“There was no background music or camera zooming in. This was real life. In real life, we don’t get to edit out the painful parts.”
 
When I read the book description and saw that this book was about psychopaths being involved in a clinical trial at college with some murder thrown in…I was like yup, right up my alley!!
 
The book is told in 3rd person mainly from perspectives of Chloe, Charles and Andre. I absolutely loved all 3 of them. This story was extremely interesting and unique because the main character Chloe, along with others, are diagnosed psychopaths. A psychopath narrator? Loved it! The entire book you don’t know who or what to trust so it constantly keeps you guessing and on your toes. The title of this book is very fitting because I sure as hell didn’t see it coming. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I also love that the author is a psychologist.
 
⚠️TW: rape, serial killer, murder, death, mental illness⚠️
 
Thank you to Netgalley, Park Row Books and Vera Kurian for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sooooo so good!!! Unable to put down! I loved the fact that it’s narrated from the actual psychopath POV. There were so many cool aspects to this book that made it very unique. It takes the murder mystery trope and puts a whole new spin on it. From the beginning we know that Chloe is out to kill Will.. but the question throughout that kept nagging at me was whether or not she actually would!
I kept thinking that through Charles she would gain a little conscience… it was interesting to see how their diagnoses effected each of them differently as well!
Then there was that ending…!!! I’m not going to say much bc I don’t want to give it away but I was honestly not expecting anything that happens in the end!!!
Very good. Would definitely recommend!
Happy reading!!

The title is getting a lot of buzz in my library system. The premise is creative, but I had a difficult time getting through this one- I have an extremely difficult time reading books with unlikable main characters. However, I think that the patron base is there for this one, and I do think it will see high circulation through word-of-mouth. It wasn't for me, but I definitely know many people who I can recommend it to.

‘Never Saw Me Coming’ was a gripping, wild ride! Full of murdery goodness, thrills, suspense, and characters who are legit psychopaths, this book was unadulterated fun and perfect for fall.

Never Saw Me Coming
by Vera Kurian
Pub date: Sept.7, 2021
Park Row

Wow! I was drawn to this book because of my interest in psychology. It is rare to read about the main character who happens to be a psychopath, but it is extremely difficult to find a book with many psychopaths represented, all in one story, all together hanging around, making jokes and just simply being themselves.

The overall story is unique and entertaining. I think those interested in psychology and glimpsing inside the mind of people who think completely differently will find this fascinating.
The ending was unsatisfying for me. I would have trouble recommending the book.
Thanks to Park Row and Netgalley for the ARC.
3.5 stars

This is a story about trust.

This started out so strong! I loved the characters & the characterization of their presentation. Unfortunately, the end took it down a notch- but overall still a fairly good psychological thriller!

3.5 rounded to 4.

Thank you so much Netgalley & Harlequin for this eArc!

This is hands down a page turning thriller. Set as a new college year begins, Chloe Sevre is embarking on her first year at John Adam University. She’s there to study, but also be studied. She’s part of a program ran by renown psychiatrist Leonard Wyman, who’s trying to change how study how people perceive and eventually how Psychopaths think, so that they don’t act on their irrational thoughts (anger) and cause harm. He truly believes that intervention is key. And Chloe is not alone on this program, there are other participants.

But Chloe isn’t there purely for the program no, she has an alteria motive on her mind, in the shape of Will Bachman. They have history and Chloe isn’t finished with him yet. And she giving herself a timeline of 60 days to achieve what she believes to be the outcome she desires.

Now, I said theres other participants – Charles and Andre, Chloe doesn’t just bump into them in class though. They aren’t meant to meet, they are meant to conduct their part in the studies alone. But when a murder occurs in their department and Andre finds the body, it soon become clear that some one else is studying them too. Chloe get tagged in on instagram on photos of places she has just been, Charles gets an intruder, so Charles, Chloe and Andre team up – but are not trusting of each other so each one try to battle over the others at the same time. And Andre is there, not because he’s a psychopath, but because he’s pretending to be one! All this makes for a twisted thriller of extreme plotting.

