This was a psychological thriller and a half! I couldn't put it down I read it in a day, a real page turner.

Loved it and 5 massive stars from me.

Highly recommended.

Sarah Havenant is a thirty-eight-year old doctor and a mother of three who has returned with her dependable British husband, Ben, to her hometown of Barrow, Maine. For Sarah a return home has meant reconnecting with old friends and in common with almost everybody of a similar age she enjoys the convenience of keeping in touch with a host of friends and acquaintances in a non-committal basis via Facebook. So when someone who Sarah was at school with gets in touch asking which of the two Facebook profiles is the correct one for her, she is alerted to the other Sarah Havenant! This second account, purporting to be Sarah is scarily accurate and includes photos of Sarah, her friends and even some from inside her house with the history going back six-months. It seems someone is determined to convince Sarah that she has a stalker and at first she assumes it is either an elaborate prank or a misguided attempt at humour but the only possible suspect denies all involvement. However a disorientated Sarah cannot help being unsettled by the fact that this second profile was flagged up by a girl she was never good friends with at school, Rachel Little, just as she herself is due to return to Barrow. Coincidence or could Rachel be harbouring a long held grudge about some teenage boyfriend stealing? Distracted and unsettled, Sarah confides in best friend, Jean, finding Ben unwilling to spend time worrying over what could simply be a technical glitch. Until, that is, the mysterious other Sarah sends the real Sarah a friend request and from then on things get far, far worse for Sarah as an array of bizarre events play out.

Given Sarah’s history of anxiety and the panic attacks which began in earnest after the birth of her seven-year-old son, Miles, it takes little for the constant gnawing tension at the bottom of her stomach and her paranoia to swing into overdrive. Suddenly she is suspecting everyone from patients at the surgery to her mother-in-law in the UK and each and every event takes on a darker and more ominous interpretation. As her settled family and professional life begins to implode, Sarah feels frightened and let down by how willing Ben is to believe everything is a cry for help under the weight of her fragile mental health and Sarah reaches out to an old school friend in the Barrow police, Ian Molyneux. Yet with no actual crime having been committed and no obvious threat made rational attempts at working out who could possibly benefit and who has the technical skill necessary leave Sarah puzzled as she becomes increasing worried about this cyber threat becoming a very real threat and coming dangerously close to her children. As her friends support is tested and her marriage to Ben is taken to the brink with the consensus seeming to be that Sarah is losing her mind, can she ever take back control of her life and just how far is her enemy willing to go..?

Copycat is fairly tepid affair, albeit with a promising opening, however the necessity to suspend disbelief for much of the novel proved an issue for me and as a repetitive second half played out the story dragged, overriding much of my earlier optimism. In truth there is little suspense throughout and this isn’t helped by the cast of characters who all lack depth, not to mention the patently obvious identity of Sarah’s nemesis by the twenty-five percent mark to anyone who has read a handful of psychological thrillers. It is difficult to actually envisage a meaningful relationship between Sarah and Ben, as I found their responses to each other awkwardly wooden with little chemistry between the insipid couple. I do not think it helps that the novel opens with the disconcerting events immediately beginning to unfold and therefore the reader doesn’t have the benefit of seeing the Havenent’s in better times. Likewise there is little consideration given to an abrupt ending which fails to offer much insight into the futures of either Sarah or her stalker. With the final quarter of the novel becoming a little wacky as the predator moves from malevolent to schizoid in the course of just a few pages, Copycat falters drastically into the close. Something I did enjoy were the interspersed chapters (neither marked or italicised) where the perpetrator behind Sarah’s intended destruction gave their own first person progress report and added some creepy intrigue to the whole affair. Clearly an insight into the mind of someone dangerously unhinged, these sections are the only slightly menacing parts and kept me reading just for the comic baddie humour they brought to the novel.

As Sarah begins to realise the full extent of her digital footprint and just how much information she has made public, one of the most interesting aspects in the narrative is how this equates to putting up a bulletin board outside your house with your holiday plans, photographs of your children and an update on your daily plans listed! The added danger with social media however is that anyone wishing to misuse such information doesn’t even have to be in the same neighbourhood, let alone country.

After Sarah has spent much of the story conducting a top-down approach as to whom might hold a grudge the only possible candidates seem to have paper-thin motives, thus it is no surprise that when events do unfold and readers discover how Sarah has supposedly bought all this on herself, the motive seems ludicrously feeble. Attempts to link Sarah’s situation to a somewhat similar mystery over a decade before in Barrow were never really fleshed out in enough detail to be of meaningful significance during Sarah’s own troubles and could only be appreciated in the final few chapters of the book. The writing is fairly unadventurous and perhaps because of the colourless characters there are few serious attempts at delivering at delivering a multi-layered narrative. The plot moves quickly up until halfway and Lake’s succinct chapters makes for a easily readable yarn but as the pages flick past with little mounting suspense, Copycat never really captured my imagination.

