A dramatic and terrifying memoir of a 'catfish' scenario - when a woman meets a man online but nothing is what it seems. 25-year-old Megan Henley put her five-year-old daughter to bed one evening and switched on her laptop. A Facebook 'friend request' seemed to be genuine. There were a few common friends and very similar interests, so Megan accepted. With that one simple act, she changed her life forever. In her words: 'looking back on it, it was as if I had opened my front door to a stranger, as if I had thrown away every precaution I'd ever put in place, as if I had freely given access to my whole world - all because of some naive belief that it was 'just' a friend request on a social media site.' Megan is tricked into paranoia, marriage and ultimately betrayal by the man she loved and trusted but nothing is as it seems.
Who Are You is actually a truly scary tale - my heart goes out to Megan Henley who went through this and it does prove the point that truth really can be stranger than fiction.
I won't go into too much about it as you are better living it as it unfolds, but it speaks to the inherent danger of giving almost automatic trust to someone you meet online. We all do it. In Megan's case it led to horror and heartache as she came under the control of a manipulative liar who controlled her through fear..
I did find the narrative a little dry on occasion and often sat there open mouthed as she believed yet another unlikely thing - but to be honest, like she points out at the end, prior to these events she would not have considered herself to be gullible and indeed does not come across that way, so who knows how any of us would act under these circumstances.
It was an interesting and often difficult read, a cautionary tale of our time.
I find it difficult with books like this to categorise whether they are 'good' or 'bad.' Obviously the subject matter is not pleasant so I think really my definition of 'good' comes down to a clear narrative in the end. This is a tale of catfishing gone very wrong. Megan Henley receives an innocent friend request from a man named Vic, and before long has met him and started a relationship, with messages coming to her frequently from his friends and relatives saying what a wonderful man he is. But there is another side to Vic - according to him, he comes from a long line of Romany gypsies who have the power to bump off anyone who disrespects them, and Megan is soon landed in the centre of this dangerous and terrifying world where she is constantly looking behind her and fearing for her life. I found the writing rather immature, and found Megan a tad gullible towards the end. Some of the things that were supposedly happening were clearly made up, yet Megan could not see what was in front of her, although on a flip side I expect if you are in that situation you are too brainwashed to understand what is actually happening.
A change from the norm for me that didn't really go all that well.....
After seeing this book in asda it intrigued me......so much so that I stood in the aisle of asda pricing up on kindle- but it was cheaper to buy the paperback.....rushing home and starting straight away
I must be spoilt with too much fiction.....as this true story did nothing for me!!
Telling the story of Megan- who met Vic online and entered into a relationship with him and entering his world of lies.
I can't help but feel this story has been massively over exaggerated- as I really can not understand how someone can be so gullible- believing all these stories....tales of murder and gypsies......
It was told in a very poor amateur way, with quite a few mistakes (for example.....Megans daughter is called Ruby.....but in quite a few instances she refers to her as Lily in the beginning of the book- Lily is the child she has much later on- not good really for a professionally edited and proof read book)
I did not like this book. There was a lot of stereotyping and framing of gypsies. Also, if this story is even remotely true, I really wonder about the MC. I understand people being deceived, but to have it happen again and getting and not taking any precaution (and for someone who goes to college ) is a bit idiot. Also, what I found hardest of all was the way the author does not take any responsability for her life herself.
What really annoyed me was the way it was written, i.e. As a fiction book. Only after halfway you get some notion that it is a true story.
I don't even know where to start this review.... First of all I am pretty sure I was the only one who did not realise it was a true story. I was halfway through when my sister pointed it out for me... duh... I am not going to explain what the book is about as you can all read it in the description :)
Let's start with some of the negatives of the book. I found it hard to enjoy the book at the beginning, I felt it was quite slow and explanatory. Which isn't really a problem that's just how I felt, and I know Megan had to introduce the storyline. Another thing I did not like of the book that she met this man online and I do not know how you guys are but I would never meet up with someone I met online.... I'm too much of a bunny for that. I mean it's creepy as it is that Vic turned up at her house (spoiler alert sorry guys!!!!) but her car just happened to say Thursday the same day is just really creepy. Im not criticising her, it's just me. It is just the little mistakes she has done that annoyed me really, like not looking up the charity company he is with, until all hell break loose is just silly. But again, it's just me. I'm really pre cautious if I would want to meet with someone I met online, I would sure as hell make a good research re the person.
Things I liked re the book. I loved the writing style. I know the style should have been an indication that it is a memoir but I was reading guys I'm not sure what i was doing xD. Anyway I do enjoyed the writing style, it was clear, easy to understand, I liked how we got to know the story from 1st person view and i liked how the story unfold. I did enjoy reading this book, it felt really honest and it did make you think and wonder about that; sh*t you know what? it could really happen to anyone. I admire Megan for her bravery for all the things she went through, and wrote her story honestly and she keeps smiling. Do keep smiling :) .
