So I as super excited when I was accepted to read this!
I'm not going to lie it is a bit of a slowburner. It started off well, dipped a little in the middle but then I flew through the last 30% but it did take me a while to get into the plot.
The suspense is very well built up and there were moments I actually gasped out loud.
A really good debut novel and I hope it gets all the success it should get as I will be recommending it to everyone I can.
Thank you to netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest revirw. I really enjoyed this.

I love this literary genre which is becoming more and more popular at the moment - messy women who live vicariously through other people and their lives. This reminded me a lot of books like A Kind of Intimacy, Bitter and Looker, books I’ve really enjoyed over the last few years.

I’m really interested to see how this is marketed, as I can see it being marketer as a thriller as Looker was, instead of a character study, and that might leave people wanting a pacey thriller disappointed.

The Imposter is the story of Chloe, who becomes obsessed with the news story of a family whose daughter went missing 25 years ago.

I really enjoyed this but I almost wanted a bit more from it. I wanted more messiness and more of Chloe’s backstory and a bit more development of the characters.

This was great fun though for fans of the messy obsessive woman genre. 4 stars

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for approving my request to read on netgalley.

What a incredible debut that im going to predict will do very well .

This completely exceeded my expectations which is always good. This is written very cleverly,your focus is on one thing while other things are developing.

Tense;chilling and unpredictable .

Chloe is a enigma and quite frankly all over the place .

This has you hooked ,completely addictive and compelling.

Cant wait to read more from this author and i wish her every success.

Published 1st April

Chloe lives a quiet life. Working as a newspaper archivist and taking care of her Nan who has dementia, 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 with everyone in the house hiding something, the question is – whose secrets are the most dangerous?

This started off as a slow-paced plot due to which it did take some time for me to actually get into the plot.

But it was filled with manipulation, lies and secrets so once I actually understood what was going, I really enjoyed it. The writing was fantastic and the main highlights were the characterization of Chloe and the twists towards the end.

The suspense and eeriness is gradually built up and you don’t even realize it since you get totally engrossed in the plot. The ending was definitely a surprise because it wasn’t what I was expecting.

Overall, an amazing debut novel. Looking forward to read more by this author.

Thank You to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC!

This is a slow burn of a book that raises moral questions; the secrets and lies that lurk beneath the facade that the family of the missing Angie present to the world made me wonder what lengths I would go to in order to hold my fractured family together. The book also has real emotional resonance. The heartbreaking scenes with Chloe's Nan suffering from dementia were incredibly powerful, and Maureen's fragile hold on her sanity following the disappearance of her daughter was at times hard to read. There is a sense of tension that builds through the book as Chloe becomes more obsessed with finding out what happened to the missing Angie. Some of the scenes once she moves in with the Kyles are almost painful to read as the tension is so palpable and the setting so claustrophobic.

Chloe herself is something of an enigma; she leaves only a light imprint of herself behind, blending into the background and keeping her head down. At other times she behaves almost recklessly and desires to be seen and credited for solving the case of missing Angie. I really couldn't get a handle on her character at all. By the end of the novel, I really appreciated the author's skill at creating her character, as all the parts in the novel clicked together in an incredibly satisfying way.

I would like to thank the publishers and Net Galley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this! It had me hooked right from the start and I loved the characters. Didn't have loads of twists and turns which I quite liked about it, just a good strong storyline that kept me thoroughly engaged right up to the last page.

Highly recommended and well deserves 5 stars.

Thank you Pan MacMillan and Netgalley,

A decent attempt at a first novel, I loved the premise and whilst the book was well written I just wish it was creepier as the ending was just sad rather than sinister and the book offered a lot a as a dark thriller. Would recommend if you need something different to read as it’s original and fresh.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mantle for the advanced copy to review.

A fascinating thriller describing the tale of a lonely young woman trying to insinuate her way into a family that lost a child years before. Intriguing and insightful!

Wow. Wow. Wow. Where do I start with this. I absolutely loved everything about this book and I’m sorry that I didn’t read it sooner! The story is compelling, clever and well-paced and a real ‘just one more chapter’ pull! I will definitely be recommending this to friends and fellow readers and thank you to NetGalley and Mantle Books for allowing me to review this. Can’t wait to read more from Anna x

An intriguing gripping book about a lonely girl who after her Nan is sent to a home, starts to become obsessed with a couple who had lost their child many years ago.....it is a bit long but keep reading! It gets good!!!

This book felt long and like it didn’t really get going until about halfway through. The description drew me in and there were parts that my heart felt like it might stop- when it did tension it did it right! Without any spoilers the last 10% I didn’t take a breath and there’s a few twists I didn’t expect. Because of the length I’ve given the book 3/5 (would probably give 3.5 if halves were possible) because part of it felt like a slog but it was okay.

This is one of those books you just KNOW is going to be a bestseller.

The narrative follows the MC Chloe who we find being the only fully time carer for her Nan. With her mother passed away and he Gran having advanced dementia Chloe finds herself living vicariously through old newspaper articles.

I was really surprised by this book, I thought I'd figured it out. I was absolutely sure at around 70% that I'd called the twist. I hadn't. I hadn't called the one after that either. I most certainly hadn't come close to guessing that ending!

Had never read anything by this author before, but I'll definitely be following from now on.

The debut novel from Anna Wharton, The Imposter tells the story of Chloe, who's struggling to juggle her job as a newspaper archivist with caring for her nan who has dementia. But when her nan is finally put into a care home, Chloe finds herself becoming obsessed with the case of a missing girl many years before.

The Imposter is a touching story of loneliness and grief. Although it takes a little while for the story to get going, it soon picks up the pace and becomes a compelling read. With a great twist at the end, this is a strong debut from Wharton and I look forward to read her future books.

This book left me feeling very uncomfortable - a lonely woman is struggling to cope as her gran is put in a home as she suffers from dementia. Chloe is in danger of losing the house where they both lived and at the same time becomes obsessed with a missing person's case in her job as a newspaper archivist. She finds out where the girl lived and manages to become a lodger there.

This is a book about lonleiness and being lonely. I felt sad at the start of the book as it's very upsetting reading about her nan and Chloe but then the story doesn't move forward for quite a while so it loses its appeal.

I found Chloe to be a strange character. A bit too whimiscal in one way and just careless in another. I didn't understand her and she definately didn't understand herself.
The themes of loss - the missing child and dementia - are woven throughout the novel but it just wasn't for me

Anna Wharton has exploded into the literary world with this emotional thriller which will leave you raw in so many ways.
I think what initially got my interest was that Chloe was deliberately avoiding all contact with the social worker who was trying to get her nana moved into a nursing home due to her increasing symptoms of Alzheimer’s as it was apparent that Chloe could no longer care for her at home and hold down a full time job.
Chloe was an archivist at the local paper and loved her work and she had stumbled upon an article on a missing child from 25 years ago which took her interest to the point of obsession. She dug out all the related articles until she had a whole file of information that had accumulated over the intervening years.
Despite her best attempts she lost her job and her nana was placed into a local nursing home.
Chloe decided to investigate the case of the missing child and tracked down the parents Phil and Maureen who had recently sold their original home and moved to the middle of nowhere.
The story goes on from there and will keep you enthralled right up to the biggest twist at the end. I’m not sure how I feel after reading this book but I do know that parts of it will stay with me for a very long time.
Brilliant debut.