Review: Not Who You Think by Arbor Sloane

     

Print Length: 304 pages

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (August 26, 2025)

From Goodreads.com:  Amelia Child has devoted her life to researching Gerald Shapiro, the Catfish Killer, a man who pretended to be other people online to gain women’s trust before meeting and killing them. Her book on the Catfish Killer, Into the Glass, earned wild success and a legion of true crime fans. Years later, Amelia is pulled back into the case when a girl from her daughter’s high school disappears, and all signs point to a copycat killer mimicking the Catfish Killer’s every move. 

As Amelia meets with the detective that helped her study Gerald Shapiro years ago and they become suspicious of Shapiro’s son, Amelia’s daughter Gabby receives a letter from the kidnapper threatening that she might be next. Desperate to find the culprit before her classmate is killed or she becomes the latest victim, Gabby conducts her own search for the missing girl. 

With Amelia’s own family at risk and the entire true crime world obsessing and investigating online, the stakes have never been higher. Everyone wants to find the killer–but when his modus operandi is to pretend to be someone else, he’s not going to be easy to catch.

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My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Let me preface this by saying that the book is told between several different years, and points of view.  One of these points of view is through the book that Amelia wrote called Behind the Glass which detailed the life and subsequent kills of the original Catfish Killer. 

Now, before I jump in, let me just say that I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this novel so it very well may be that the issues I am about to address have been corrected between the time I read it, and the final publication. 

There were several inconsistencies that I came across while reading this one. In an earlier chapter of "Behind the Glass" it is said that Gerald aka the catfish killer never took to breastfeeding as an infant. No matter how often (or for how long), his mother tried, the baby simply wasn't interested. However, that directly conflicts with information we are given prior to that which says that his mother didn't produce enough milk to keep him satisfied so he was wanting to feed every forty-five minutes, causing her to become overwhelmed. Then later on in another excerpt from Behind the Glass, it talks about how Gerald went on to punish his own son for "lying about cookies". Only, the boy didn't lie. He refused to eat the lunch that his mother had prepared for him, saying he wanted cookies instead. So Gerald let him eat cookies, until became physically ill from them. The one final mistake I noticed was near the end in chapter 61 when the sentence reads "teachers who said Jack that she'd left his classroom crying." I'm still trying to figure out just what the author meant by that.

Again, those are things that I noticed in my Advanced Copy, so while they may have been fixed before publication, however, I pride myself on my honest reviews so I would be remiss if I did not include those things and then others noticed them later on.

Moving on, I have to say I was super confused as to why Amelia, an author, was allowed to accompany the lead detective to interview potential suspects, much less why she was allowed to accompany him when they finally had a solid lead on the killers whereabouts. I get that her daughter was involved, but that is all the more reason why she shouldn't have been allowed to go. Also, considering the local PD was on scene then the address was discovered, why did they not immediately take over especially considering how close Amelia was to what was going on? I mean for crying out loud when the detective takes her to interview Gerald in jail about the copycat killer, she lets her emotions get the better of her to the point she spits on him. 

And then we have her sixteen-year-old daughter Gabby. Who not only realizes pretty early on that she looks like the kidnapped girl, but also receives a threatening letter and that still doesn't stop her from making some of the stupidest mistakes that I have ever seen. Although, considering she IS only sixteen, I suppose I can forgive that, but it leads me to another question. If the police knew this website existed (which I'm sure they did all things considered, and if they didn't Amelia certainly did), why weren't any of them keeping an eye on it? Why did it take two teenagers to break the case? A minor detail to be sure, but still a pretty blatant one.  I will say that I was pleased by the twist on who was involved as that was something that I definitely had not expected. 

Considering this appears to be an author's debut novel, I would give them another read down the line as I do see the potential in their story-telling abilities.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.