I did not have high expectations picking this book up I found in ASDA, however, when I was done with the first few chapters I was hooked and I did really got into the storyline and all the things that were happening with her. I could not put this book down, at least I struggled to put this down. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who loves thriller, psychological thriller or memoirs.
Megan tells her story in such a way that I felt I was sitting with her and listening to her relate the events of some unbelievable nightmare.
From her childhood to the present this is a tale of good and bad. It is also very cautionary. How many of us ‘click’ on a friend request not knowing anything about that person and think nothing of it.
Megan did just that, and that is when her life as she knew it spiraled out of her control, leaving her and her children scared and vulnerable.
To be honest, at times I wondered whether Megan had ’embellished’ the truth in order to sensationalise her story, such are the extraordinary and bizarre accounts of her time spent with Vic. I wondered why she was so blind to what was happening when as a reader it was obvious that this man wasn’t who he made himself out to be. The warning signs were definitely there.
However, as a I am a woman who met my husband ‘online’ I know I am one of the lucky ones and I have known people who have gotten involved with online relationships that haven’t been ‘real’ or genuine.
Vic is a complete nut job, and Megan, blinded by love or some kind of genuine sense of human kindness let him into her life, trusted him and believed him.
Who Are You is a warning and hopefully sends a message to us all that not everyone is as honest and has the best of intentions.
I actually can't believe that this is a true story. There were so many times where I thought is this woman stupid? How can she not see this? Why would you leave a man you've just met from the internet in your house while you use his car to run errands? It's just bizarre. It amused me when she professed she was an educated middle class young woman when this is so badly written with grammatical errors, confusion over her daughters' names, calling Ruby Lily at one point before she'd even been introduced in the narrative as she wasn't born yet, and use of repetitive metaphors and clichés. I'm surprised the publisher didn't edit it better but I suppose it does add to the authenticity of the narrative voice. I don't know how a woman can bounce from one relationship to another and each time get pregnant! It feels like this account is incredibly biased from the author's own viewpoint; one minute Colin is horrible and the next she's wishing him well. I found it ironic that she went on holiday to Thailand. Very odd. That said, I couldn't put it down and literally read it in one sitting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I must have been the only person to buy this not realising that it was a true story. Megan Henley, single mother of one meets Vic online. He is kind, caring and great with her daughter and dog. When they move in together her life of terror and emotional abuse. The level of utter terror and abuse Megan suffered is unreal. I did however become frustrated with Megan's inability to see through such blatant lies, however constantly living in fear wouldn't leave you in a rational place. I suspected the truth behind Val, Kat and other characters long before they were revealed. A true cautionary tale of online dating.
How to critique someone's true account of their tragic experience? I admire anyone who can come forward and tell their story. It's good to raise awareness after all. This account was an odd one for me. So much talk of gypsies and murders and fake Facebook accounts - it all seemed very hard to believe (I am sure Megan Henley felt the same). But with such 'terrifying' events taking place around her, she still left her children with him overnight here and as a mother of two, how how HOW can she be so naive? A difficult one for me.
The book itself wasn't very well edited - a few grammar mistakes and at one point, she got her daughters name wrong. Unprofessional editing there.
This is a truly horrific story, and my heart honestly goes out to Megan. She makes some important points, particularly when she speaks about preconceptions, and the fact that you never believe such events will happen to you.
However, when I come to rate this as a novel, I can't rate it highly. It's told in a rather amateurish style, the plot doesn't flow, since things are often repeated unnecessarily, and some parts dragged due to the way it's been written.
Despite this, it's an important cautionary tale, especially for current times, and I applaud Megan for writing this book.
Even though you know the plot from the start this does not stop this story being absolutely hypnotic and addictively page turning. Vic is one of the most disturbed characters I've read, even in fiction, never-mind a real life tale! It's frightening because it's true! Megan tells her story well and your heart truly goes out to her.
Damn, this girl went through Hell and back and still came out on top. Vic is an absolutely psychopath. I did know from the start how the story would play out, but it still was horrible to hear it all play out. This story does show that no one is who they seem to be. Especially when you meet people online. Even though it can happen in real life, the internet is far more dangerous as people tend to be more bold in how they tell their imaginative story. You can't see their body language, you don't know their patterns. You know nothing. Vic is also a perfect example on who he can be outside of the internet. The lies he told. Whether he believed them himself or not. If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, GET OUT. If you can... Let people help you get out and never look back. Do not give them the benefit of the doubt, because things will only get worse.
Confused by what I've just read if I'm being honest. I found the pacing extremely slow, to the point where it was difficult to stay engaged, and I struggled to connect with the main character throughout the book. Despite giving it a fair chance, I kept putting it off and never felt particularly motivated to pick it up again. I’m not sure whether it was the writing style or the way the story unfolded, but it just didn’t resonate with me and I'm sorry to say this but I don't understand how people can be THIS gullible!
