I did not finish this book and actually only got through the first few chapters. While it was well written I felt it was taking too long to get into the main plot and what I had read so far did not interest me and did not keep my attention. That being said I'm sure others would enjoy this book but it just was not for me.

📚🅑🅞🅞🅚 🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦📚
The Imposter by @marinmont18
Publication Date: 3/9/2021

Psychological thriller lovers, get this one on your radar asap!
Getting into the minds of these two main characters will throw you for loop after loop. Sibley, a cuthroat divorce attorney, begins as a functioning alcoholic but slowly descends into blackout drunk episodes where her actions cause her to be sent into rehab in order to keep her job. She doesn't quite make it there though at the advice of her well meaning friend, she returns home to face her mother after a 16 year estrangement. Her mother, Deborah is struggling living alone and taking care of a large farm by herself and has had a recent intruder on the property who attacked her. She is highly medicated and is often confused and delusional.
Combine these two characters and their flaws and you get one messy relationship with a lot of mistrust.
I loved this book. So many twists and delusions leading the reader on a trail to a nice nipped up ending. I could not put this book down and finished in two sittings. Add this to your tbr before it gets lost!
Thank you to the author, Marin Montgomery and #netgalley for a copy of the #arc 😊

Deborah and Sibley are mother and daughter who have an estranged relationship. Deborah is living alone at the family farm and Sibley is a divorce lawyer. Sibley is an alcoholic who is sent to rehab by her husband and bosses as a last ditch attempt to sort her life out. However she feels she needs to visit her mum to find out why they are estranged and to finally get the truth about her fathers death.
As a psychological thriller this book did not grab my attention, the writing and plot is good but I felt it was a little drawn out and could have been a lot shorter.
However the ending was good and brought all the loose ends together

I truly enjoyed the story! It had me hooked right from the start and I could not put it down. The imagery in the story was very impressive and I honestly felt like I could picture everything as it was happening. Definitely recommend this one for a quick fast paced mystery!

Excellent book! I didn't want it to end. I feel like I want to know the after effects of all this on the main characters, I'm invested in them.

Great job.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.

Whoa seriously whoa! A book has never made me so distrustful of every single character. I had zero idea what or who to trust. I need everyone to read this book so we can discuss because whoa. One of the best mystery/thrillers I’ve read. Ever.

Great book! I was hooked from the start, thank you so much for providing me a copy of this book to read. This is something I would love to purchase.

This book really surprised me!
You know that feeling of unease when a narrator seems unreliable? Double that feeling because both our narrators are questionable in this one!
Deborah is an aging Midwestern widow living by herself on her family’s farm when she begins to receive mysterious letters. Could they really be from her estranged daughter?
Sibley is a 30-something lawyer who has it all together after escaping her small hometown....oh, except her marriage and job are on the line and she can’t seem to get through a day without liquid courage. When faced with an ultimatum, Sibley realizes it’s time to face her adolescent demons and heads home intent on uncovering the truth behind her fathers death 16 years prior.
This novel is packed with suspense and twists, and it kept me up late into the night!

I received #TheImposter as an ARC in exchange for an honest review from #NetGalley.

#TheImposter #MarinMontgomery

Special thank you to Marin Montgomery and NetGalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sibley and her estranged mother, Deborah, have a damaged relationship. Defined by the rumors of a midwestern town, Deborah has led a hard life, and a recent attack has left her constantly on-edge. Sibley, now a successful divorce attorney, returns home to her mother after years of estrangement, and is baffled at what she finds.

This novel’s format was a bit confusing to me. It is set in two different “themes”, one being “Deborah” from a third person narration and the other being “Sibley” in a first-person narration. I thoroughly enjoyed Sibley’s parts of the story, her own turmoil with her marriage, career, and mental health. Overall, I think it was a great story, but could have ultimately been written from only Sibley’s point of view. I was confused throughout the second half of the novel. While it was definitely full of twists that I could not have predicted, I did think this book was a tad far-fetched and written in a way where I would have to go back and re-read just to keep things straight. Towards the end of the novel, I really had no idea what was going on because the “story” kept changing so rapidly. The twists were a bit too much for my liking, and the jumpy timeline and narration made me feel like I was always missing something. The story would go very fast in some instances, and then extremely slow in others.

Although I enjoyed the closure the ending gave, I am disappointed (SPOILER ALERT) that we did not get closure on Esmeralda, the pregnant cat!!

I would love to read more of Montgomery’s other works.

The Imposter is a great mystery/thriller! It started out right away getting into the whodunit. It alternates perspectives between a mother and daughter. There are not too many characters to keep track of, which I love! Once I got into it, I really started to question WHO is the crazy one here! Several little twists throughout the book, then a surprising ending!

Sometimes, I go into a book without any expectations, and after a string of particularly heavy books, I was eager to start a title with a psychological bent that would keep me on my toes.

When Sibley is forced on sabbatical from her law firm, she decides to return to her childhood home in order to face her demons. Upon arrival, however, she finds her mother Deborah in waning health. She's seeing things. She's hearing things. And running beneath their familial tensions is a deeper, darker secret that no longer wishes to remain buried.

I liked this book.

First, I'm a huge fan of unreliable narrators, and in Deborah and Sibley, we get two. You never know which one you can trust most, if either, and because of that, this is a read that will keep you turning pages. Their voices are distinct and in terms of painting a troubled relationship between mother and daughter, Montgomery succeeded. Indeed, the most interesting parts of this story were the moments when Sibley and Deborah butted heads or confronted each other.

