Copy Cat by Alex Lake

‘Imitation is the most terrifying form of flattery…

Which Sarah Havenant is you?

When an old friend gets in touch, Sarah Havenant discovers that there are two Facebook profiles in her name. One is hers. The other, she has never seen.

But everything in it is accurate. Photos of her friends, her husband, her kids. Photos from the day before. Photos of her new kitchen. Photos taken inside her house.

And this is just the beginning. Because whoever has set up the second profile has been waiting for Sarah to find it. And now that she has, her life will no longer be her own…’

H.O.L.Y. S.H.I.T.

I think I can safely say that this book has been my most favourite Alex Lake book yet! This was the most twisted story! I honestly was hooked real quick and as the story developed and the conclusion came to light I was honestly gobsmacked, I even found myself shedding a tear towards the very end. Something I have never done when reading this genre before, but man did it upset me.

Copy Cat  is all about Sarah, a doctor married to the love of her life and together they have three children. Life is really good for all of them until one day Sarah gets a Facebook message from an old school acquaintance, she is moving back to the area and would like to catch up but along with this she questions which Facebook profile is her actual profile. This confuses Sarah completely and she soon discovers someone is pretending to be her online, posting pictures of her children… posting pictures with captions that only she could have, pictures of her on a date with Ben, her husband. Sarah is disturbed, who could be posting these pictures? Is it a prank? or is it something more sinister?

Sarah confides in Ben and her best friend Jean, both of them tell her it could be a prank and to try to ignore it. The profile soon disappears and Sarah is left thinking it must have been a Glitch within Facebook, like a ghost profile for example. Even so Sarah is spooked.

But then the real games start, books arrive at the house, self help books, ordered from Sarah’s Amazon account. The proof is right there on her account but she swears blind she didn’t do it. Ben questions that maybe she did it without realising, but Sarah is adamant that she did not order those books. Then her friends start to receive emails from her arranging play-dates, which she doesn’t turn up for that leave her friends annoyed. Her children’s summer camp receive messages that the children’s uncle will be picking them up early… only there is no uncle. Things start to get more and more serious but ALL of these events point to Sarah, nothing more so than the notes with her handwriting claiming she is struggling and contemplating suicide. Only Sarah is desperate to prove she didn’t do, but the more desperate she becomes the less Ben believes her.

Ben has spoken to Rachel, Sarah’s old school friend who thinks that Sarah may be suffering from a mental illness where she is doing all of this without really knowing. This angers Sarah beyond belief, one, Ben has gone behind her back and two, Sarah believes that Rachel is behind all of this. Rachel was the one, who of course brought the second profile to her attention and all of this happened just as she came back to her hometown, piece together this with the fact that Rachel happens to have just broken up with an ex-boyfriend of Sarah’s who was a tad intense when they broke up and that is all the evidence that Sarah needs.

As Sarah’s tormentor ups the ante and Ben’s belief in her lessens, Sarah becomes more and more paranoid, looking at all of the people around her wondering what will happen next. Ben is just desperate for Sarah to seek help, he thinks she needs medical intervention but Sarah just won’t listen. But when we read from her tormentors point of view it is very clear that they plan to end Sarah once and for all…

Copy Cat is superbly suspenseful and feeds on all of our fears, that we possibly share too much online and by doing so we are allowing literal strangers to know every detail of our lives and by sharing this information it could be used against you however anyone sees fit.

God my heart went out to Sarah, all she wants is someone to believe her and trust her when she says that she isn’t behind all of this, even though all of the evidence suggests it is. Even as the reader we start to doubt her and wonder whether she is doing all of this and whether she is even aware of it! I really liked Ben and felt deperately sorry for him, all he wanted to do was help Sarah but he just didn’t believe she wasn’t behind it, which made me so mad! His heart was in the right place but COME ON, trust your wife, by not trusting her he placed her in further danger.

This is easily, EASILY the best Alex Lake book yet, it was so well written that it even had me doubting Sarah’s sanity as well as feeling helpless as no one believed in her and we had to watch her crumble an her marriage fall apart. As with all of Alex’s other books I read this in a day, I sat up until the early hours just trying to get it finished, I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next. One of my favourite things about Alex’s books is the fact that they are actually impossible to put down once you start them, they demand your undivided attention. Then have you gripping the pages white knuckled throughout!

Copy Cat is gripping, intense and impossible to put down. Creepy and disturbing as hell and will have you questioning how you use social media in the future! Utterly superb! WOW! Alex Lake has a dark and twisted mind.

Copy Cat is available in paperback and eBook format, make sure you get enough sleep before you start as you won’t be sleeping properly for a while after you finish it.