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.
For the first time, Lynch is in a life or death situation he can’t lie his way out of.
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Imposter Syndrome by Joseph Knox was published on 11 July 2024 by Doubleday. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour
Let's cheer for Knox, he certainly has not let me down. He has delivered a dark, brooding character in Lynch; a man who admits that he is a con-man, who will do most things for some cash, but also has his own moral code. He's a bloke that you'd be wary of, but when he's on your side, you will trust him.
Lynch arrives in London from Paris, there's a story behind his leaving. He has no money, an almost dead phone and no luggage. Bobbie Pierce, a wealthy young woman on her way to rehab spots Lynch and is immediately struck by the likeness to her brother Heydon. Heydon has been missing for five years, his family don't know where he is, they know that money was involved and they are aware of some shady characters that he was involved with.
Lynch never turns down the offer of food and a bed for the night, but meeting Bobbie thrusts him into situations that he could not have anticipated. Sure enough, the lure of cash means that he agrees to take on a pretty dangerous task for the Pierce family. His aim is to discover where Heydon went, and why.
Lynch is such a complex, multi layered character. The story is told in the first person by Lynch which enables the reader to feel even more closer to the action. However, it's not only the self-confessed con-man who is dangerous .... the Pierce family are made up of a bunch of suspicious, quite warped at times, members who are devilishly determined.
This author always keeps his readers on their toes. The plot twists around many corners, it is multi layered and complex, often throwing curveballs but always entertaining. There's also some very dark humour, some one liners that will make the reader splutter. This is a fine touch, erasing just a little of the noir .... until it begins again.
Expect some devious characterisation and lots of darkness. Expect a plot full of surprises and don't expect to work it out before the end. I loved it. Highly recommended by me.
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In 2020, he became an Irish citizen.
His debut novel Sirens was a bestseller and has been translated into eighteen languages. The Smiling Man and The Sleepwalker are the second and third books in the Waits trilogy.
His first standalone novel, True Crime Story, was a Times number one bestseller.
X @josephknox__
Instagram @knobbth
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