A bit disappointing and predictable.

Copycat by Alex Lake

When an old friend, Rachel, gets in touch with Sarah Havenant for the first time in years, she asks Sarah a very odd question – which of Sarah’s two Facebook accounts is the one to friend? Sarah only has the one. When Sarah takes a look she’s shocked to find that this other account has photos of her husband Ben and their children, even a couple taken over the last day or two. The posts sound like Sarah wrote them, they contain the mundane details of her life that only she should know. Sarah’s family and friends, including a police officer, are concerned but it’s difficult to know what she should do. And then, just when she’s ready to put it out of her mind, it escalates – emails, purchases made from her Amazon account, and more. It’s around this time that Ben begins to think that perhaps the impossible is true – is Sarah doing this to herself?

Copycat is the third stand alone psychological thriller by Alex Lake and I’ve enjoyed all of them. They each feature an intriguing female protagonist who has the ground swept away from under her feet. We’re never quite sure what is happening and these women certainly don’t. And it puts everyone around them into the same dark place as the main character sinks further into herself, questioning everything around them. Sarah is a fine example of this. Her own identity is being eroded for reasons she can’t fathom until she even doubts her own sanity.

Social media is becoming increasingly appealing to authors of psychological thrillers and it’s used well here, expanding on the theme of identity fraud. I’ve had experience of this and so I found the way that this story develops particularly frightening. It certainly keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

There are elements of the story that I found quite hard to accept. I don’t want to give anything away but I did have trouble with the reasons for why all of this is happening. So while the first half is thoroughly absorbing and tense, scary even, this is dissipated in the second half (at least for me) as it is all explained. Nevertheless, even though this isn’t my favourite of the three, I enjoy Alex Lake’s writing very much. I like the ways in which his stories undermine the everyday lives of his main protagonists and affect those around them. Life is a frightening place in the world of Copycat. As Sarah becomes more and more afraid, she finds threats everywhere, but which are real and which are red herrings are not easy to separate. It leaves Sarah with nowhere to go. And it is fascinating and thrilling to watch.

Other reviews and features
After Anna
Killing Kate
An interview

With short chapters and a sinister cyber stalker, Copycat really ramps up the tension. It's very readable and the modern plot meant that I found myself constantly coming back to devour more of this thought-provoking and enthralling book.
​The unique method that the stalker uses to torment Sarah, made me reflect on the massive power that the internet holds. The amount of details that are out there and how dangerous they can be in the wrong hands truly is a scary thought.
The book is 416 pages but it doesn't drag at all and I felt as though I read this incredibly quickly, as the writing is very fast paced.
I guessed who the stalker was, but it didn't make it any less enjoyable and tense finding out why they'd been trying to destroy Sarah.
I thought that the last third of the book, and the ending itself, were a little hard to believe and felt quite unrealistic. Nevertheless, I was completely gripped and engaged the whole time and found myself frantically flipping the pages, desperate to find out how everything would end.
Overall, I'd give this book 4 out of 5. It's sinister and modern, a little unrealistic at times, but completely gripping and I'd certainly read more by the author.

I loved this book. It was thrilling and had me guessing for the most part of the story. I seriously couldn’t stop reading and put the book down. I felt like riding on a roller coaster with all the ups and downs and twist and turns the story was making. Never sure what would happen next. I like that in a book. And I liked that the one person Sarah didn’t like - her mother-in-law, was saving the day. What a bittersweet ending. The ending though.... Since I don’t like open endings, I had a hard time with this one and it’s the only thing I would change. Apart from that it’s a book I really recommend to everybody looking for a well written psychological thriller. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK!

A modern day gripping thriller. Sarah Havenant S a GP in a small American town, 2 kids, busy life, loving husband. When she discovers there is a 'fake' Facebook page, with photos of her life and family, her run of the mill life takes a worrying turn. I found this a page turner and, although I did guess the identity of the stalker, just before it was revealed in the story, I still found this a great read.

Intensely disturbing, and irresistible. Made me question many things, and in particular the way people behave on social media. This is a tale of trolling at a pathological level. Do NOT read if you are feeling vulnerable, paranoid or unsupported in any way...

A great thriller with a stalker with a difference. Sarah is being stalked by herself - by social media, by letters, by post. She receives great sympathy at first from her husband, the police officer, her friends but then they slowly turn as no-one except Sarah herself could have access to all this information and too much leads to it being her. She is on her own now or is she delusional? A really creepy, dark story. Fast paced with a gripping ending.

