Copycat, by Rebecca Cale Camhi, is a crime thriller set in Buffalo, New York, in which Detective Mickey Ryan is pulled into a brutal murder case that quickly grows into something far darker than a single killing. As more bodies appear and the crimes begin to echo Jack the Ripper, Mickey has to face not only a present-day serial killer, but also the buried grief and trauma of his own past. The result is part police procedural, part psychological suspense, and part family drama.

I liked how grounded the book feels in place. Buffalo isn’t just scenery here. It has weight. The streets, neighborhoods, local restaurants, weather, old buildings, and even the rhythm of the police work give the story a lived-in texture. It made the horror feel closer and more unsettling because the violence does not happen in some abstract “dark city.” It happens in familiar rooms, motels, family homes, and historic spaces. That choice gives the thriller a strong local heartbeat.

Camhi also makes an interesting choice by giving Mickey’s personal history so much room. At times, the investigation pauses so the novel can dig into family wounds, old love, religion, Irish identity, guilt, and memory. I found that both ambitious and a little surprising. This isn’t a lean, stripped-down thriller. It sprawls. Sometimes that slows the chase, but it also gives the book its emotional pull. Mickey isn’t just solving a case. He’s walking back into the shadows that shaped him. That makes the violence feel less like shock for shock’s sake and more like part of a larger question about how evil lingers in people’s lives.

The darker material is intense. This crime thriller includes graphic murder scenes and a killer whose theatrical mind can be disturbing to sit with. Still, I appreciated that the novel doesn’t rely only on gore. Its better moments come from the tension between the procedural details and the human cost behind them: the victims’ unfinished lives, Mickey’s loyalty to the people he loves, and the uneasy feeling that the past is never as far away as we pretend. I would recommend Copycat to readers who enjoy gritty serial-killer suspense, character-driven police procedurals, and crime fiction with a strong sense of place. It will especially appeal to those who like their thrillers messy, emotional, and personal rather than cold and purely puzzle-driven.

Pages: 402 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0H2PT5QLT