Never Saw Me Coming is a book filled with characters you never know whether or not to trust. I loved the setting of a post-secondary school and the intricate relationships between the characters. The plot keeps you guessing until the end. I did feel that a few circumstances were left unresolved (I won't say more so that I don't give anything away), which always sort of bothers me in books. Overall, I would rate this book 3 stars.

The story introduces Chloe Sevre, one of seven psychopath students who received a full scholarship at John Adams University. These seven students formed part of a special program created especially for psychopaths. The program aims to determine if psychopathy can be managed like all other mental illnesses. If so, then patients could live a normal life and control their psychopathic with the proper support.

Before Chloe can fully immerse herself into her studies, she needs to carry out a plan. A plan that’s been in the making for six years. It involved killing the guy who assaulted at the age of twelve. While Chloe is formulating her plan, someone murdered two the students on the program. Besides putting her plan into action, she now has to find and stop the murderer before she herself becomes a victim.

📚Never Saw Me Coming took me on a suspenseful ride. It took a while to figure out the identity of the killer. However, as the clues came together, the killer’s identity became clear, which was a shocker.

As strange as it sounds, I enjoyed getting to know these unreliable characters, especially Chloe. The story provided a fascinating look into how these students who lack conscience and empathy function and embrace college life. Chloe, in her bid to find the murderer, teams up with two other students from the program, one of whom is there under false pretenses. The interesting thing about this collaboration lay in their diverse natures, the manipulator, the charmer and the faker. None trusted the other, but circumstances forced them to rely on each other to avoid becoming victims.

The story began on a strong note and kept that pace until the middle, where the pacing suffered. It eventually got back on track and it had me on the edge of my seat, making me eager to see how it would end. Unfortunately, unlike the start, the story ended on a weak note. I thought it strange that the characters, given how they were portrayed as smart and intelligent, didn’t figure out the identity of the villain. Secondly, the ease with which they fell into the trap set by the villain belied their intelligence.

Despite the issues mentioned, 📚Never Saw Me Coming proved to be a unique and fascinating story. Fans of psychological thrillers featuring unreliable characters will enjoy this unique tale.

🏫I was drawn to this book because psychology is my second love AND I have a child interested in forensic psychology.

🏫What better way to learn more about psychopathology than give a full ride to seven psychopaths in college.

🏫Then, you sprinkle in a killer who is offing the psychopaths one by one.

🏫And a smooth operator (Andre) who is able to convince the researchers that he is a psychopath when he is not.

4.5 stars

🏫What's not to love about this book!

🏫I don't know if I truly believe Andre isn't a psychopath...or misdiagnosed.

🏫This was a great read from the first page. I was able to follow the plot all the way through and it kept me guessing until the end.

🏫There were a few villians and Trevor
was the worst for me.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of Never Saw Me Coming!

I absolutely loved the premise of this book - a university program for psychopaths that studies them and gives them the opportunity to learn how to integrate well into society. I also thought the basic outline of the plot was solid: someone is murdering the students in the program, and they need to find out who it is before more of them get killed.

However, the execution was not as fantastic as it could have been. The book suffered from trying to tell the story from too many perspectives, and while I liked Chloe, Andre, and Charles, I felt that I never got to know any of them as well as I could have. The writing style was also a bit jarring, since there is some first=person storytelling mixed in with some third-person storytelling. I think the book would have been better if it had been told in alternating first-person chapters between Chloe, Andre, and Charles, rather than only first-person from Chloe's perspective. I found Chloe to be the least compelling and interesting of the three, and so I found her perspective to be just a bit dull. I also found Chloe's obsession with killing Will to be totally incidental to the main story, and I think the book might have been better without that part at all. It felt a bit like the author wanted to tell two completely different stories: one about Chloe and her obsession with Will, and one about the students in the program being killed off. Either of those could have been a good story, but they just didn't totally work mixed together.

