Years of lies and secrets between a mother and daughter need to be sorted and settled as they both face their problems. The story is told from both of their points of view, and while it’s usually something I enjoy, I had some problems following the plot because neither narrator can be believed, and the story jumped around a lot. . I couldn’t warm up to either Deborah or Sibley, but I did find the twists and the ending so I’m interested in reading another book by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy, my review reflects my honest opinion.

Sibley’s out of control life needs to be reigned in. It’s time she take a break - okay forced leave of absence from work- and fix her issues. She goes back to where it all began.

I like an air of mystery and unknown in a good suspense thriller. However this one was too elusive for me. At 15% in none of the unknowns were revealing their truth and more allusions were cropping up. I wasn’t able to continue as I felt no forward motion in the story.

I was super excited when I read the synopsis got this book. It seemed very promising. Unfortunately I did have a little trouble getting into it (all personal preference). While I did not find either characters very likeable, I liked that it was told from dual POVs (if you like unreliable characters, this is your book!). I also found the writing to be a bit choppy; however, it was easily overlooked as the plot was still able to capture and hold my attention, especially with some of the unforeseen and interesting twists. 🤯🤫

Overall, I'm not much a slow burner thriller gal, but if you are- this book will definitely be up your alley!

Thank you to @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for giving me a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. The Imposter comes out March 9, 2021!

⭐⭐💫

To me The Imposter  (Marin Montgomery) starts too slow. It took me some time to get invested in the characters. Ms Montgomery tells the story from the point of view of the mother, Deborah and daughter, Sibley. When The Imposter picks up it really becomes a page turner. Some questions I have about the story remained unanswered. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an early copy to review.

Sibley is a divorce lawyer. She has a drinking problem and has an affair with one of her clients. With her life spiraling out of control, she keeps thinking about her estranged mother, Deborah, and the incident that happened many years ago that forced Sibley to flee her hometown.

Deborah is still living on the farm where Sibley grew up, and she has a whole slew of her own problems.

Both women must piece together the lies and secrets of what happened on that night many years ago.

This was just okay. It was told through both Sibley and Deborah’s POV’s and both are very unlikable and unreliable characters. At first, I found the storyline uneventful and slow. The pace finally picked up at the end. I actually really enjoyed the ending and the twists were surprising. While reading I did find myself confused at times, with the plot jumping around and having flashbacks of the past and present.

A huge thank you to both the author and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars
Sibley Bradford is the only female divorce attorney at her firm, and she's excellent at her job. She also has a drinking problem and had an affair with a client.
But first, we are introduced to Sibley's estranged mother Deborah. With a host of issues of her own.
Thank you to author Marin Montgomery and Netgalley for the eARC for review!
Sibley's drinking forces her workplace to send her to rehab. But first, she diverts back to her hometown and home farm to confront events of 16 years earlier leading to the death of her father.
Well, well! This slow-burn suspense has tension and darkness throughout and alternating points-of-view from Sibley and Deborah are both intriguing.
But are either of them reliable narrators? There are a lot of factors at play here - addiction, abuse, cognition issues and sorting through layers of betrayal.
It took me awhile to figure out the titular reference. With the huge turn of events right to the end, seems there can be more than one interpretation! Recommended!

<i>"Sometimes, what we forget is more important than what we remember."</i>

I wish I'd liked this one more. I don't mind an unreliable narrator, but I want a little mystery about what they are unreliable about. Instead, these 2 main characters were just...off. Constantly seeing or not seeing, never sure what they did last night or even last hour - and there are TWO narrators that are this all over. It definitely made the plot convoluted and hard to follow. As the time line jumped to the past and then to other characters, all the names and situations, it was hard to figure out what to believe and follow and what was not important. It just made it all feel jumpy and confusing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer books for an early review copy.

This was a quick read. I did enjoy it, although at times I did get confused on who was who. Perspectives changed throughout chapters too. It started off a little slow, but did pick up. I really enjoyed the ending.

This book has a lot of backstory and suspense to it. Although not the best thriller i've read , it did keep the pages turning.

The book was a little slow to start but once it got going it was a great ride. I had no idea what was actually going on my thoughts were going everywhere and I definitely didn’t know how it was gonna end when it did. I really liked this book.

"'Sometimes what we forget is more important than what we remember.'"

Holy unreliable narrator Batman.

Sibley and her mother Deborah are estranged, and both have their own problems. Sibley is an alcoholic headed for divorce and possible disbarment, and Deborah has been attacked in her own home and is having trouble believing what she sees and hears. Together, these two are the queens of all unreliable narrators. The entire time I was reading I kept saying whatttttttt? Did that really happen? Did she imagine that? And toward the end I actually cursed out loud because there was a twist I was NOT expecting. Honestly though, I really didn't see any of the twists coming and the whole storyline really kept me on my toes. The reason this is a three star, rather than a four star read is just because the narrators were SO unreliable that there were times I was tempted to put the story down and just forget about it. I am happy I finished it though, especially because I enjoyed the ending so much.