I had some issues that kept me from falling in love. The characterizations (and sometimes descriptions) felt inconsistent and a little scattered at times. While I found the mind-bending questions of who was telling the truth fascinating, I didn't care for the fact that some of the more bizarre or "out there" moments were left unexplained--which is surprising considering I also found that the action of this story is almost entirely in reiterations of the past. We get different accounts of what happened back in the day, but we're never really in that moment, partially to propel the mystery and suspense, but also because the narrative switches from first to third, and I think if we'd had a flashback, the structure wouldn't have worked for the big twist in the end. So I understand the choices, but I wished the conflict was more present tense than relayed through conversations.

Overall, The Imposter is an interesting read that explores complex mother/daughter relationships and touches on several relevant social issues. I'd recommend to fans of quiet psychological suspense, as I think readers will relate to the story at its core.

Big thanks to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review considerations.

This is the first book that I've read of Marin Montgomery but I'm not definitely a fan. This book had me so engrossed and kept me guessing. There were definitely a few surprises for me. I would absolutely recommend this book to all thriller lovers. I'm so glad that I got the pleasure of previewing this book.

"The Imposter" Review

When I was first sent this book, “The Imposter” by Marin Montgomery....I was not sure what to expect. Was it going to be about the internal battles the characters experience throughout the book? Or was it going to be about an actual “imposter” who terrorises the lives of the main characters? So, I settled into my comfortable “reading” chair and entered the lives of a mother and daughter...both facing internal demons from their past.

For me, it was a little slow at the beginning, but once I got to the daughter, Sibley’s POV, the story seemed to pick up. And I kept reading until the very end. It is definitely a book filled with twists and intrigue which is my must-have in a good thriller. The big question that I kept asking myself throughout this twisted tale was... which one is telling the truth?

Thank you again, Marin Montgomery for sending me this book to review!

Rating: 3.5/5

I loved this book. An whirlwind psychological thriller that popsugar readers will love. I highly recommend. It has realistic characterization and an interesting plot.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was an okay book. Solid writing but in my opinion it didn’t hit the mark for a thriller. When someone says thriller this isn’t what comes to mind. If I hadn’t been expecting a thriller I feel I would have enjoyed this better. I see other reviews mention the twists and turns but I found those very predictable and they did not keep me interested.

The one thing that really irked me though was the way that mental illness was described in this book. As someone that suffers from mental illness, this book handled it in a very stereotypical way which annoys me.

Sibley’s personal and professional life are spiraling out of control. In an effort to try to fix the root cause of her problems she decides to return home to reunite with her estranged mother in order to find closure on past events. Unbeknownst to Sibley, her mother has suffered her own recent trauma and is dealing with the aftermath.

I often felt confused as to what exactly what happening because both narrators are unreliable; Did she really just see that? Did that really just happen? Who is telling the truth? I struggled to connect with either character because of this.

Having said that, I ended up enjoying the way it all came together at the end. There are a lot of twists and turns throughout, keeping you guessing all the way through.

Thank you Marin Montgomery for a copy of The Imposter in exchange for my honest review.

Release date: March 9 2021

I was gifted an Advanced Readers Copy of The Imposter from the author, Marin Montgomery through NetGalley and I am so appreciative for the opportunity to review this chilling psychological thriller.

Trigger Warning – this book deals with alcohol addiction

The author wastes no time in setting the spooky stage which is something I liked. We are introduced to Deborah who still lives on her old family farm that has been passed down through generations. This setting really adds to the overall perilous tone of the story. Deborah lives alone and she reveals that unexplainable, terrifying things have been happening to her. Coupled with the fact that she is sure she is being watched, it’s enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine.

Next, we’re introduced to Sibley who is going through her own sort of crisis. Her marriage is falling apart, she’s been forced to take a sabbatical from work after she’s accused of sleeping with a client and of being an unstable alcoholic. She’s given an ultimatum to either go to rehab or she stands to lose everything. She, perhaps unwisely, decides to reconnect with her estranged mother thinking that a reunion may help to heal her inner demons.

Upon her return home, things fall further apart for both Sibley and Deborah. The two women have a complicated history and their relationship is tumultuous. It makes you wonder whether or not their estrangement did more harm than good. They’re both keeping secrets and lying to the other which, as a reader, really adds to the drama and suspense.

The author writes in a chaotic way which works for this genre. From the first chapter there are large pieces of the puzzle that are missing because neither Deborah or Sibley are reliable narrators. Sibley deeply struggles with an alcohol addiction while Deborah faces her own mental health challenges therefore they only indulge the reader in their perception of what’s happening, which isn’t always reality.

The title is significant because the further you read, the more you start to wonder who the imposter is. The author leads readers to believe it’s one of many characters, including Deborah and Sibley. It’s unnerving to read a book and not be able to trust any of the main characters.

I rated this book a 4/5. I really enjoyed it.

The Imposter by Marin Montgomery, published by Thomas & Mercer, is a full length, stand-alone mystery.
This new to me author managed to keep me in suspense from start till the end. I read the book , cover to cover, in one sitting, simply unputdownable.
Deborah is living on her farm. She's a lonely woman, grew up in a preacher household, has lived a fullfilled life. A life with twists and turns, secrets and mistakes.
It's a mystery with psychological twists, a slow burn, a complex story, excellent written.
A great read, I loved connecting with the characters. 5 beautifully twisted stars

This was an action packed, twisty ride! While this could have easily been just another book with an unreliable narrator who has a drinking problem, it was unlike other thrillers I’ve read. I definitely couldn’t figure out the ending, even after thinking I had it nailed down as I got close to the end. I also love stories with multiple perspectives, so this was a definite win for me! I’ll absolutely be reading more of Marin Montgomery’s novels in the future.