There are definitely some flashes of brilliance here, and overall, I enjoyed reading it!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! It was fun, refreshing, different, and engrossing. That might be hard to believe if you've just read the synopsis, but it is true.
Chloe is a freshmen ready to tackle her first year of college and all it brings: new roommate, new friends, challenging classes, and...killing Will Bachman. It turns out Chloe is one of seven students participating in a study of psychopaths and their behavior. Chloe doesn't mind participating in the study--hey, her tuition is paid for!--and has learned to live quite well with her diagnosis. But she is not going to let anything get in the way of her most important goal: ridding the world of Will. When another student in the study is murdered, Chloe wonders if she now needs to watch out for another murderer on campus. Could it be another psychopath? Can she trust any of the other study participants?
When I began reading this book I thought it would be more angsty, very dark, full of unreliable narrators, and disturbing. But I was wrong. While it definitely has its dark moments and Chloe and her fellow psychopaths do often engage in questionable behavior, the more lighter "normal" moments really serve as a wonderful contrast. Told mainly from Chloe's perspective, the matter-of-fact way in which she describes and relates things that are completely normal to a psychopath and yet completely strange and shocking to someone without that diagnosis can be jarring, but in a good way. Chloe has definite rooting value, even as the reader questions if Chloe's actions should be worth rooting for. Charles and Andre and great counterpoints to Chloe, and make an amazing trio that I wanted to read more and more about.
The plot moved along well, and I had really no idea what was going to happen next. I was completely drawn in and did not want to put the book down. I wanted to keep reading because I could not wait to see what would happen next, but at the same time I did not want the book to be over, because I enjoyed Chloe, Charles, and Andre so much.
The book--while it feels a bit bizarre to call this a fun read, and to me this absolutely was--also does raise some questions that will really make the reader think. Are all psychopaths destined to be criminally "bad?" Is it alright to make assumptions about people, even if it is based on "science?" How safe is our digital and social network infused world? Does the public's obsession with true crime dehumanize the people involved in those crimes? I don't want to give away any spoilers if you haven't read the book yet, but towards the end, Dr. Wyman's attitudes and beliefs about whether or not criminals deserve the chance to be rehabilitated was very interesting, considering Chloe's attitudes. It created a fascinating dichotomy.
This was a great book. It had all the fun, soapy young adult things you'd expect in a book about college students, the suspense-filled elements of a thriller about a murder, and some very thought provoking elements you'd expect in a book about people with different psychological issues trying to function in "normal" society. I will say that there was one climactic moment that wasn't quite as climatic as I'd wanted, but it definitely did not ruin the book for me. I would absolutely recommend it, and I would love to read more books about these characters!

"The day it happened, I didn't go to police, or my clueless mom. I stayed at home and decided that, one day, I would kill Will Bachman."

Oh yes I love this book. A fun YA psychological thriller read for me. Fun thriller? Yup you read that right. It was a fun read for me. Seven psychopaths students joined for a clinical study at Adam's University and then one of them murdered and since then it's a classic whodunit psychopath's style.
It has captivating and intriguing story with that clinical study for psychopaths. A page-turner read that got me on the edge of my seat most of the time. The suspense was superb, all the feelings that walk alone in the night with that feeling of someone is following you, the minute you realize that you're not alone anymore, or that sense that telling you something bad will happen.
It has great characters, never thought that I will rooting for psychopaths, but that is exactly what had happened to me, love the story behind each character that got me very fond of them.
Although it's a bit dragging in the middle and a bit predictable for me, I really enjoyed it and loving it nonetheless and I get to learn a lot about psychopath.

Highly recommended for anyone who's looking for a fun page-turner psychological thriller read.

Never Saw Me Coming Is one of the most interesting premises I had heard in a while; a group of sociopaths going to college under an experiment trying to normalize them into society and see how they behave and interact with their fellow peers under the watchful of Dr. Wyman; a psychiatrist running the experiment. Chloe is dead set on seeking revenge on a past betrayal while meeting Charming and rich Charles and a few other of her fellow sociopaths in the study.
The first 3/4 of the book had me wanting more and kept the pages turning; Chloe while mentally unstable is completely relatable in her charm and revenge scheme; almost TOO relatable. The characters quickly starting losing their edge and there were so many secondary and tertiary characters that had their own backstories that didn't propel the story forward for me and by the last quarter I was skimming just to get through it. I will say the Author did an excellent job at weaving so many stories together and packing so much information in the pages. However If the story was flushed a bit and made these unlikeable characters truly unlikeable in a DEXTER way I think it would've been that much more efficient.
Quick read, lots of twists (some predictable, some less so) and a likable sociopath that will lure you in with her charm and wit

