Member Reviews
Lilian and Rosie were always close sisters growing up together. However, an estrangement has separated them and after they are in a car accident, Rosie is left with a traumatic brain injury. She also has a fear of abandonment after her parents died, Lilian left for college, and now she doesn't know where the real Lilian has gone. There were a lot of twists and I was questioning what to believe. The ending was great as all the lose ends were perfectly tied together! This book contains depictions of postpartum anxiety and domestic partner abuse.
Book Review…Imposter by Bradeigh Godfrey
A slow building suspenseful story about sisterhood, obsession, betrayal and much more!
After three years of not speaking Rosie has reached out to her big sister, asking to meet. Rosie admits that she has something important to tell Lilian, its a matter of life and death. But before she has a chance a car careens into theirs, with devastating consequences.
Lilian survives unscathed, but Rosie is left with a traumatic brain injury. Lilian is convinced that someone deliberately rammed Rosie’s car. But why? The closer Lilian comes to the truth, the more danger they find themselves in. But Lilian abandoned her little sister once before and will never do so again. Even if it means sacrificing everything.
It's a fast-paced story with some pretty good twists! It's one of those books that once you start you can't stop even if like me you guessed the ending, it did take the majority of the book, but either way you will still keep reading! The way the author lays everything out was great. The pace I'd one that keeps the story moving and you entertained. A great debut novel! I am so glad my kids are older. I don't think I could have baby monitors in the house after this one! Creepy! Thank you Let's Talk Books, Blackstone Publishing and Bradeigh Godfrey for sharing this book with me!
Bradeigh Godfrey has written one hell of a psychological thriller and I loved every second of it! Chock-full of heart-pounding twists you won’t see coming, Imposter is a medical thriller that stands out in the crowd.
Transitioning between Lilian’s present point of view and Rosie’s past journal entries, we get a VIP pass to exclusive content that is unknown to each MC. This doesn’t make it easier to figure out the explosive ending though! If anything, it gives us more red herrings to chase which will keep you on your toes and furiously flipping pages to figure it out!
SYNOPSIS:
With overworked and underpaid parents, Rosie was basically raised by her big sister Lilian. As they grew older, they gradually drifted apart. When their parents died unexpectedly, the pair became estranged and didn’t speak for years. Wishing to finally reconcile, Rosie reached out to Lilian who agreed to meet. On their way to dinner on an icy and winding road, they were involved in a devastating car wreck…but not before Rosie confessed to the reason for wanting to meet. She has something to discuss, something Rosie says is life or death.
Lilian survived the crash with only a concussion but Rosie was left with a traumatic brain injury, unable to speak. Lilian deserted her sister once but is determined to be by her side this time. As she dives deeper into Rosie’s past, Lilian discovers secrets leading her to believe she doesn’t know her sister at all. The trail to knowing who her sister really is becomes more dangerous with every step. Was the car wreck intentional? If so, who is trying to harm them and why?
Imposter is like nothing I have ever read before. It was fast-paced and while it was a solid psychological thriller, the underlying themes of sisterhood and trauma really make this book stand out.
I genuinely had no idea where this book was going and when I found out, I was shocked 🤯
I found myself constantly wanting to get a couple pages in and never wanting to put it down. Great debut!
Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review
I am such a sucker for a good sister story!
This one had the depth and love and tribulations that real sisters have, with some added drama I am thankful my sister and I DO NOT have!
This was an excellent thriller - great story and one I am hoping the author continues to write more of!
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted e copy.
Holy. Cow. What an addictive and twisty book! I got hooked from the beginning, and had no idea where it was going (which is my favorite kind of thriller). Lilian and her sister Rosie were going to dinner together after not seeing each other for 2 years, and they get in a car accident. Lilian gets a concussion but Rosie is more seriously hurt. When Rosie wakes up, she is convinced that Lilian is not her sister, and her fiancé Daniel is not Daniel. WHAT is going on??
I couldn't put this book down. I had theories, they were wrong! There were at least two times close to the end where I actually gasped and said "WHAAAAAT!"
And y'all - this is a debut. Incredible.
I can't wait to read more from this author!
Two sisters, Lilian and Rosie, have a complicated history and as a result haven’t spoken in two years. Now, after a chance meeting between Lillian’s husband and Rosie at a coffee shop, he encourages Lilian to meet up with her again and see if things have changed. On the drive to their fated dinner, Rosie is acting strangely and says she has life and death things to talk about, but before they arrive at the restaurant they are in an accident leaving Lilian mildly injured and Rosie with a traumatic brain injury that causes her to not recognize Lilian.
