Thursday, 19 August 2021

BOOK REVIEW: The Imposter: Love Is Dangerous.


TITLE: The Imposter: Love Is Dangerous
AUTHOR: Daniel Norrish
PUBLISHED BY: BooksGoSocial

This is a very different style of book, almost unique, both in its writing style and as a novel itself. It is a story which provides an immediate insight into the characters and motivations of the protagonists from the start. I was immediately hooked. It is fast-paced and well-structured with a style that propels the reader forward by the author’s inventive skill.

Here is a story littered with violent crime, told in a first person narrative from the viewpoint of an assortment of characters, most of whom are deceased, with readers discovering the different characters' points of view relating to their own murders. It is written in thirteen parts from the perspectives of the thirteen kidnap victims. It is definitely not for the squeamish or the faint-hearted. Set in modern day Australia, Norrish’s graphic description of the Australian heat will have readers perspiring with his skilful depiction of the high temperatures there and with anticipation about the plot.

It is a compelling and exhilarating read with wicked wit, dialogue and visceral imagery. I found it very entertaining and creative thoughtout. Thirteen criminals are abducted, some very colourful characters, very depraved and readers can experience the final days of their lives.

Readers are confronted with a mixture of diverse characters and will be intrigued as I was, in trying to figure out who the kidnapper is. By following the characters through their own personal stories, individuals who partake in murder, drugs, prostitution and more, with each subsequent character being related in some way to the previous one, Norrish holds the reader’s attention so their imagination runs riot in trying to discover the identity of the abductor. The shifting of perspectives from one character to another is handled skilfully and the reader is the only person to hear the confessions of each victim as they meet.

Norrish’s atmospheric novel features a unique quality which provides the reader with an inside glimpse into an assortment of criminal minds. Each chapter is a different criminal telling his/her story. None of the characters are truly likable, but this is one of those books that is hard to put down because it’s so different and very well written with a clever ending. Criminals openly talk about their crimes as each person comes up with a unique point of view in the story. For armchair detective readers who enjoy a mystery thriller or crime stories with a shock factor and a lot of brutality, this novel's ideal.

It is a riveting, dark thriller; a page- turner with fast-paced, action which is gripping from the first page; a crime thriller with a different voice and style; certainly not a typical thriller and the only person able to guess at The Imposter’s true identity is the reader.

Reviewer - Anne Pritchard.


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