Never Saw Me Coming will keep you guessing and not till the very last page is turned and you remember to breathe, will you realise you’ve been holding your breath.

What if a college psychology program wanted to study psychopaths so much, they gave them scholarships? Never Saw Me Coming imagines this scenario and honestly, it doesn’t seem so far fetched. For anyone who ever took freshman psychology and had to submit to random “studies” during the semester just for class credit wouldn’t. Sure, they were mostly hokey experiments designed by psych graduate students, but it definitely makes you think.

The good news is that it doesn’t appear that all psychopaths actually murder people, they just lack any type of remorse or regret for their actions. And if you’ve even been so mad at someone that you could just “kill them.” Well…

Never Saw Me Coming has it all. Loveable (if psychotic characters), an interesting plot, characters (aka frat boys) that you kind of don’t want to see survive and at the heart of it all, mystery. It actually reminded me slightly of American Psycho, the college years, as told by Patrick Bateman’s female double. It’s a must read!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one released on September 7, 2021

4.5 Stars!

This book is a great slow burn thriller with such a unique twist: the people you’re rooting for are all psychopaths - literally. They’ve got the diagnosis the prove it, and they each have the “quirks” I guess you could call them and plans that match, like Chloe’s obsession with revenge on Will Bachman. I think this setup just automatically make the book exciting from the get-go. I mean, not only are psychopaths traditionally the “bad guys,” but in this book, there is a bad guy, and now we’ve got a book of psychopaths to wade through to find the killer.

And this one really is exciting as it roars to its conclusion. When you get to the end, it really smacks you right in the face with the solution and you’re just turning pages frantically waiting to see how it all turns out! And wow, it’s a great twist and I loved it. It’s rally clever and I commend the author.

You can also tell that the author has a background in psychology because she is able to really draw out great characters and dig into their personalities and paint them as more than their diagnoses. They are whole characters, not just caricatures.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I look forward to more from this author!

Hmm, do I want to read a book about seven students with psychopathic traits attending the same college because they're in a clinical study, and one winds up dead? And then another? You bet.

Despite having been sold on the premise, I had a hard time getting into Never Saw Me Coming -- it took until maybe the 20% mark for me to find my groove, and it was at the 80% mark when I wanted to sneak-read at my desk. Overall this one did deliver the juicy, suspenseful vibes I was looking for (it just took me a minute to get there).

Never Saw Me Coming is author Vera Kurian's debut. Kurian has a doctorate in social psychology and is the sort of nerd who's posting 10 behind-the-scenes blog posts about the book (read: very much my sort of person). I look forward to whatever she writes next!

Vera Kurian's Never Saw Me Coming hooked me from the introduction! A group of students receives a full-ride to John Adams University in exchange for being subjects of a psychological experimental group for diagnosed psychopaths. You would think this alone would be cause for alarm, but then someone starts hunting them down, killing them in bizarre and twisted ways. Is it one of their own, or is someone else trying to end this experimental group for good? I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the novel, and I also really liked how each character struggled with protecting themselves while also forging alliances yet still not trusting one another. It was fascinating to read as they second-guessed each other, and even sometimes themselves, while trying to figure out who was behind the gruesome murders. Each character was distinctly different yet very similar in some ways. Kurian also paid careful attention to point out repeatedly the distinction that a diagnosis of psychopathy doesn't necessarily mean someone is dangerous -- that a small population become a danger to society while others lead healthy and functional lives, especially with the help of therapeutic intervention. Overall this was such a unique story and I was truly captivated throughout.

Let's start by saying RIP to Dave Thomas Circle 😭😭 as a newish resident of Maryland I absolutely ADORE reading books set in the DMV area. This novel did NOT disappoint.


Chloe and 6 other students are a part of a student study focusing on psychopathy. All is well in Chloe Sevre's world as she works toward her own means to an end. Until...not one but two students are found murdered on campus. An unlikely (or are they?) trio work together to solve these crimes like only psychopaths would...to save their own behinds.

This title Never Saw Me Coming by @verakurianauthor was literally just that! The writing was impeccable, the POV changes kept me guessing and the characters were about as likeable as you can imagine a psychopath would be.