This was another book that scared me a little whilst reading it. Mostly cos of the way that it illustrates how social media and the like can be abused and used to cause havoc to an innocent party. It definitely made me run to my privacy settings and check them all over!
Sarah Havenant receives a Facebook request from an old school friend Rachel. Along with this request comes a question asking her which profile she actually uses as it appears that she has two. This is accompanied by a link to the other one. Sarah follows this link and is horrified by what she sees. Someone has been following her and taking pictures of her life, as well as posting as her. But this is just the start of her downward spiral as soon she finds that someone has been impersonating her in other areas of her life especially online and via email. As the frequency and level of these intrusions escalates even Sarah's husband, Ben, starts to doubt her sanity. With a bit of a history, could Sarah be doing it all herself and not be aware, or is someone really out to get her? And if the latter, who and why?
As already mentioned, this story scared me a little. Especially the social media and email side of things. How many times could I have been duped by only scanning email addresses and not really paying attention to who was actually contacting me. We do live in a bit of a scary time if the ease of what happens in this book could actually happen in real life, and to be honest, it all comes across as very credible.
It's a fast paced book that, once I had started, I really didn't want to put down. I really needed to know what was happening as I got to the stage where I hadn't a clue where we were going. Right up to certain point when all became clear and then I just needed to know why and, more importantly, what was going to happen next.
I do admit to struggling to connect to Sarah initially. I am not quite sure why but there was just something a bit off about her. Maybe that's the nature of this type of book and my suspicious nature coming forward. I also didn't really like Ben too much but then I do understand some of his motivations and I was able to connect to both him and Sarah eventually so it didn't really matter what I actually though of either of them at the end of the day, and the book for that matter!
Included within the book we have the usual cast of suspects. each being ruled in and out along the way. It's always hard with this type of book to know who to keep in play and for how long so that the reader doesn't feel cheated at the end of the day and here, I think the author did a spot on job. Sarah's confusion really did come across superbly as she was trying to work things out herself, flitting between her own ideas sometimes several times, often on the same page as we saw her thought process unravel.
The ending was a bit weird for me. Maybe a little too over the top in part but it is what it is and, although I wasn't completely sold on it, I am sure others will be. I'm just not as convinced as maybe I should be.
All in all, a good solid read that kept my attention nicely. I definitely enjoyed it more than After Anna so I guess I'd better give Killing Kate a whirl sometime.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Copycat is a psychological thriller that had me riveted from the first few pages. The novel is set in a small American town, a friendly community where many of the inhabitants have known each other most of their lives. The story revolves around Sarah, a married mother of two children who is also a local doctor, apart from going away to college and to medical school she also has lived in the town all her life. Almost immediately in the book disconcerting and unsettling things begin to appear on Sarah’s social media accounts, strange emails are received and there is unnerving activity on her online accounts all which start to adversely affect her personal life, health, work and her family because Sarah doesn’t believe she is responsible for them – but could she be? The book builds up to a terrifying and shocking conclusion - I did have my suspicions as to the identity of the perpetrator but in no way did this spoil the anticipation of how the book would end. I thoroughly recommend Copycat — you will not be disappointed.

Identity theft and the misuse of Facebook were certainly highlighted in this book. It is very difficult not to say 'whodunnit' as I would not want to spoil the whole read. There were times when the young American doctor just did not know what to do when confronted by fake emails, and then Amazon parcels for her turned up! The author kept the tension up really well. However, I found the ending a bit weak which accounted for less than 5 stars.

I have never trusted Facebook and social media, and this book gives you a clear warning how it can be used to destroy your life – even if you are careful. Sarah Havenant slowly watches her life, her reputation and her marriage unravel – and it all started with a fake Facebook account in her name. Next came the fake emails, purporting to come from her. Then, the Amazon deliveries from her account that she never ordered. Everything requires an intimate knowledge of Sarah’s life – which really only she has. Along with her husband and friends, you start to doubt her sanity. She is a respected, and well-liked doctor – who could possibly wish her ill? So, if Sarah is not doing these things – who is? And why? Each incident is just short of criminal activity – so the police can do nothing. But the menace keeps ratcheting up another notch. Sarah starts to suspect almost everyone – the school mate who has just arrived back in town, her mother -in-law, the lonely patient with the smelly feet … It is not clear what motive there could be, nor even which gender the stalker could be. Sarah’s terror is palpable, her husband’s confusion understandable, and both fear for their children.
“Copy Cat” is a chilling thriller that keeps you really on edge for two thirds of the book. Unfortunately, once the stalker is revealed, the book goes downhill. The stalker’s motives do not seem strong enough for the extreme and cruel behaviour that now unfolds. Yes, the stalker is insane – that goes without saying. But I find it hard to believe, that such malevolent psychopathy could remain hidden for so long.
I thought the first two parts of the book were exceptional – unfortunately, you do need the third part for closure, and the end really let it down. So, two thirds of the book gets five stars – and the last third gets two and a half stars – giving an average of four stars. Well worth a read - but not perfect.

