An Imperfect Truth

Claire Roget #5

by Priscilla Masters

Dr Claire Roget's patient may have told her last lie, but can the truth about her death be uncovered?
Poppy Kelloway was a liar. Forensic psychiatric Claire Roget's patient made up 'facts' that damaged other families, destroyed relationships and even resulted in an untimely death.
Poppy left a trail of human misery in her wake, but when she's found murdered in her home by her two teenage sons, the savage nature of the attack is still shocking, as is the discovery of a torn appointment card for her next meeting with Claire. Could there be a connection between the murderer and the clinic, and is Claire herself in danger? Claire and Detective Sergeant Zed Willard must navigate dangerous minds and deadly lies in their quest to get to the chilling truth.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2023

About the author

Priscilla Masters' writing career started in 1987 when she published Mr. Bateman's Garden, a children's book set in Biddulph Grange Gardens belonging to the National Trust. After that she created Inspector Joanna Piercy and has now also written a number of Medical Mysteries.

Priscilla Masters lives in Shropshire, England. She works part-time in Staffordshire as a practice nurse.

Reviews

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an intriguing, gripping, twisty and well written novel. A page turner that kept me reading.
I think there's always an element of darknes in any novel that involves forensic psychiatric as they investigate the darker side of the souls.
It's not the first I read in this series and i can say they're all well plotted stories.
This was fascinating and I strongly recommend it
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - An Imperfect Truth features forensic psychiatrist Claire Roget who teams up with Detective Sergeant Zed Willard and a colleague, child psychologist Saul Magnusson, when one of her patients. a pathological liar, is found brutally murdered. Claire is unsure if Poppy Kelloway's lies have finally caught up with her or if Claire was the real target. At Zed's urging, she agrees to look through her patient files to see if any of them would have a reason to kill Poppy.

This book is part of a series, but I've not read any of the prior books. I didn't always understand Claire's decisions, but her insights into her various patients were interesting. I like when Claire and Saul consult and I wish I she had been more open with Zed and there had been more meaningful scenes between them. I found the pace of the book to be uneven, but it was a unique mystery and I would read more by this author.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley and Severn House, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

[Hannelore Cheney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC.
Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Claire Roger is horrified to learn of one of her patients, Poppy Galloway, has been murdered in a particularly vicious manner. She was undergoing treatment for her pathological lying that ended up hurting many, even causing the death of one of her victims. She was proud of the fact people believed her and cruelly laughed at them.
Claire is trying to help DS Zed Willard unravel the mystery without getting too mixed up in the process, but it's difficult for her to step away.
I'm not sure I like Claire, especially when it comes to relationships, but found the psychiatry aspect fascinating. She also has to attend a wedding, dreading meeting her mother again - they have a difficult relationship.
It's a good book and the mystery itself is a real puzzler, I couldn't figure it out.
Definitely recommended!

[Jamie Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are into the forensic psychologist books you will love this one! The characters are interesting. I feel like I am just a little too dumb to get some of this book, but I said the same about some pretty legendary books.
I think maybe I need to read this when I am having a smart day.
Anyway, it was good.

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Claire Roget is a forensic psychiatrist, which means she is accustomed to dealing with difficult and sometimes tragic cases. There are some cases where Claire can hope to make a long-term difference, such as with a young mother, Dana, who is suffering from post-natal psychosis and has rejected her newborn baby. In many other cases all Claire can do is work towards moderating behaviour that is destructive to both the patient and to those who come into contact with them.

When Claire hears on the radio that a woman called Patricia Kelloway has been brutally hacked to death in her own home, the name means nothing to her because she had forgotten that she had a patient called Patricia who had unofficially changed her name to Poppy. Poppy Kelloway had been referred to Claire because her GP thought she had personality disorder. In Poppy’s case this manifested itself in incessant lying, telling stories with such conviction that even the most outrageous ones were often believed and enjoying the subsequent excitement and sense of power. For Poppy, her lies were a game, and she didn’t even attempt to make them consistent. When she was challenged, she just laughed it off and had no concern that often her actions had destructive consequences for her victims. The most serious of these consequences were when an unfortunate and innocent young man committed suicide after she falsely accused him of sexual assault. The young man’s sister is still understandably angry and bitter with Poppy and, by extension, the psychiatric service which failed to control Poppy’s actions.

Poppy is divorced and has three teenage children whom she has separated from their father by telling them he has no desire to see them and has never provided for them, both of which statements are totally untrue. Apart from her children, the only person Poppy has not alienated is her mother, possibly because Poppy needs her support. Her mother is very attached to her grandchildren and determined to stay as a central part of their lives. The evening that Poppy was murdered was unusual because the three children were all out and it seems that Poppy had orchestrated this. When the two boys came home, they discovered their mother’s body.

Poppy has damaged many people by her lies and the police need to investigate them all. Unfortunately, several of them are Claire’s patients, whom Poppy encountered when attending her psychiatrist appointments. Claire has to balance her duty of care to her patients with her duty to help the police catch a brutal killer in a situation where it is almost impossible to sort out truth from lies. As her patients react to the police investigation, it seems that Poppy’s malign influence lasts even after her death.

Claire’s personal life is also causing her concern. As well as the uncertainty of her relationship with her on-off boyfriend, Grant, Claire is dreading her young half-brother’s imminent wedding, which means that Claire will be subjected to her mother’s despising indifference. Claire’s father had abandoned them when she was a baby, and her mother has always disliked her and in recent years has practically ignored her. Claire finds distressing parallels between her patient with post-natal psychosis and Claire’s relationship with her own mother but sees little hope of mending her own parental relationship at this late stage. If Grant is not available as her plus-one, Claire knows the imminent wedding will be even more of an ordeal.