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller by Alex Lake, the novel is full of twists and the pace of the story keeps you wanting to read more. I had previously read and enjoyed 'After Anna' by the same author so I had high expectations and I wasn't disappointed.
The lead character Sarah Havenant, discovers she has a stalker who is going one step further by completely taking over her identity. The stalker assumes Sarah's identity by setting up a fake email and Facebook accounts complete with personal photos, which not surprisingly unnerves her and causes not only a lot of confusion but puts her life at risk.
The book is gripping and thought provoking putting into question what really is possible to do when someone is so determined to cause this kind of havoc.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for receiving a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A pyschological thriller about a professional woman, mother to three children and loving wife who discovers someone has set up a fake Facebook site in her name and appears to know her every move. A topical theme for a novel in which social media dominates lives and nothing is private. I enjoyed this novel very much, a flawed protagonist and a clever twist.

I really enjoyed this one I would say the first half of the book.

However, by the second half I was starting to get really annoyed with the character of Sarah’s husband. What an annoying whiny poor excuse for a husband is what I kept thinking.
I would definitely not stay married to someone like this.

I didn’t particularly find any of the characters likeable but the stalker storyline was interesting and I love attempting to guess who the bad guy is. I didn’t guess correctly so I like that aspect of it. The motive of the bad guy was pretty bad (in my opinion).

Overall the story was ok, the writing was ok. Nothing particularly WOW and am unsure if I would read anything from this author again.

Read and reviewed courtesy of Netgalley

Keep a close eye on your Facebook account, something Sarah should have done, because it was too late by the time she discovered the second profile with identical pictures and details. Ben, lawyer and Sarah, dr, plus three children are living the dream until sinister things start happening. Despite realising who it was from the start I still loved this story. Sarah’s bewilderment as she tries to convince people “it wasn’t me” and trying to work out who it was and Ben struggling to believe her with so much evidence to the contrary was gripping. The lengths some people will go to get what they want is remarkable! A follow up would work well with this book.

Copycat is a great insight into just how things can go wrong in this technological world - fake Facebook accounts, fake email addresses - so easy to do. Unfortunately for Sarah, this happens to her and her life changes completely. She has no idea what will happen next, but she knows how much of an impact it is having on her and those she loves. Her marriage is on the rocks, she is worried about her children, her mental and physical health suffers.

This book was extremely well written with you hearing from both Sarah and the 'big bad'. You also get snippets from ten years ago, which will eventually tie in with the rest of the story. I was engrossed all the way, right until the last couple of chapters. There were a couple of aspects which didn't seem to add up to me, but perhaps I was reading too much into them. On the whole, this book was a very good read that I would recommend.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

Sarah Havenant is a doctor, happily married, with three great children and a best friend that she has known all her life. Then, one day, she finds out that someone has created a Facebook account in her name with photos of intimate family moments and posts written as if by her and is posting new pictures almost every day. Someone is watching her. When she is about to go to the authorities the account is deleted. Then someone starts emailing her friends, making appointments that she knows nothing about. Books are delivered, purchased from her Amazon account that she did not order, letters are written, in her handwriting! Someone is doing this and they are doing it for a reason. Her husband thinks that she is having dissociative fugues, becoming a different person and having no memory of it. Her anxiety attacks, that she had managed to get under control, return. Her family life is disintegrating into chaos and she does not know which of her friends to trust. Why is this happening and who is behind it all?
It is terrifying to think that there are people out there that have such a distorted view of reality that they can plan the downfall of another, and wait years before putting their plan into operation. Do we really know how our words and actions during our lives affect the people around us? Are people who they make themselves out to be? This book made me look at all my relationships throughout my lifetime and try to see myself from the other person’s point of view. How many times in our lives do we hurt others, not meaning to, but because they perceive our words and actions to mean something else? The human psyche is fragile and people around us may be more fragile than we realise.
Saphira
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Loved this book. Excellently written and page Turner! Loved it

Before I'd turned the last page I'd hopped on to amazon and ordered the author's other books. Highly recommended

"In untangling the web, she had merely become trapped in it."

While the premise for Copycat wasn't particularly original, I did like the sound of this book. Unfortunately it just doesn't deliver. The writing is over laboured, repetitive and littered with cliches. The pacing throughout the entire story is off, dwelling too much on smaller incidents and skimming over the important bits. There were also leads and characters that were never followed up on, something which always frustrates me.

Copycat is very predictable. The build up to the reveal was so obvious that I thought I was being thrown off the scent, thinking it was the very obvious person when it would actually be another. But no.

I couldn't warm to any of the characters, particularly the lead Sarah, who seems to handle having her identity stolen in a completely unbelievable way, not getting worried until the very last minute and refusing to do what a seemingly sensible people would do in the situation.

In fact, a lot of the actions of the characters are unbelievable, as are most of the plot points.

I feel like I'm being very harsh. I know so much work goes into writing a book so I feel mean when I write a bad review, but I also want to be honest on this blog.

