She Treads Softly: Impostor Syndrome

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome by Andrew Mayne
10/21/25; 288 pages
Thomas & Mercer
The Specialists #2

Impostor Syndrome by Andrew Mayne is a very highly recommended investigative thriller. I was totally engrossed from the start and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is the second book in The Specialists series which teams up former FBI Agent Jessica Blackwood and police investigator Sloan McPherson who is with the Florida Underwater Investigation Unit. Impostor Syndrome can easily be enjoyed as a standalone novel.

When a Nevada wildlife ranger discovers the body of a popular influencer encase in an obelisk made of salt in a remote part of the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge the FBI is immediately contacted. The FBI calls on former agent Jessica Blackwood to assist local agents to look into the death. Then they learn through a picture about another death of another influencer, this time underwater. Jessica calls Sloan to assist her with the investigation and the two find the body chained to the bottom of Nevada’s Pyramid Lake. Then they learn about a third attack against a game live streamer who barely survived a pipe bomb attack. It is very clear to Jessica and Sloan that there is a connection between victims and something much bigger is being planned.

The pace is fast and the engaging plot is compelling and clever throughout this exceptionally well-written thriller. The twists occur naturally and the ending is not predictable, which I appreciated and this alone increased my enjoyment. Jessica and Sloan work well together and it is entertaining to see them piecing together clues, using their instincts, and following up on the information they uncover. They are both intelligent, fearless investigators and are portrayed as fully realized unique individuals with strengths and weaknesses.

As an aside, I also appreciated Mayne keeping details realistic. For example when Jessica and Sloan went out on Pyramid Lake and had tribal police officer/ranger approach them, I immediately appreciated the novel even more. The lake is part of the reservation and you have to go through the Paiute Tribe and get a permit or be a guest of a tribal member. Many authors use a place but don't know information and details about the area which can be annoying for this reader. I applaud any author who does their research or knows the details.

Impostor Syndrome is a perfect choice for those who enjoy well-written, engaging investigative thrillers. I'm looking forward to Mayne's next book. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.