I found this thriller to be dark and twisty, but honestly hard to keep track of events. It involves a mother and daughter trying to reconnect, and uncovering lots of family secrets along the way. This was a decent thriller.

Such a good book from one of my new favorite authors. I really enjoyed this twisted story. One of her bests

Sibley's life is out of control, both professionally and personally. She is forced to take a leave of absence from her firm. She tries to reconnect with her mom Deborah but soon realizes why she left so long ago.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

This is my first book by Marian Montgomery and I plan to read more!!! This was a great psychological thriller that I wasn't able to put down!! I just finished and I know I will be thinking about it for a while now. It was such a 'whodunnit'!! I loved the writing and the characters were realistic too!! Thanks so much for allowing me to review this!

The Imposter, by Marin Montgomery is a suspenseful thriller that asks the question can you really deceive your past and those around you?

This is my first book by Marin Montgomery, who has many other books that I will have to check out.

Told by multiple narrators, this book is about a mother and daughter who are both struggling with their past. One is apparently crazy and the other, though seemingly has the perfect life, husband, and job, but turns out to be an alcoholic that is on the verge of losing it all. The story is based on their estranged relationship going back 14 years and the current drama that brings them back together again. They are both struggling but can the overcome the secrets and the unraveling mysteries of their family?

Though both narrators were unreliable and confused at times, it really kept me guessing about what had happened in the past, what was happening currently and what would a future for them look like. There were several twists that I didn’t see coming and the ending was satisfying with all the loose ends tied up.

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Marin Montgomery for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. ❤️️

The synopsis sounded good and I appreciated being contacted by the author to read this psychological thriller. Unfortunately the book was not a good fit. The book features two unreliable narrators who are very unlikeable. The story does not flow and jumps all over the place making it confusing to follow. While I enjoy a good twist, the story was a bit unbelievable.

The book releases March 9th. Thank you to the author and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book.

A slow to start read, focusing on mother and daughter Deborah and Sibley, who have been estranged for 16 years ever since Sibleys father died.

Sibley’s marriage and job are both on the edge of failure and Sibley decides it’s time to reunite with her mum, to find out what happened the night her father died.

Initially the book is telling the story of the women’s lives separately before bringing them together, Although at times this part is slow it is necessary to bring the story together later.

Both characters seem to be unreliable narrators as the story alternates between their points of view it’s quite difficult to know who is telling the truth. Parts of the story are told in 1st person other parts in 3rd person.

It’s difficult trying to work out what the motivation for some of the actions is as you are reading, with several red herrings to throw you off into a different direction, then draw the reader back in again. Despite there being a fair few characters in the story it’s still easy to see where they all fit, it doesn’t make it confusing.

Overall a good story with a clever ending, a book you need to keep reading as the pace does pick up after a slow start. Ideal for anyone who enjoys a psychological thriller.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Thomas&Mercer for an eARC of this in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

Good Morning friends! I hope you all are having a beautiful Wednesday morning wherever you are. I want to shout out to Marin, this is your second book I’ve read and I am beyond excited to read MORE of your works of art. You ma’am are a true thriller author! I also want to thank Thomas & Mercer (Amazon publishing) and NetGalley for this review copy, this GEM will be available on March 9, so grab it when you can.

So let’s chat about this twisty, page turning psychological thriller because y’all, I’m still thinking about it and I finished it last night. If every author could write something and hold out on the truth until the end, what a world we’d be in. I truly had no idea “whodunnit” until it was revealed at the end. The psychology in this book was fascinating, I’m a psych/English major and it thrilled me!

Sibley, a brilliant divorce attorney with a wee drinking habit is forced to take a leave of absence from her job due to her habit. Her marriage is in shambles and she’s forced to go into rehab. Except she doesn’t go, she ends up at her Mom’s farmhouse, which she hasn’t seen in many, many years. Her Mom seems to not be doing so well. Meanwhile, Sibley still sneaking the vodka and her Mom drowning in pills seem to come together for a bit, Sibley’s on a mission to find out the truth of what happened the night her Dad died. Lots of weird things start happening and both women contemplate if they’re losing their minds. The truth always comes out though.

I know I’m a little nice sometimes and give 5 stars to a lot of reads that most wouldn’t but, I believe I’ve really been reading some amazing stories lately. This one is no different, it’s a definite ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. Pick it up or get it on your kindle and let me know your thoughts. It’s super good and like I said, a page turner!

DNF @ 10%. Not connecting to the writing, characters or the storyline. I can already tell that this won’t be for me. The dialogue and storyline seem cliche and cheesy. I don’t want to eye-roll my way through any more of this. I am clearly not the intended audience. The cover is very appealing and intriguing. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

No review rating given on Goodreads. No review posted on Bookstagram.