I am delighted to share my review today for The Imposter by Leona Deakin. This is the 4th book in the series and if you are a fan of riveting psychological thrillers then this should be on your TBR list.

My huge thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for my spot on the Blog Tour and for arranging my e-copy from the publisher.

Dr Bloom is faced with her most challenging case yet as she races to catch a highly unpredictable
murderer in London. He doesn’t just want your identity. He wants your life…

No one sees him coming.

A stock-market trader is pushed from a high-rise balcony and falls to his death on the street below. The only clue the police can find is a box of matches.

No one survives for long.

The decomposing body of a member of the Saudi Royal Family is discovered in a car. Evidence suggests the killer took the man’s life, then stole his identity, wore his clothes and lived in his hotel room – before vanishing into thin air like smoke.

Nothing but matchsticks are left behind.

Dr Bloom realizes the only thing linking these murders is a trail of burnt matches and broken lives. Time is running out – and if she isn’t careful, she might be the next to burn …

MY REVIEW

This is a series that I do think you need to have at least read the first book, as I have, to understand the relationship between three of the characters. The three are Dr Augusta Bloom, Marcus Jamieson and Seraphine. These three have a special link, it is one that I really enjoyed reading in the first book, and I can see the author has developed this even more. There are mentions of previous cases that I assume are part of the two books I have not read. I do think this book works without reading the previous ones.

A murder has occurred, and Bloom is called in for her expertise in psychology and profiling. Bloom looks at scenes in a slightly different way and she is able to spot some similarities between this and another murder. Once she finds a link in one, she looks for further clues, unfortunately, it is not as easy as that and there is something that doesn’t quite match up. This throws the case into confusion, and some think that Bloom has alternative reasons for being on the case. She works with Marcus and together they try and get their heads around what is going on. Then we have Seraphine, nothing is straightforward if she is involved, but what role she actually plays and how she schemes are something that she specialises in.

This is a brilliant book for lovers of psychological thrillers and crime stories. Having the viewpoint of a psychologist trying to help connect the clues is great. It gives one side to any analysis the other side is that of the psychopath. You just have to know who the psychopath is, or in this case, which of the psychopaths are involved in what crime?

This is a riveting cat-and-mouse story with many different twists and also more than one storyline. This could make it confusing to follow, but the author has kept control and leads the reader through the clues, the links and to the conclusion.

I really enjoy the tense and suspense-fuelled feel of this book. Even though I missed a couple of the books I immediately remembered the main three characters and how much I enjoyed the first story.
The author delves into some really interesting psychological conditions, and what an interesting this concept made to the story.

This is a well-paced book, it does feel fast-paced but not massively so. There are times when the author stops to give her cast a chance to stop and think. It is during these moments that I discovered more about the case and also where the leads were potentially taking the team.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and I am annoyed with myself for missing books 2 and 3, but I am glad I have read the 4th. This is a tense and chilling story, it is one that had me hooked from the first few pages. Ideal for those who adore thrillers, crimes, procedural style and psychological stories. It is one I would definitely recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leona Deakin draws inspiration for her writing from her own experiences having started her career as a psychologist with the West Yorkshire Police and her successful work in psychology since. Leona was part of a team responsible for designing methods of selection for recruiting and promoting officers from PC to Chief Superintendent. Her role was to create realistic policing scenarios – from personnel issues to large scale incidents (plane crash, terrorist bomb etc) – that could be used to test leadership skills. To do this she spent a great deal of time interviewing and observing officers at various ranks and reviewing cases. This gave Leona an insight into the police culture that helps her to write authentic character interactions in her novels.
Leona is now an occupational psychologist and lives with her family in Leeds. She has written four novels in the acclaimed Dr Augusta Bloom series: Gone, Lost, Hunt and The Imposter.

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