Impostor by L. J. Ross is a well-written, fast-paced mystery thriller featuring Dr Alexander Gregory. I really enjoyed the characters and the story. In the small Irish town of Ballyfinny, it’s either no one’s a suspect or everyone’s a suspect, and that tension is what kept my attention throughout. The setting feels vivid. From the posh London city to the windswept countryside and the claustrophobic small-town atmosphere create a perfect backdrop for a murder mystery.
Here’s the Amazon Cover image for Impostor for the Australian market
The story starts with a child, a sickly child. And then it pans to the present.
Dr Alexander Gregory is a psychologist brought in to assist the Garda when a brutal murder rocks the quiet community of Ballyfinny as a favour to his mentor. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and his demeanour is that of someone who displays empathy even while thinking about murders. His interactions with the locals flavours in stages. First with distrust, then curiosity. There’s no romance in the book, which I think is a good choice since it would have made things murkier.
That said, the dual use of the main character’s name started to grate on me after a while. I understand why, but it gets confusing. You have Alex, who’s more human; Gregory or Greg, who’s the psychologist talking. In a conversation, the name change represents which personality is talking. Unfortunately, the name change doesn’t change how Alex/Greg responds or thinks; it just comes across as an internal quirk that’s repeated too often and becomes like an extra character.
He’s not even an unreliable narrator.
So what’s the point of the dual names?
The interesting side story
Throughout the entire story, there are consistent interactions with Cathy Jones, the woman from the start. She seems to be Dr Alexander Gregory’s patient, and he knows her very well.
These snippets allow me to know him better as a psychologist, doubling as the profiler that he’s been asked to become.
Well.
I’ll admit this part is more shocking than finding out who the killer is…
Who’s dunnit?
So who killed Claire Kelly?
Another small frustration for me was the mystery itself. A great thriller drops breadcrumbs that let you test your own theories along the way. Here, however, the clues felt too sparse or misleading, and when the reveal finally arrived, it landed more like a bombshell than a satisfying “aha!” moment. Greg/Alex talks to many people in the book, and everyone seemingly has a good alibi. The “shocking” information felt fake, almost unbelievable to a point.
Then the issue with the killer. When you add in logic, it seems… implausible. Discounting the fact that an unconscious person weighs a ton. Purposefully obscuring some physical facts just makes the story slight hard to believe.
Despite these issues, Impostor remains a solid and engaging read. The atmosphere and psychological undercurrents are compelling enough to carry the story even when the character work feels thin.
If you enjoy dark, moody, small-town thrillers with a strong sense of place and a professional sleuth’s perspective, Impostor is worth a read and is a solid start to the series.
