Gillian White's COPYCAT starts off with a prologue narrated by a killer from her prison cell. The rest of the book alternates chapters by the two candidates for the label of murderess as their story unfolds. Jennie and Martha are thrown together when, both heavily pregnant, they move into suburban Essex next door to each other. Martha is confident, strong, independent, unique and charismatic. Jennie is timid, insecure and needy. The colourless Jennie is drawn to vibrant Martha and they become friends. They meet in adjacent hospital beds the day after Martha moves in, both giving birth to a daughter on the same day, and from then on they never seem to be apart - sharing stories, holidays and lives.
Martha feels sorry for Jennie and tries to bring her out and make her more independent; but gradually their friendship becomes more of an obsession - something dark, unnatural and parasitic. The story becomes chilling and unsettling, showing domestic suburban lives and friendships in a suffocating, destructive light.
This is an enthralling tale, well paced and cleverly told. The two main characters of Jennie and Martha take centre stage and their husbands, children and friends are rather shadowy figures who revolve around them. I found it impossible to care for any of the characters, but the story of their relationship was compelling despite that.
The audio book is narrated by Jilly Bond, who does an excellent job of differentiating
between the voices of the two narrators. I found I was looking for excuses to
listen to the tapes, rather than saving it for travelling to work or going to
the gym.
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Donna Moore