First published 2007
Julia and her husband live a comfortable London life with two children, hiding a shocking truth: Julia has been secretly impersonating her own deceased sister for years. Her elaborate fabrication began decades earlier, when she assumed her sister Margaret's identity after her unexpected death, crafting an entire alternative life story. As her carefully constructed narrative threatens to collapse, Julia must confront the psychological complexity of her decades-long masquerade and its potential impact on her family. The cost of her sustained lie becomes increasingly precarious. Her husband knows nothing of her true origins, and her children remain unaware that their mother is fundamentally not who she claims to be. Each passing year increases the risk of exposure, with family connections and historical records potentially revealing her fundamental fraud. Julia's intricate performance demands constant vigilance and emotional suppression.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, psychological-thriller, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, unreliable-narrator
Setting: China, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland
384 pages · Hardcover · McClelland & Stewart
Content warnings: emotional-abuse