I really enjoyed this book. Told from the heart. So glad Megan got the result she did regarding Lily. Just goes to show you can have a relationship with someone and never really know them. Wish you and your girls all the happiness in the world, you certainly deserve it.
I've read stories like Megan's before, some readers have said she was naive and guillable but I think she was duped by a very clever manipulative liar. If you are a trusting person who had never come across anyone like this before I can imagine how you could be sucked in. Good book.
Unbelievable the amount of lies that were told to the author by an evil and calculating man she met online. A cautionary tale and highlights that this strong woman was duped by such a nasty liar. Shoes Showing this could happen to anyone however strong as think we are .
Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
With this busy life we have, meeting the right person is a real challenge. No wonder many people feel lonely and turn to the internet just for talk. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, you name it! But we never know who are we really talking to. It might be just a normal person spending the free time just like us, or it might be a serial killer lurking for his next victim....
When I finished reading this book, I was hard for me to believe that it was a real life story. Not that it couldn't happen in real life. It happened, that was the problem! Psychopaths do exist also in real life, not just in movies. Luckily, this woman managed to escape, some women didn't. Megan Henley was brave enough to tell her story. If she had succeeded to warn at least one woman out there, her story hit the target.
Megan Henley was just an ordinary young woman, a single mother with a very unsuccessful relationship behind her. She wasn't looking for a new man in her life. She just wanted someone to talk to. And Vic seemed like so an ordinary guy. He came into her life slowly. He wasn't too pushy, just was there when she needed him. Like a knight in the shining armor.
Vic's life story seemed so unique. He was Roma trying to escape from his family, trying to live a normal western life out of Roma's laws, spent his time traveling like and working as a DJ. He lost a child and he suffered a lot. But his family wasn't keen on letting him go. A relationship with a woman who is not Roma was forbidden and Megan started receiving threatening phone calls. Strange messages appeared in her inbox, strange things happened to her car, her child was in danger. She found her perfect man and now she had to choose. Her perfect family living in fear and danger, or staying away from the man she loves.
Except, it was all a lie!
According to me, Vic's story wasn't very plausible from the beginning. There are members of Roma people in my country. They have specific facial features and it is easy to distinct them from others. I would believe the story about not having a birth certificate, many Roma kids don't have it even today. But growing up among Roma family and having so high-tech computer skills is not plausible at all. They hardly finish even elementary school. Not that they are not smart, just it's in their culture to keep a low profile and live from one day to another. And Vic's FB friends, never a real phone call, never a real conversation face to face. One excuse after another, I would become suspicious.
After all, who am I to judge? I am glad that Megan escaped the hell and managed to put the bastard behind bars. She was just an ordinary woman who fell for an ordinary guy. Who can blame her? Luckily, she managed to escape and write down her story, obviously with a help from an experienced writer and warn others that it could happen to anyone.
The core of this book was intriguing and the fact that its a true story makes you want to read it even more. Social media is something that has infiltrated all of our lives, some for the better and some for the worse, unfortunately for Megan Henley she didn’t have a great experience. ‘Who Are You?’ highlights the dangers of the internet and how people are able to manipulate to their advantage, something I guess we’re all aware of but also something none of us think we’ll ever fall victim too.
‘Who Are You?’ was a relatively quick read and it didn’t take much concentration to understand what was going on. The story seemed effortless to write and in some parts I do feel like the writing quality dropped in comparison to other parts of the book.
I think ‘Who Are You?’ let me down the most because it just didn’t seem fully believable. Not saying that Megan Henley hasn’t been through this awful ordeal and maybe it’s me wanting to think that people can’t be so cruel but it just seem far-fetched at points and maybe a twist of the truth.
Either way, ‘Who Are You?’ is an eye-opener for anyone who reads it…don’t always trust the person on the other side of the keyboard and don’t set yourself up to become a victim.
I don't read non-fiction very often, but picked this up as it struck me as my kind of read (also I met my partner online). I found this a very compelling read, but doubted the authenticity of Megan going from the relationship with Vic and then to a relationship that changed suddenly with Colin - he was nice one minute and then horrible the next.
I think this book showed just how easy it is for people to dupe others, or to be duped themselves in this digital age. I would definitely recommend, as a cautionary tale more than anything else.
I hadn't read any reviews prior to reading this book and it told a story that was different to what I thought it was going to be, however it was very obvious what was going on from the start. No doubt what happened to Megan was horrific but I found it extremely unbelievable in places and it has me left wondering as to how much the story was embellished. I also found it difficult to relate to Megan but having said that she told her story well and the book overall was easy to get through
Who Are You? is a courageous memoir of a horrific hoax and I hope that many are able to avoid a similar fate by the warning. Having said that, this was a very difficult book to like. Several times while reading I wished Ms. Henley had employed a ghost writer. It was only after I had finished the book that I discovered on Goodreads that she did so in my opinion, there is no excuse for the amateurish, clumsy writing.