Sarah is being stalked by someone who knows where she is and what she has been doing, and then posts all this on a fake facebook page.
I really liked the idea of this and at first enjoyed the book. Unfortunately I began to be bogged down by all the characters, their partners, their children, their parents and even their dogs. I found this slowed the pace of the story, and I'm not sure most of them were essential!
A shame because it's a good story overall.

The first two thirds of Copycat are brilliant. A duplicate Facebook account, with photos taken inside Sarah's home; the author of the fake account knows what Sarah has been doing, but who is posting this? Intriguing and innovative, I was absolutely gripped. I didn't like Sarah's husband Ben, when he doubted her. It didn't seem to take long for him to lose faith. Towards the end, the plot took a down turn, in my opinion, and became more of a run of the mill crime novel. I thought the mastermind behind it all was ultimately unconvincing and unrealistic. However, I will definitely look out for further books by Alex Lake.

This is a gripping psychological thriller which had me hooked from the beginning. Fast paced, the drama draws you in and highlights the perils of putting too much personal information on social media. I couldn't put this book down and highly recommend.

This was a really tense psychological thriller. I began to believe that Sarah was losing her mind. There were some parts that were a little far-fetched eg travelling to London but, overall very enjoyable.

What a fantastic book. I had my heart in my mouth the whole time. It was tense, powerful and scary. Loved every word of it

I was originally drawn to this book by the publisher's description and was not disappointed from the outset. Alex Lake has drawn into the plot the essence of our modern world where technology plays an essential part of our life and predators can lurk behind stolen or copied profiles on social media platforms. It is this scenario that allows this thrilling story to be told and at a pace that makes the book more difficult to put down. The main characters come to life and the uncertainties of the outcome keeps the reader involved all the way through to the final pages. You will not be disappointed.

Well what's not to love about Copycat! I read this in a day on holiday as I couldn't put it down. From the very first chapter, I knew this was the kind of book for me.

Sarah has a great life, she's a successful doctor, has a loving husband and 3 adorable children. Then she receives a friend requests from her past pointing out she has two Facebook profiles in her name.

It appears Sarah has a stalker. It also appears that the stalker is herself. She's concerned as more and more things happen but her family don't seem to believe that it's not her doing these things. You can certainly feel the anguish Sarah is going through yet also sympathise with family.

This book is gritty, face paced and with a good twist. Alex Lake has a great style of writing and this turned the book into a proper page turner.

I would highly recommend this book and can give it a very worthy 5*.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and the author for the chance to review.

Well that was a rollercoaster of a ride that I was not expecting. Wow and OMG what a book, I was literally gripped from start to finish and it was shockingly good, spine-tingling good in fact. A lot of sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what would happen next.

I literally could not turn the pages fast enough. The storyline was outstanding and I'm still a bit shell shocked by the revelations that came out come the end of the book.

I could easily go and write an essay of a review discussing the plot and the characters in detail but I'm not going as I wouldn't want to risk spoilers or ruining the book for anyone. So all I will say, is that reading this book is an absolute must.

On that note, I'm very much looking forward to reading Alex's other books which are already waiting for me on my kindle.

Copycat- Alex Lake

This new book from the author of 'After Anna' taps perfectly into the paranoia that surrounds privacy settings on social media. How much information is it possible to glean from our online identity? If you've ever had you Facebook account hacked this will make you very nervous.
When an old friend gets in touch to which account is hers Sarah realises there is a identical account out there with her details on it. Who could be doing this? It has to be someone close to home -her husband or her best friend.
From the day Sarah finds out about this fake account her life spirals out of control and she begins to fear for the safety of her family and her own sanity.
A roller-coaster of a book that takes you by the throat and leaves you exhausted as you experience all Sarah's fears.
This is the first book b Alex Lake that I have read but I will certainly be catching up on the previous two.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read 'Copycat' prior to publication.