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MWSA Review
Beginning in the present day and reaching back through the decades to World War II, Impostor: A Genealogical Mystery by Richard Davidson is a mystery with a great deal of historical fiction thrown in.
Jeremy Hadley’s fiancée, Debbie Danforth, plans to surprise Jeremy with a genealogical research into his origins so that she can present him with a piece of graphic art that represents his family tree. But she runs into complications when she discovers that the man they thought was Jeremy’s great-grandfather was an impostor. Debbie’s research uncovers the fact that the real Michael Farrell Hadley was born in London on 17 April 1914…and died the same day.
In their quest to discover the truth, Debbie and Jeremy travel to England to find answers to the question of his heritage which was conceived in mystery and has been shrouded in secrecy for seventy years. Impostor takes us behind the scenes to the formation of the intelligence gathering community of the late 1930s and carries us through wartime American and British spy rings to the present day farmlands of the English countryside.
Fans of genealogical research are sure to enjoy this fast-paced mystery from its beginning to its surprising and unorthodox conclusion.
MWSA Reviewer: Betsy Beard
Author's Synopsis
When Debbie Danforth discovers a flaw in the genealogy of her live-in boyfriend, Jeremy Hadley, he and his family try to discredit her findings, but eventually admit they must be true. Jeremy and Debbie run a private detective business, the Sandley Agency and commit their skills and resources to learning about the impostor Debbie has discovered in the Hadley ancestry. They are assisted in this effort by Penny and Joe Gonzalez, principals in a covert federal agency, with whom Jeremy has previously worked as a consultant. Their joint investigation uncovers both unique details concerning the mysterious Hadley impostor and little-known facts about events leading up to World War II in both Britain and the United States. Was the person who masqueraded as a Hadley a villain or a hero? Did other Hadleys know he was a fraudulent member of their family? Did his actions assist or impede the British and the Americans as they faced the growing menace in Europe?