An Imperfect Truth is the fourth book in the series featuring Claire Roget. It is an excellent book with engaging characters, including a protagonist who is flawed but likeable and is determined to do her best for her numerous patients. The plot is fascinating, with several clever psychological insights that weave together many strands of the story to create a convincing narrative.

This is a series that gets stronger all the time and An Imperfect Truth is a superb addition to it. This is a page-turner that I strongly recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)

[Michelle Le Grand · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Priscilla Masters's Martha Gunn series a while ago and thoroughly enjoyed them. I chanced upon this book in my Borrowbox app and looked forward to trying a new series by this author.

I enjoyed the book but didn't really engage with the character of Claire. I found her obsession with having a partner to accompany her to her brother's wedding, a slightly outdated, and possibly, unenlightened attitude, especially as she is a forensic psychologist. I realise that this is connected to her relationship with her mother which is obviously a thread that is woven throughout the whole series but it grated on me slightly. Every time it was mentioned, I gave a yawn.

The book was also quite confusing as there were descriptions of lots of Claire's patients and I got quite lost with their names and at the end, when the mystery was solved, there was a character mentioned and I had to page back to try to find out who they were.

I would also like to point out that she is wrong in suggesting that William Brown from the Just William books has ginger hair. Obviously Ginger, the Outlaw, had ginger hair! I cannot forgive this error!

However, it was an enjoyable read and I would recommend that readers try the Claire Roget series.

[SusanH · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Imperfect Truth works very well as a stand-alone even though it is part of a series. Dr. Claire Roget is a forensic psychiatrist who is shocked by the savage murder of her patient, Poppy. She is contacted by the police who believe the murderer might be another patient of Claire’s and believe she might also be in danger. Poppy is described as a liar, with a narcissistic personality disorder. Her lies have ruined other people’s lives and have a negative impact on her three children. This book touches on fascinating topics in mental health as well as privacy issues. Still the various patients (other than Poppy) come across as flat and predictable. Poppy and the non-patient characters are well developed. Claire is an intriguing and inconsistent character. She cares deeply for her patients and is determined to solve the mystery, however she is sidetracked by her own family issues and social life. Claire’s thought processes and discussions with other professionals are interesting, however I feel that reviewing each patient’s symptoms in her head comes across as repetitive and somewhat detracts from the continuation of the story. All the pieces come together at the end. I will look for the other books in the series since forensic psychiatry is so interesting, and I like the character of Claire. I’m interested in reading other books by this author. With thanks to Netgalley and Severn House for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

[John Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forensic psychiatrist Claire Roget #5. Can be read as a stand alone. Although Claire "works with" a police officer, this is not a police procedural. We don't follow what they do except when interacting with Claire. I have my doubts about Claire as a character. It seems her love life and family life are a bit of a mess. The potential relationship with DS Zed Willard seems inappropriate, and we are first introduced to him when he asks to come to her home at night to discuss something. Later on, her ideas about analysing her patient list to maybe identify a suspect don't seem to have her patients' best interests at heart - and aren't there privacy laws? Several of her patients suffer from police interaction, and I'm afraid I just found this very hard to swallow.
The mystery is interesting enough, and I'm afraid my suspicions went in the wrong direction. There were plenty of possibilities to choose from, given that a lot of characters had some form of mental health issue.
I found the incessant focus on Claire and her thoughts rather boring, and I'm not sure I want to read any more of these.
rating 3.2.

[Fiona Brichaut · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Imperfect Truth is a good psychological thriller that captured and held my interest throughout. I loved the portrayal of the pathalogical liar Poppy Kalloway. I'm interested in psychology and I felt that the impact of her lies and manipulation on all of the people she subjected to them was credible.

I liked the main character, Dr Claire Roget, herself beset with insecurities. I enjoyed following her growing understanding of her relationship with her own mother as she works with her patient Dana, who suffers from post-natal psychosis.

I have not read the earlier books but that in no way interfered with my enjoyment of this book: it works well as a standalone novel. That said, I'll look forward to reading subsequent books in the series.

My thanks to the auther, publishers and NetGalley for the ARC!

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself quickly engrossed in this book. Is it a patient that is responsible or not? I quickly found like that I liked Claire and I also liked the fact the we get to know a little bit about her as a person and her family life.

I loved how Poppy's lies were unfolded and the pool of suspects was growing as more lies and connections were uncovered. I was not expecting the ending and thought it came together brilliantly.

This is the first book in the series that I have read and I don't feel that not having read the others prior to this had any impact on the story. I am however intrigued to go back and read then to see if there is anything that I have missed about Claire ready for the next book!

[Janaya Kabamba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, interesting and engaging!! There is a lot going on in this book and a few too many threads and plot lines but as long as you keep up then it does all work well and comes together nicely. It's more TBA just a murder jystery or a thriller, with all the plot lines then you get a whole host of genres getting a look in. The characters are well written and believable and it's well paced and plotted out so never feels rushed or like it's dragging. I read it a stand alone and really enjoyed it

[Collette Mcgaahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just too much going on with not one thing enough to keep me interested. The murder solving which should have been the clear main storyline to make any organised sense of the book was just another thread.