There were a few elements to Copycat that I liked; the premise being one, that someone could be impersonating you so completely that they could even take photos from in your house and know what you'd been doing that afternoon.

The book looks at how much we share now through social media and actually how easy it would be for someone to impersonate you.

"Back then, who would have announced to the world the dates of their holiday? Or their children's birthdays? Their wedding anniversary? Their maiden and middle names?"

Also, the sections written by the stalker, while repetitive and overdone, do break up the narrative a bit and create a more excitement.

Overall though I'm afraid Copycat just didn't do it for me. Though, looking at Goodreads, a lot of people loved it, so maybe you will.

My Rating: 2 Stars

I received a copy of Copycat, via NetGalley, in return for an honest review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

Good story well written
Good character development
Well worth a read for individuals not a school book

I love that there are so many recent novels centred on social media and Copycat really had me hooked. It starts with Sarah finding two Facebook for herself, one that she uses and another that she’s never seen, with photos that could have only been taken by someone inside her house. It’s creepy and actually kind of plausible which makes the whole scenario scarier.

A great quick read for when you need your thriller fill!

I requested this book from Netgalley, on the basis of the description, in return for an honest review.. I’m afraid that I was sadly disappointed.. This is an American book by a British author, now living in the States. All that it did for me was to reinforce my belief that Facebook offers huge opportunities for malice and self absorption . I felt justified in my long held determination to have nothing to do with it.

I never connected with any of the characters. Just not my sort of people.. Sarah, the lead female character, behaves like someone in her early twenties and not a mid thirties G P with three young children. How does she run her professional life, her home, her children and husband, all of which should be demanding in their own right and yet still have time to rush around like a single woman, dashing off to the beach and social events with her family on a whim. Their diet is hardly one that any self respecting doctor should be promoting.. And all the time checking on her Facebook page and obsessing about the fake page set up in her name.. The red herrings are not delicately hinted at if you are bright enough to pick them up, as in the very best of tales. They are rammed straight in your face, one after the other.

I forced myself to achieve fifty percent of the book but couldn’t read any more. In the end I didn’t care who the perpetrator was or why.. I should have given this one star but felt guilty because this was someone’s literary effort.. I guess I’m just not the market at which this is aimed.

This book is gritty, fast paced and with some good twists. Alex Lake has a great style of writing and this turned the book into a proper page turner. I'm very much looking forward to reading Alex's other books

This is one of those books, that could actually become reality given the level of social media used today.

Sarah Havenant is a GP, has three children and a husband, all currently in a lovely area in the States. Her life is pretty perfect, until she discovers she has a stalker. A duplicate email address sending messages to her friends and colleagues, and a facebook profile in her name with photos, who she knows can only have be taken from someone close to her.

This causes havoc in her marriage, with friends and life in general - is she going insane, is someone out to get her, how far will they go to get revenge.

Faced paced, psychological thriller, with many twists and turns. Once you start reading you won't be able to put it down. The first book I have read by Alex Lane and it was not a disappointment.

Thank you to Harper Collins for the advanced copy.

Sarah Havenant is a little mystified when an old school friend sends her a message on Facebook asking which account to send her a friend request. Sarah only has one Facebook account so she searches for herself and finds two of her. At first, Sarah thinks one of her friends is playing a joke because all the photos on the fake page are of her close family and even within her own home, but these aren't pictures Sarah's taken and she hasn't even seen them before. It's got to be someone close until, one by one, her friends and even her husband, think she is doing this to herself. Things escalate, threats start, even one of her children goes missing, but still it appears that she's losing her mind, she's even beginning to question her own sanity. Throughout, Sarah feels certain that it is one particular friend doing all this to her but she can't find proof and she can't think of a good reason why she or anyone else would do this. Then one of the most terrifying things happens, imprisoned with no one looking for her she just about gives up on life.

Copy Cat is a fast paced chiller of a story, a good puzzle for the reader because there doesn't seem to be any good reason for the terrible things happening to Sarah Havenant. The characters are well developed and we meet each one in turn getting a good handle on their personalities and traits. The ending did seem a bit rushed, or more that everything exciting was crammed in to the last few pages giving an unrealistic ending. This is the first of Alex Lake's novels I've read and I would be happy to read her earlier two or any future ones in the pipeline.

An interesting yet worrying read as this is another book about the dangers of social media.

Well written, enjoyable, plenty of twists & turns. Perhaps a tad far fetched and slightly unbelievable in places but well worth a read.

My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

Fabulous psychological thriller that's right on point in these days of the internet. Love her books. Highly recommrnded.

Copycat by Alex Lake is a great psychological thriller full of twists and turns that will mess with your mind. It’s a disturbing story of revenge written at a good pace with interesting characters. I admit it’s not the best psychological thriller I have ever read but it’s pretty good and well worth a few hours of your time.

My thanks to the publisher, HarperCollins UK, via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.