We trade in secrets here, Evelyn. There’s no shame in having a few of your own. Our only concern is for who might discover them.
Out of place at boarding school, scholarship girl Evelyn Varley realises that the only way for her to fit in is to be like everyone else. She hides her true self and what she really thinks behind the manners and attitudes of those around her. By the time she graduates from Oxford University in 1939, ambitious and brilliant Evelyn has perfected her performance.
War is looming. Evelyn soon finds herself recruited to MI5, and the elite counterintelligence department of Bennett White, the enigmatic spy-runner. Recognising Evelyn’s mercurial potential, White schools her in observation and subterfuge and assigns her the dangerous task of infiltrating an underground group of Nazi sympathisers working to form an alliance with Germany.
But befriending people to betray them isn’t easy, no matter how dark their intent. Evelyn is drawn deeper into a duplicity of her own making, where truth and lies intertwine, and her increasing distrust of everyone, including herself, begins to test her better judgement. When a close friend becomes dangerously ensnared in her mission, Evelyn’s loyalty is pushed to breaking point, forcing her to make an impossible decision.
It’s been a while since I’ve cracked open a gripping, edge-of-your-seat spy thriller. I had high expectations for Rebecca Starford’s new World War Two novel, The Imitator and wasn’t disappointed. The Imitator is a page-turning spy thriller inspired by true events, and a powerfully insightful portrait of courage, loyalty, and sacrifice. It was also a welcome break from the many heart-breaking, emotionally-challenging WWII dramas I’ve read of late. Instead, this took me on a wild ride. It’s an exquisitely written and suspenseful tale of espionage, perfect for readers of John le Carre.
The novel is split into dual timelines, following protagonist Evelyn Varley in 1939 during the leadup to WWII, and afterwards in 1948 as she attempts to move on with her life but is still living with the consequences of her actions. Evelyn is a smart, compelling and flawed protagonist, and I enjoyed following her journey from a working class, scholarship girl to a charismatic and capable spy recruited by MI5.
Smart, twisty and impossible to put down, The Imitator is a propulsive and thought-provoking page-turner that had me hooked from beginning to end. A cracking debut novel from Rebecca Starford.
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