THE ALTER PREY

What would you do if you woke up and found yourself covered in blood? If when you looked in the mirror, the reflection staring back appeared nothing like your own? Imagine finding mysterious purchases on your credit card bill. A new brand of beer in your refrigerator. Out of character additions to your wardrobe that you would never wear. You might think you’re dreaming. Or perhaps the subject of an elaborate prank? For respected clinical psychologist STUART RYDER, such inexplicable happenings have become his every day experience. After a routine age regression on a client triggers a disturbing recollection of his own childhood trauma, Stuart stumbles upon something, or someone, he never expected—PAOLO—an alternate personality created by Stuart’s mind to mask the insufferable pain of his past. The two find themselves in a harrowing game of skirmish as Paolo leads them down a dark and twisted trail of revenge and murder. A battle of wills is fought over which identity will reign supreme. Can Stuart triumph and regain some semblance of his old life, or will Paulo take over once and for all and ruin both their lives forever? ‘The mind is a crowded and terrible place in Frederick Mulae’s new psychological thriller, The Alter Prey. Hypnotherapy and split personalities lie at the heart of this dark, blistering story, and while readers may see the horrors coming, the inexorable unravelling of the plot is a master class in patient storytelling. Mulae demonstrates a deep understanding of human nature, and a penchant for darkness buried deep within his characters, waiting to be revealed. With carefully edited dialogue and an addictive pace, The Alter Prey is a hauntingly good novel.’ Editorial review.