I give this a 5/5 for sure. Go buy it!

“You know what they say—two psychopaths are better than one.”

Woah, how fun! How often do you find yourself rooting for the psychopath? (Okay, maybe I do a lot) I absolutely loved the idea of this book!

A small amount of psychopaths away at school, together, unbeknownst to them and the rest of society. What could go wrong? You see where I’m going with this?

I thought I did too.. and I was screaming for it to not be *that* person. I loved these characters working together trying to figure out what was going on. Their personalities were great and I honestly wouldn’t be mad if there was more of them!!

I liked seeing the characters from the readers POV. They’re psychopaths and they know that. But to THEM, they are living semi normal lives and there are times where they thought and did things that I was giving major side eye.

This was just a great, fun read. I enjoyed it way more than I anticipated and now I want more like it!!

This is a really tough one to rate. On the one hand its so interesting! Psychopaths in a study at school, hunting another killer psychopathic killer? Totally here for that. But also Chloe is on a revenge path to murder her rapist. Here for that too. However the execution falls short. For one the dual storyline was a bit too much, and made the book too long. They ended up being distracting from the storyline rather than adding to it. I thought that the characters were interesting in terms of being psychopaths but that also made them very hard to connect with so that part of the book was lacking. Overall it was a pretty good read but I didn't love it.

A murder mystery focused on a psychopath-study at a DC university sounded really interesting. It was not. The book is plagued with self-centered people (which I expected) and inane college drama (which didn't fit at all in the middle of a serial killer situation). There was nothing to make me care about these characters, and so many irrelevant situations and people made the story drag on. It took me a while to finish the book because I was not willing to give up sleep for it. Never a good sign.

Loved, loved, loved this from start to finish. Very fun and kept me guessing the whole way through. Deeply flawed characters that you’ll fall in love with.

Another great psychological thriller! Fast paced and intriguing. I wasn't able to put it down! I couldn't wait to see how it ended. If you are looking for a book to keep you up at night until you finish it, this will do that.

Favorite Quotes:

There was the FOMO part of me that wanted to stay and hang out and do what everyone else was doing their first week of college. But then there was that other part of me. My only consolation was that once I was done with Will, I could throw myself body and soul into what college is supposed to be: romantic intrigue, baiting girls into stupid fights for fun, having affairs with professors.

The trick to undetected mischief is to have a look on your face like you’re just heading home to do laundry.

He reminded me of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast except with better hair.


My Review:


This was a stellar read; brilliantly paced, cunningly plotted, and breathtakingly insightful. The storylines were deftly penned and perceptively written from multiple points of view and I was quickly pulled into an oddly compelling and somewhat disturbing vortex of devious scheming, emotive story threads, keenly clever snark, and shrewdly detailed observations and inner musings. I was intrigued, perplexed, enthralled, and riveted during perusal and cringed with annoyance when my reading was interrupted, as I didn’t want to miss a thing. Vera Kurian may well be an evil genius as well as a master storyteller and has titled her book with 100% accuracy, as I never would have foreseen this ending on the horizon.

3.5 Stars
Never Saw Me Coming is a psychological thriller about a group of psychopaths who consent to be part of a study at a university in exchange for free tuition and room and board. Someone has murdered one of the group and Chloe must team up with 2 others in the group to figure out who is responsible.

I won't say I absolutely loved this one, but I was entertained. Having a cast of characters who are psychopaths was interesting. The story is told through several points of view. Chloe being my favorite. Chloe really has no F's to give. She has a mission for revenge and will do whatever it takes to accomplish it. I'm not well versed in the psychology of psychopaths so I can't really comment on the accuracy of the characters. I did figure out the killer, but I that didn't take away from my entertainment. I would recommend this one.

I thought this book started off quite strong with a psychopath main character who is seeking revenge for an unknown reason. That’s why I didn’t love the change in POVs to some of her classmates at times, I thought it took away from the strength of the book. Then, it just seemed like too many things were going on and while fun, lessened the true mystery part of it. I liked this one, but did not love it. 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy for review.