What’s the book? Impostor by LJ Ross
How dark is it? It’s a murder mystery, so that kind of dark.
How good is it? 6/10 psychological profiles
I’m pretty sure this is the first of the Alexander Gregory mystery series but that’s purely an accident; my daughter bought this for me on a whim having no idea that thrillers tend to come in sets. In fiction, at least, solving one weird murder makes you a magnet for them–people immediately start dropping dead in strange new ways, even when you’re on vacation or trying to retire. This mystery is that magic first case that centers the universe’s muderous intent on our new friend.
Alexander Gregory is a psychiatrist trying to be a criminal profiler. The mayor of a small Irish town calls him in to help with a stalled murder investigation. The way the victim was posed screams ‘serial killer’ but the police are stumped because there haven’t actually been multiple murders yet. Still gun-shy from a previous profiling job gone wrong, Gregory agrees to help but is very cautious about offering his opinions and insights. To Gregory, the case also screams ‘serial killer’ and it seems pretty obvious the killer has deep mommy issues but he’s hesitant to guess at exactly what kind of issues and who exactly the cops should be looking at.
This was a decent mystery. A lot of mystery writers hide the killer from us by making every character seem gross and unlikeable, making us guess which horrible person actually stooped to murder. Ross gives everyone a tragic backstory instead. The real killer has serious issues with their parents, but so do several other characters. Hell, even Gregory himself has serious parent issues, so it’s hard to tell whose issues have driven them to murder and who’s just normal amounts of messed up. This twist makes most of the characters pretty likeable but it also leans a touch too hard on the idea that orphans are all potential murderers.
In fact, the whole book relies a tad too much on overdone mental health stereotypes like Munchausen by Proxy and dangerous orphans and attachment issues. I’m interested in mental health and I spent long years parenting kids with attachment issues so I enjoyed this angle, actually. It’s just that with Gregory being an experienced expert and all, I was hoping for something a little more nuanced or original in this department but his ‘insights’ felt a little too shallow for my taste.
Still, there were tantalizing clues and decent twists, plus a nicely action-packed ending where Gregory has to battle a major storm as well as the killer. It was a fun enough ride and Gregory is interesting as the main character, with his blend of unresolved trauma, deep passion for the work, and total lack of self-confidence when it comes to convincing people he’s right. If you’re into thrillers and mysteries you can read Impostor and follow Doctor Gregory from the very beginning.
