I feel that I need to preface this review by saying that psychological thrillers are not often my thing. There are a few that I have read and loved (Lisa Ballantyne’s The Guilty One comes to mind) but there are a huge number that I have just detested and given up on (Stranger Child by Rachel Abbot being the most memorable). So it was a bit of a surprise that I genuinely enjoyed Copycat. As in looked forward to the twists and turns, assessing all the clues and trying to eliminate the red herrings, feeling a thrill when I realised I had the right idea for most of the plot. Which sounds like the plot should be obvious but it isn’t.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read – so much so that I’m about to look for other books by the same author. The book notes state that Alex Lake is a pseudonym, which makes me wonder of there is a mysterious story behind who the author is…

A very solid 4/5 from me. I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review. The book is out on 7th September 2017.

If something promises to be a 'gripping psychological thriller', I'm instantly sold! Psychological thrillers are my absolute favourite reads, to my standards are quite high in this genre!

Copycat has all the elements of a great thriller - an intriguing synopsis from the outset (Sarah discovers there is another Facebook profile in her name, consisting of photos that only she could have had access to, and that is only the start of things to come); short, snappy chapters which have you desperate to turn the page, and plenty of twists and turns. Throughout this book, people think that Sarah, the main protagonist, is becoming mentally unwell, due to the events that unfold. You spend the entire book wondering whether that is the case, or whether there is a more sinister explanation to all the untoward things that have been happening, as the level of sinister ramps it up chapter by chapter.

As with all great thrillers, there's a great plot twist. I certainly didn't catch on to it (although I am usually quite slow to catch on to twists in books) and was pleasantly surprised by the way the book ended, not in a 'happy ending' way, but in a 'oooh, you had me there!' kind of way.

The only reason I didn't award five stars here is because with the plot twist came some elements of the story that seemed a little far-fetched that they became unbelievable in parts. I always enjoy a book more if I can relate it to reality and can imagine it actually happening, but that wasn't entirely the case here. However, Copycat is a brilliant page-turner and one I would highly recommend.

When Sarah gets a message from a friend asking why she has two Facebook accounts, she assumes the website has made some kind of mistake. The profile looks like hers, yes. It has photos of her - recent ones, ones she didn't take herself. From inside her own house. And then she receives a message ... from herself. And that's just the beginning...

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There was quite a lot of detail and explanation in the beginning of the novel that I thought was unnecessary. Although knowing everyone's names and relationships to Sarah is important - particularly in a thriller where you start to doubt everyone, and everyone's motives - I personally prefer to know all of this detail gradually, perhaps in passing conversation or another way rather than a character's backstory being lumped in with their introduction. This is a sure way to throw me out of the story rather than getting lost in it.

Once this introductory section at the beginning was out of the way, I found that I started to enjoy this story. I'm a sucker for thrillers, and Copycat was a proper pageturner - I ended up finishing it in two days, and it was a book I would look forward to picking up when I came home from work.

One thing that did irritate me a little about Copycat was Alex Lake's almost obsession with England. Sarah Havenant's husband is British, and moved to America to start a life with her. There are constant observations of his Britishisms - and ones that are so stereotypical I had to look up Alex Lake to see if he'd ever even been to England. (It turns out he was born here and now lives in America, whatever that shows about his character Ben.) There were references to Ben having a 'stiff upper lip' - an expression I haven't heard anyone in England use unless they were talking about World War Two. He also says, in response to a suggestion of talking to a counsellor: 'I don't want to talk to some stranger. I'm British. I couldn't think of anything worse.' Personally, I thought these comments were unnecessary to the plot and just a little annoying!

I thought the ending was very satisfying. I'd guessed who the perpetrator was - there was only one person it could be, really - but I thought everything was tied together in a way that made me close the book and feel glad that I'd read it.

3/5

Excellent book. Great main characters and a real page turner. I loved the plot and would recommend this book.

Gripping, dark, unnerving and an addictive read.

From the beginning I was hooked. It had me guessing and theorising with every chapter and I thought I'd had it figured out a number of times.. It was frustrating to read because of certain characters' actions but I couldn't put it down. I read this in a few hours and it was an intense few hours at that.

The only downfall of this book for me was the final 20%. It all got a little farfetched and some of the characters' behaviours were irritating and not 100% believable, so that irked me a bit. The ending I felt was a bit rushed too, but all in all it was a great read and I'd highly recommend this to thriller fans.

Completely spellbound from the first page as Alex Lake crafts an incredibly complex tale that keeps you guessing right until the end. I had many theories as I was reading it as to what was happening in Sarah, but was never going to guess the motivation, nor the complexities of the deception.

In the four to five hours I was reading Copycat, I completely lost track of the real world, I barely paused for breath, as I was so utterly gripped with the story that was going on.

It starts of relatively simply, but in still a rather creepy manner, when Sarah discovers a fake Facebook account has been set up in her name, and updated with recent occurrences in her life. When she receives a friend request from herself it starts to feel weird and this only the start of the unsettling events for Sarah and her family.

