Book Review: The Imposter, Dr. Augusta Bloom Mystery Book 4, Leona Deakin
Book Review: The Imposter, Dr. Augusta Bloom Mystery Book 4, Leona Deakin
Blog Tour November 18, 2022
This is the second Leona Deakin book we have reviewed, which raises a question in my mind.
How in the world have we missed the other two in this series? We definitely need to address
that absence someday.
Dr. Augusta Bloom, former police psychologist and currently self-employed, is invited to help
solve a series of murders. “The Matchbox Murders” are so named because the killer or killers
leaves struck matches along with matchboxes at the scene of each crime. By the time the police
realize this connection, at least 11 people are dead and there are no other clues. Curiously, the
methods are very different. Usually serial killers favor one familiar way to murder people. Some
of these deaths are very tidy: falls from height, overdoses, drownings. Others, though, show
great violence and require close proximity for the murder.
Bloom’s investigative partner, Marcus Jameson, wants to help her. He, however, is busy getting
arrested for murder at the behest of their longtime nemesis, Seraphine. Seraphine plays the
long game. Her ambitions are vast, her reach is long, and her methods are brilliant. Bloom and
Jameson are pawns for her, toys that she enjoys playing with, tools that she can use to great
advantage, and if making Jameson’s life difficult makes Bloom more pliable, that’s easily done.
Whether the task is finding serial killers at home or uncovering Seraphine’s plot internationally,
Bloom and Jameson are facing long and difficult odds. And time is against them. Another party
wants Jameson to kill Seraphine. Before he does so, though, they will have to overcome a more
immediate concern.
The Matchbox Killer(s) have picked their next victim.
Deakin leaves a lot of room for a lengthy series and we hope that she fully uses the space.
Bloom and Jameson are both troubled souls who have found a friend in each other. The plot for
The Imposter is convoluted and twisty, and I for one did not put things together until Dr. Bloom
patiently explained them. The two investigators will have to be at their very best if they hope to
beat Seraphine.
That is, if they actually want to thwart her.
Our thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things for our copy of The Imposter, provided for our
participation in this book tour. The thoughts here are solely those of Scintilla. For other
perspectives on this novel, check out the other bloggers on this tour.
Also See:
Book Review: The Imposter, Dr. Augusta Bloom Mystery Book 4, Leona Deakin