This is an imposture story of the Patricia Highsmith classic The Talented Mr Ripley type (except that the 'impostee' is the Ripley character), but no way as grim in its undertones. More like an undergraduate prank and even the expected blackmailers are not that sinister. There is a murder plot, however, so there is a good (but expected) comeuppance at the end. Switching of identities is an Innes specialty -- his main characters are always intelligent but feckless, or intelligent but corrupt, and the stories revolve around that confusion -- but this one is not his best.
Wyatt James
Impoverished but likeable George Gadberry is hired to impersonate wealthy Nicholas Comberford, ostensibly to placate his aunt. He takes on the job with an appealing sense of moral jeopardy, and is well on the way to chucking it when he begins to see gaps between what he has been led to believe and the truth. It gradually becomes clear that everyone is in on the true facts of the imposture except the aunt and Gadberry himself. The denoument is rather forced, but the book is nonetheless an interesting look at the effects of greed on morality - and vice versa.
Jon.
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