While Rosie struggles to recover, Lilian works to figure out what it could possibly be that Rosie was trying to tell her before the accident. When she meets Rosie’s boyfriend, she thinks she has found someone who will help her with her digging, but since the accident left her with a concussion, she’s not completely reliable and the best judgment of character.
This was fast paced and will keep you guessing all the way til the last chapter and make you rethink video baby monitors.
Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review
Lilian and her sister Rosie were very close but after their parents death, they never saw each other again. Now, 3 years later, Rosie reaches out to Lilian and tells her that she needs to see her and tell her something very important. But when they’re in the car, they have an accident and Rosie suffers a traumatic brain injury. When she finally wakes up, she’s not able to communicate and she doesn’t recognize Lilian as her sister.
Lilian wants to know what her sister wanted to talk about, especially because she suspects that the car crash wasn’t really an accident and that someone wanted to hurt her sister. As the plot unravels, she discovers some things about her sister that make her question everything she knew about her.
The story explores the relationship between two estranged sisters and how a person or an event could change their lives forever. It alternates between Lilian’s perspective and Rosie’s diary entries which I really enjoyed because they’re both great unreliable narrators.
Imposter is a very intriguing, fast-paced psychological thriller filled with secrets, mysterious stalkers, red herrings and thrilling twists that keep you engaged and guessing until the end.
Thank you @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for the review copy of this amazing debut! Can't wait to read what @bradeighgodfrey brings out next!
I’m hovering somewhere between a 3-4 star. Feeling like a 3.25 right now. I enjoyed this debut thriller but I wanted more! I kept expecting something else to be happening when there was really only one twist. The story seemed set up for multiple twists so I was a bit disappointed when it ended. The mystery aspect and facts about brain damage really kept my interest throughout. Unfortunately it still felt like a surface read and like something was missing
I really enjoyed this one! I love a good amnesia thriller and this one was it!
I am a speech- language pathologist and Godfrey did an exceptional job with demonstrating how the rehab team can help after a TBI! Her expertise as a physician truly shows.
I did feel like this was more suspenseful than thrilling, I found the twist to be predictable however enjoyable.
Dr. Lilian Donaldson is struggling with being a new mom and the stress related to her job as a pediatrician. When her younger sister Rosie reaches out after two years of silence, she is hopeful they can repair their relationship. On their way to dinner, a terrible accident sparks a search for answers from Rosie’s past to find the driver who turned their lives into a living nightmare.
This sharp thriller from Bradeigh Godfrey has all the elements of a gripping, tension-filled read. The flashbacks and journal entries fill in the blanks as the story unfolds to reveal the difficult life that Rosie has hidden from Lily. As the anxiety that Lily is experiencing causes her to question her sanity, it becomes less clear whom she should trust. Lily’s search for the missing pieces of the puzzle keeps you on the edge of your seat for an unexpected twist.
If you enjoy fast-paced thrillers with a medical element, this read is for you. The author is a doctor specializing in post-trauma rehabilitation, and her expertise is evident in the details of this impressive debut novel. Be sure to reserve the weekend if you plan to enjoy this un-putdownable book. It will keep you awake into the wee hours, hungry to discover how it all fits together at the end.
This was an interesting medical-based psychological suspense/thriller debut. The author is a doctor and writer. It's a story of two estranged sisters, one car accident, and a lifetime of secrets. You'll definitely be questioning things as you read through it which is exactly what you want from this genre.
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy.
I was thoroughly impressed by this story. The tense atmosphere of the prologue was unmatched, and this unease carried throughout the entire book. The plot was very fast-paced, engaging, and well-planned, and I sped through this book in just over a day.
Although I was right about one aspect of this thriller, the end was still satisfying. There were multiple elements to the twist that I was unable to predict.
I enjoyed the medical scenes, and I feel like I learned something new about traumatic brain injuries. I also really enjoyed the strained relationship between these two sisters. It was interesting to see both sides of their falling out.
This thriller would be a great book to add to your TBR for spooky season! I'll certainly be looking out for more books by this author in the future.
This psychological thriller follows two sisters with a complicated past. Rosie has a secret to share with Lilian, but a car accident leaves her with a traumatic brain injury so Lily digs into her past to uncover the truth.
I enjoyed this one as we get dual points of view from Lily in present day and Rosie through past journal entries, and both narrators are a bit unreliable as Lily struggles with a concussion and Rosie admits she's a liar. The middle slowed a bit for me as we got a lot of medical discussions and into Lilian's psyche, but the ending had me creeped out reading alone in the dark and flipping pages to finish. Overall a great debut thriller with plenty of suspense!
Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This sounds like the type of book I most enjoy, but sadly, it missed the mark for me.