Thank you to the publisher, Park Row, for providing me with an ARC of Never Saw Me Coming in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Gist
Murder. Revenge. Intrigue. A psychopath. An anti-hero. Ok. This story had my full attention before I even finished the blurb. I mean what is there not to like?

Well, turns out quite a bit. And nothing. Man! I really struggled even starting this review. I have no idea how to explain what my thoughts are on Never Saw Me Coming.

From the beginning on I was completely invested in it. It was entertaining and kept me thinking about it when I wasn’t reading. Yet, as soon as I had finished it, I felt let down.

There were a lot of “wait a minute” moments where I questioned why certain parts were left unfinished or even included in the first place.

The Details
We have this very intriguing anti-hero who is out for revenge. This is not really that far fetched considering why she wants to wreak havoc on her target.

So, the beginning was good. It had a clear direction, a purpose, and an ultimate goal. But then chapters were thrown at us from different character’s points of view. And not just another main character to make this story a little more rounded, but random characters.

Minor characters had greater parts in this story than was necessary. It threw me off. I kept asking why so much detail was provided for something that didn’t even matter in the end.

Tangent after tangent was introduced; minor character after minor character had their 15-minutes and then nothing came to any conclusion, let alone a satisfying one.

Not to sound mean, but some parts of the story felt like the author was still in the spit-balling phase of the writing. Never Saw Me Coming felt unfinished. That frustrates me, because it was already almost very good.

I liked the writing. The scenes that included some atmospheric details were great and I could picture the campus and university life very clearly.

Then barely any descriptions were used for scenes that could have benefitted from them while others felt overly explained…for no real purpose.

I also felt that the true plot of the story went missing after the first third of the book. Again, too much was attempted; too much was added; too many connections were attempted. It would have been better to keep it a little simpler: revenge and the murders.

Give the reader more depth into Chloe and Andre. Heck, even one more character, but that’s it.

The Verdict
As I said at the beginning of this review, I am torn and lost on how to rate this. I was entertained while reading it. Yet had to stop myself from thinking about it once I had finished it, because Never Saw Me Coming felt unfinished.

Overall, I think I would suggest it. It has great potential and it wasn’t bad. It was a good read for a rainy day.

In a Nutshell: This had so much potential! I still love the concept. I just wish the author had more writing experience because this book would have packed a really strong punch.

Story:
Chloe Sevre is offered a scholarship at a Washington DC university in exchange for being one of seven students who are part of an unusual psychological study. After all, she is a diagnosed psychopath and a merit-ranking student. Chloe gladly accepts the free education because she has her own secret agenda: she wants to kill a fellow student named Will Bachman.
Her planning is flawless and her activity schedule leading to the intended murder starts off well on track, but is soon derailed by the murder of a fellow student in the psychology building. Soon, Chloe fights two battles: she wants to be the hunter but she doesn’t want to be the hunted.
Two other key characters in this story are Charles—a wealthy businessman’s son who seems to live his life under a façade, and Andre—a Black student from a middle class background who is in the same study as Chloe but for financial reasons. When the murder is discovered, the paths of the trio converge.
The story is written in multiple perspectives of these three characters, with Chloe being voiced in first person and the two boys voiced in omniscient third person.

