In Copycat, the reader follows Sarah - a doctor and a mom of three, as well as happily married. She lives in the small town she grew up and things seem perfect until an old classmate of Sarah's comes back to town and remarks how she wasn't sure which Facebook page was Sarah's. When she looks online, Sarah discovers someone has been impersonating her,as well as stalking her and her family. Soon her friends and family start getting notes from someone pretending to be Sarah and as she becomes desperate to find out the truth, people start looking at her as if she needs help and is doing everything for attention.

This was fine. I thought some of the conversation around what you put online in terms of your life, family, personal details and how easily these things can be used and abused by people you don't know online was good but this wasn't a new conversation, and there's been many books that have done this better. I found the writing fairly simple, as well as the story quite repetitive at times (something would happen to Sarah, and then we would have a whole other section of Sarah explaining all of this to another person so the reader gets it twice).

I hated the 'plot twist' in this book that had someone go a bit mad and literally become a murderer due to her infertility as well as playing up the evil stepmother trope. It's boring and lazy and also everything was just very dramatic and not very realistic at all. Not to mention some very problematic conversations around abortion.

This story is messed up. It’s just what a psych-thriller should be. Everything points to Sarah losing the plot. Is she losing the plot or is she someone who is being targeted?! I’m not going to tell you… #nospoilers

I really felt for Sarah. She seemed such a nice lovely woman in a loving relationship with adorable kids. But chapter by chapter she’s brought into question by her nearest and dearest as it appears someone is hellbent on bringing her down.

I was glued to my kindle in the early hours itching to know how this torturous situation Sarah found herself in would end. Would she find out who was at the centre of all this and why they wanted to destroy her life? As the book gave me its revelation and fallout, I was left stunned!

Lake has curated an unnerving warning about both social media and social contact. Do you know who is contacting you when it’s an email or Facebook connection? Is that person really who they say they are?! Copycat is a cracking read and I can’t wait to read more from Lake!

Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

This was a roller coaster ride kind of a read from the beginning!

Sarah Havenant discovers that she has a stalker via a friend who has returned to town. There's a fake account on social media, then there are notes and letters! No one knows who is doing this and slowly everything is falling apart. Sarah has her doubts on someone, but her husband doesn't believe her as this just keeps progressing!

All this just turns out to be the beginning of something more to come

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, this is an unbiased review.

#netgalley #arc # copycat

First I would like to thank Net Galley and Alex Lake for the opportunity to review Copy Cat. Wow this is a believable psychological thriller in the world of social media and what could happen if someone decided to impersonate you, but that is just the start ! A fantastic read that kept me gripped to the end.

A psychological thriller of the kind that is a little far fetched and not at all plausible. I didn’t guess the outcome or the ending but even if I had, it was an odd conclusion.

It was also dragged out quite a bit. I can’t say I appreciated this. If I could, I’d take back the hours spent with this one.

predictable and boring, the characters were poorly developed and I had to force myself to keep reading till the end. I wouldn't recommend this book and I felt copy cat was an apt title as it felt as if the author was trying to copy other thrillers of a similar vain, without actually having any of their skill.

A fabulous psychological suspense thriller that once I started I didn’t want to put down. A well written story that will have you turning the pages so quickly in anticipation of what is going to happen next.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Is copying the sincerest form of flattery?
When someone envies you so much that they want to become you?
A fast paced thriller but in reality with little suspense. Creepy but we already know that putting too much information out on our social media is a really bad thing as random people can pretend to be you and then things can start happening.
I am not sure that this storyline adds much to the theme and the whole book and character definitions are rather thin and need more detail to be believable.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

Regular readers of this blog will know how much I enjoy a good addictive psychological thriller, so I was very excited to be approved on NetGalley for the new Alex Lake thriller, Copycat.

Sarah Havenant has a great life -a wonderful husband, three beautiful children, a successful career as a doctor and a lovely reliable best friend.Then one day, an old friend who is moving back to the area gets in contact with her via Facebook and uncovers a disturbing chain of events. There is another Sarah Havenant on Facebook, who seems to have photos of Sarah’s family and the inside of her house and who constantly seems to know the places she has visited and the things she has done. As Sarah digs deeper into the mysterious profile by asking her friends and growing suspicious of everyone around her, it almost seems like someone wanted her to find the profile and it’s really only the beginning. Can Sarah find out who is behind the bizarre stalking act before her perfect life -and her mind- collapses completely?

One of my favourite things about Copycat is that we get these incredibly intriguing short chapters in between the main chapters, giving sinister monologues from the stalker. I found myself scanning these chapters looking for clues and motives amongst the cast of side characters, which was such good fun. These little teasers were also very effective in heightening the pace and suspense of the plot.

I have read quite a lot of these kinds of thrillers adn quite often, I predict either the main twist or little details. With Copycat, I had no idea at all. I was constantly torn between believing that none of it was real and falling for the obligatory red herring. I believe my mouth physically dropped open when I finally realised what was going on -and it honestly wasn’t until the final quarter of the book.

The relationship between Sarah and her husband Ben is beautiful and rock-solid. It was so lovely to read about a couple who have been together a long time but were still so in love. Even with a dilemma as terrible as the one that Sarah finds herself in, Ben is forever trying to dismiss that his wife is at any fault. He sticks by her steadfastly and helps her as much as he can. Having said that, it felt like a very real relationship. At times when it looked like it could fracture (and there were a few), I never had any doubts that they would split. It was a great example of how scary nonsensical situations don’t have to mean the end, if you have enough love and faith in your other half.