I struggled to get engaged, and stay engaged. The pace just seemed off for the genre. I overlooked the editing issues, of which there were many. The characters were okay, but, at times, they, and the dialogue, felt stiff, which made it hard to connect with them. I expected more mystery, along with red herrings, but that really wasn't there. I figured things out well before the ending. One of the best parts was the Rosie's POV/journal information.
When sisters Rosie and Lilian are met with a car accident, Lilian manages to remain unscathed. Unfortunately for Rosie, she is left with a brain injury, harboring her ability to communicate. Lilian is sure Rosie is in danger though - she knows someone was following them en route to dinner. As Lilian delves into Rosie's life, trying to find out what she can, secrets are exposed painting Rosie to be not who Lilian thought she was.
Holy doozers! This book was absolutely fantastic. The prologue had me so intrigued to begin with and the more I read, the more I wanted to just keep on reading. I was pretty sure I had the story figured out by about midway but imagine my surprise when the kicker twist came at the end. I was gobsmacked! With such a brilliant debut thriller, I am excited to see what this author will come up with next. I highly recommend picking this one up.
Two sisters, Lillian and Rosie spent their whole lives depending on each other until the last couple of years. They get into a car accident on the night that they reunite because of which Rosie suffers from a severe brain injury. When Lillian starts digging into Rosie's past to find out the cause of the car accident, she discovers shocking secrets.
What an awesome debut thriller from @bradeighgodfrey. I devoured this one in just one sitting over the weekend. It is fast paced, gripping read which was difficult for me to put down. I was completely invested in the sisters' relationship.
The premise was so intriguing that it left me totally baffled and as I read both Rosie's and Lillian's PoVs, I tried to figure out the mystery but it was not until the end that all loose ends connected together and the twists were revealed.
Both Lillian and Rosie come across as unreliable narrators and I Iiked that we get to know Rosie's past through her journal entries. Bradeigh Godfrey's writing is simple, making the medical terminology easy to understand for readers like myself and it is obvious she has used her professional medical knowledge to write this story.
Highly recommend if you enjoy medical/psych thrillers with unreliable narrators and complicated sibling dynamics.
Thank you @netgalley and publisher @blackstonepublishing for my digital advance reader copy.
Gripping feminist psychologic suspense from an author who’s a doctor and clearly knows her research. This novel left me guessing until the very end!
Lilian is dealing with postpartum depression and is well aware of it. What she doesn’t know is why Rosie, the little sister she loved and almost raised, has not spoken with her in years. So when Rosie turns up and wants to meet for dinner, Lilian is relieved to rekindle contact.
Rosie shares that she has a matter of life and death to discuss. But no sooner does she get out the words than they are in a horrific accident. Rosie ends up in the hospital, unable to remember her sister (she has an unusual psychological condition). The question is, can Lilian sleuth out what happened, and without her sister's help, before they are both in more danger?
This book that prevented me from putting it down at every page and chapter ending. I have the author to thank for missing a dinner, a night out, and half a night of sleep. And it was totally worth it!
I love gripping psychological suspense and Imposter is among the best in the genre.
Fast-paced, well researched, fascinating, at times heart-breaking. Good luck putting it down once you start!
Popcorn thriller burnout is a real thing but I never tire of a thriller with head and heart. IMPOSTER by #debutauthor Bradeigh Godfrey will have you flying through the pages, but there is so much more to the book than the standard thrills and chills.
The story centers around estranged sisters Lillian and Rosie who are involved in a car accident which leaves Rosie with a severe traumatic brain injury and memory loss. Prior to the accident Rosie confides that she has a secret to share with Lillian and it is a matter of life or death. In the aftermath of the crash and her sister’s injuries Lillian is determined to find answers.
I love the way Bradeigh Godfrey drew on her personal knowledge as a physician who works with people who have sustained traumatic brain injuries to construct the story. It stayed true to medical facts without bogging the reader down.
Throughout my career as a speech pathologist I have worked with children and adults who have sustained severe brain injuries. I thought Bradeigh did a fantastic job portraying the ways a head injury can impact the patient and the entire family.
This was a departure from Godfrey’s previous novel, THE BEACH TRAP, co-written under the pen name Ali Brady. Godfrey’s foray into the mystery/thriller genre truly showcases her versatility as a writer.
Readers who enjoy a clever mystery with themes of sisterhood and loyalty won’t want to miss IMPOSTER.
RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5 stars)
PUB DATE: September 13, 2022
Many thanks to Blackstone publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I sat down intending to read a few chapters of this book to preview it as a choice for our book club and immediately got invested! Read this in two days and it's going to take me a minute to digest the story. I'll be hand-selling this title in my store and recommending to all fans of psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.