What strikes me about Copycat, other than the immensely twisted psychopath at work, and their motivations, is the message from the book about social media. It is so easy nowadays to pretend to be something you’re not, when online, and with the advent of smart phones it’s even easier to potentially mess with something in a joking or more sinister way. Besides potentially having a disturbed night’s sleep after Copycat I really think I’ll take my online security more seriously, just to try to reduce the risks of a real life version of this book happening to me.

This is the second book I have read by Alex Lake and I am so impressed with this author’s storytelling, their writing style that has me on the edge of my seat very early into the book, and the short chapters from an alternative perspective, never giving much away other than the implication that more weird stuff is round the corner for Sarah.

In those short chapters from the “villain” there is an ongoing analogy for the situation Sarah finds herself in, which I was rather impressed with.

For me, Copycat is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read this year.

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I loved the concept of this book and really enjoyed it. It was an interesting storyline — successful doctor, good marriage, seemingly idyllic life — all put into question when someone sets up a duplicate Facebook page in her name and starts terrorising her. Other things start to happen, books arrive, handwritten letters that appear to be written by her arrive and things start to go downhill from there. Sarah soon starts to question her sanity (as do those close to her) and her marriage starts to crack under the strain, particularly when mistakes form the past come back to haunt her. The writer does a good job of setting up a list of potential suspects who could be responsible for stalking this poor woman and although I did guess who it was, long before it was revealed, overall I liked the characterisation and narrative style a lot.
I wasn't disappointed with this book. It did what it said on the tin but I'm afraid it didn't blow me away. However saying that, I would recommend it and think it would make a great holiday read/ book club discussion. The concept was genius, (particularly in the world of social media that we now live in) although some of the things that happened I questioned — not because of the believability — but because I think the character would have done a lot more than she did to try to stop the perpetrator or/ and find out who it was. Other than that, a good book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance copy,

A very quick paced, creepy thriller focussing on Sarah and her family. Sarah discovers that she has another Facebook account set up in her name, with photographs of her and her family at the same time that an old acquaintance returns to the small town she lives in. Understandably Sarah is disturbed by this, but her fears are brushed aside by friends and her husband and she tries to ignore this. However, this is only the start of a campaign against her that has been designed to alienate Sarah from her loved ones, disturb Sarah's mental health and pretty much ruin her life.

The tactics that are used are insidious and calculated. At one point even I questioned whether what was happening was all in Sarah's mind, even though as the reader I was aware that there was someone behind the scenes manipulating her. I have to applaud the author for this, and also the questions raised at how easy it is to assume someone's online persona.

Where the book fell a little short for me was how Sarah's husband Ben so easily dismissed her fears and didn't trust her enough to believe that everything that happened wasn't a cry for help.

The person who wants Sarah punished is absolutely insane and completely terrifying. However, I had guessed quite early on who was responsible for what was happening, and I was surprised that no one had suspected that a very dark nature lay under her exterior.

A good book that will have you questioning how much of your life you should put out there on your social media pages and just how close you really are to your friends!

Thanks go to the publishers HarperFiction and net galley for the arc in return for an honest review. (Review will be updated on goodreads closer to publication date)

Very good thriller! And it makes those friend requests from virus/spam accounts that copy your name/picture even more terrifying now. Awesome book.

This is the second boom I've ready by the author and I wondered if she'd top After Anna. I needn't have worried! I really enjoyed it! It was an excellent read.

Absolutely fantastic book, I just couldn't put it down and devoured it in a day. Very sinister, intriguing, heart stopping at times. I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

I would like to thank HarperCollins and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Copycat’ by Alex Lake in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Sarah Havenant is a doctor, married to Ben and with three children. When an old college friend moves into the area she discovers that someone has made a Facebook account in her name and without her knowledge using photographs of her home and family. This person is sending messages in her handwriting, is using her Amazon account to buy books, has the contact details of her friends, knows details of her life that Sarah would prefer to be kept private, and is watching her with a quadcopter. Is Sarah going mad or does someone hate her enough to ruin her life? And if so, who?
‘Copycat’ is a scarily chilling psychological thriller. The story is tense, well-written and will keep you up all night. It closes with a cliff-hanging scenario leaving the reader wanting more. This is an excellent novel and one I can thoroughly recommend.

Another enjoyable book by Alex Lake. Certainly kept me reading. I did work out who it was though, but it still was a good psychological thriller.

This is absolutely excellent. From the start I was gripped and it's non stop from each chapter to the next.
I loved the ending too. Not often a book with so much pace ends as well. And as realistically.
I didn't much enjoy her last book so if you felt the same don't give up on her as this is just brilliant.

A very dark and twisted tale of how social media, a wrongly perceived belief and misplaced trust can destroy your entire life.
Cleverly written and well paced but I did work out who the perpetrator was as soon as they were introduced.

I normally prefer books set in the UK but I enjoyed this book. I thought it was gripping and kept me wanting to read on. I found that it picked up in part three but did feel sorry for the children and found myself worried how traumatised they would be going from mum is dead to no she is not! I suppose that is the sign of a good book that makes you care!