The book also throws up the question of how safe our true identities are online. The possibility that something like this could happen to the everyday real person was really hammered home and it definitely made me think about how much of my life I share on my social media. It was a really interesting thing to consider and it might even scare you enough to rethink your sharing habits.

Copycat was definitely an exciting rollercoaster that kept me guessing throughout. As the book neared its end, I still wasn’t sure that it would be a happy conclusion. I’d definitely recommend to regular thriller readers who want a story where for once they won’t have figured it all out before the halfway point.

From early on the perp seemed pretty obvious, The usual red herrings were thrown in along the way but the actual villain is without suspicion throughout the book until the big reveal, which for me is a bigger clue than the red herrings.

I kept reading hoping I would be wrong but alas no. I did enjoy the story, even though I was frustrated that our subject, Sarah, couldn’t see what was obvious.

My 4* review for CopyCat by Alex Lake.
"Your stalker is everywhere.
Your stalker knows everything.
But the real problem is that your stalker is you.

Sarah Havenant discovers–when an old friend points it out–that there are two Facebook profiles in her name. One, she recognizes: it is hers. The other, she has never seen. But everything in it is accurate. Recent photos of her and her friends, her and her husband, her and her kids. Even of her new kitchen. A photo taken inside her house."

This is a brilliant psychological thriller with plenty of twists, turns, dead-ends, misdirection and suspense. It is fast paced and I found I was either reading it or thinking about it. However, only 4* from me because, in my opinion, the ending was a bit ridiculous and far fetched and disappointing after the great build up to it.

The beginning of Copycat will instantly make you think twice about what you say on social media! Making you worry about how much information you put out there and in fact it will just give you a general sense of unease over how you could get caught up in something completely out of your control.

In this story we follow Sarah going about her daily life when she is suddenly caught up in the middle of a nightmare all starting when she realises that there is a fake profile on Facebook. Another profile that has photos of herself, her family and is scarily accurate. This is when Sarah’s life begins to unravel and sets her on a dangerous and very twisty path to discovering the truth.

The plot moves at a good pace and straight away made me think about the reasons why this could be happening to Sarah. I loved the not knowing especially as I was kept on my toes trying to figure it all out! I have to admit that I didn’t fully warm up to Sarah’s character but there was also something about her that made me want to keep on reading and to discover the truth. The story worked so well at making not only Sarah paranoid but myself too! Could I trust everything that I was reading or was there more to it? Put it this way I ended up questioning everything! Now I did end up guessing who was behind it but this didn’t ruin the story for me as I may have guessed the who but definitely not the why. Then add in an increasing level of tension and Copycat makes for an entertaining story!

The first part of the book was sinister and compelling. Someone playing mind games. But, then, it seemed to get more predictable as though trying to shock in a different way. Almost a story in two parts. Nevertheless an enjoyable read.

A thriller for the Social Media generation. Sarah posts about her life on Facebook like most of us do. But one day she finds she has two Facebook identities, the real her and another, one she didn't even know about - nightmare! As she discovers photos of her everyday life on her alter ego page she faces everyones worst nightmare she is being stalked by an unknown person and things are about to get much much worse

Of course this makes for a complex and twisty tale that keeps the reader. guessing and wondering. It makes for an unreliable narrator as Sarah begins to fear for her family and her family fear for her sanity.

Clever and twisty a great beach read that will make you feel just a tiny bit paranoid.

An enjoyable read with a good twist. Fast paced throughout and written in an easy to read style. Great holiday read.

I’ve been drifting away from mystery thrillers for a while, but the premise of Alex Lake’s Copycat drew me in, hook, line and sinker. Social Media and techy hi-jinks? I’m so there.

But I now wish I’d hadn’t been. Maybe I went in with too high an expectation, and have no one to blame but myself, but this book was a little disappointing for me. The opening was promising. I couldn’t wait to delve into the mystery of the duplicate Facebook profile. Social Media is a huge part of our lives, and it’s scary to be presented with all the ways it can misused, but my interest started to dwindle once the second part began. The mystery lost that alluring spark and became mediocre and repetitive. The suspense vanished, the characters were too lack lustre to keep my interest, and the writing just wasn’t special enough to make the whole thing worth it.

The biggest issue though, was the ending. It felt rushed and messy – poorly thought out and executed. The last hundred pages required more suspension of disbelief than I was willing to given them.

The premise had a lot of potential, and if you’re someone who loves psychological thrillers, you might be able to forgive Copycat’s flaws and enjoy it. Sadly, for me they vastly outweigh the good.

Buy it, borrow it, skip it? Borrow it.

Perfect for: Readers who’ve enjoyed the author’s previous works, Killing Kate and After Anna.

Sarah, a hospital doctor discovers that somebody has set up a Facebook account in her name and is slowly taking over her life. Her husband, Ben, is beginning to suspect that she is making it up. Who is right¿
I enjoyed Copycat as a tense read and although it was a bit formulaic in places it was worth investing time in.
There was quite a slow build up to the story which I felt became a bit rushed towards the end of the book.