Where the story worked for me:
The unusual lead characters: I’ve read enough thrillers where the murderer is a psychopath. This has to be the first thriller where the psychopath is a potential victim and a potential murder too. The emotional dilemma is conflicting enough to make you wonder whether or not to root for Chloe and her plans. For a debut work, this is an outstanding choice of leads.
The psychological details: The author is a PhD in social psychology and her grasp over the psychological aspects of the personalities of psychopaths shows wonderfully. It takes some time to get used to delineating the more popular definition of a psychopath and fit it in the actual psychological definition. But Vera Kurien’s writing helps tremendously and you soon understand why criminals are commonly but misleadingly called psychopaths.
The main characters: I can’t say that I connected with the characters. This ought to be an obvious revelation because considering Charles’ and Chloe’s personalities and their thinking as psychopaths, it wouldn’t have boded well for me (and my mental status) to empathise with them. But I did enjoy their portrayal. The character sketching for the three of them is superb and without any glitches except one. (Details below.) I liked Andre’s character the most because his difficulties seemed very realistic. I wish he had more page space. Chloe is too smart for her own good and I relished her overconfident vibe.
There are some brilliant lines in the book, especially in Chloe’s chapters. One line that had me snorting was, “One thing I will tell you about girls—they don’t think with their penises.”


Where the story could have worked better for me:
Plot Structure: The book starts off very well and hooks you in the narrative with Chloe’s devious thinking and Andre’s insecurities. However, the structure goes haywire after a few chapters with frequent perspective changes and too many red herrings. It felt like you were in a maze, and the author was leading you in a particular direction intentionally, but you knew in advance that it was not the way out and you still had no choice but to follow the author out of compulsion.
Fault in Character sketches: There are many contrivances in the story that seem very clear to readers but not to the central trio. Especially considering how Chloe and Charles are portrayed as intelligent, their inability to see these glaring chinks in their hunt for the murderer is tough to accept. There are so many obvious cues that they missed out on that it didn’t sync well with the rest of their portrayal. But at least these three make a mark. The rest of the characters aren’t well developed and have hardly any back story that helps you decipher their actions. Some of them pop up only when needed by the main troika. I wasn’t happy with the portrayal of any of the secondary characters.
Slow Pacing: A thriller thrives on pacing. The moment the pacing goes for a toss, the interest level dips. This thriller is SLOW! There are too many unnecessary curveballs that try to throw your guesses askew but they don’t work. Too much of a slow burn!
Knowing the killer: Nothing spoils the fun of a thriller as much as discovering that your first and only guess about the potential killer was the right guess. 😕 The minute the killer comes in the narrative, I knew it had to be that person. The ending could have still salvaged my experience if it were more suspenseful. But the entire dramatic thrill ends abruptly and the climax is over even before you realise it. This generates the feeling of an anti-climax; imagine reading through 360+ pages of suspense for hardly 10 pages of a genuine finale.
Formatting flaws: I am always okay with multiple perspectives in novels as they help in seeing the plot from different angles. However, it would have helped to have the character name at the start of each POV. Chloe’s was the only obvious one as it was in first person. For the others, the revelation occurred only when I saw their name in the chapter. This doesn’t aid effective transition between character voices. Also, there are numerous text messages sent to and fro in the story but these aren’t punctuated well. It made it tough to decipher what part was the text and what was the plot. (This might be a problem only in the ARC, but it did make my reading experience tougher.)


Regardless of the numerous possible areas of improvement, I can still say that I enjoyed the concept of the story. It was only the writing that left me dissatisfied, but I have no doubt that with more experience, the author can become a name to reckon with. I will definitely keep an eye out for her future works if she can give me such unique lead characters and an interesting psychological perspective every time.
Recommended if you want to read a book about psychopaths being the victims for a change. Those interested in psychology will certainly find the book interesting. It’s a good, slow-burn thriller with novel lead characters.

3.5 stars from me.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row and NetGalley for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars. This was all kinds of fiendish fun! Dark, twisty, and full of wit this psychological thriller was a suspenseful page turner interjected with a little dose of dark humor. It's been a while since I found myself rooting for the psychopath ala Dexter. It lays out like a bit of a traditional who-dunnit but with unusual wrappings, namely a group of psychopaths participating in a study at a college (giving it those dark academic vibes as well), **Thank you so much to both NetGalley and Harlequin/Park Row for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!**

Chloe, Charles, Andre, Emma, Trevor, - Names you'll never forget, and your likely suspects in this smart and witty psychological thriller come murder mystery. Only problem? All your suspects are diagnosed psychopaths participating in a secret study on psychopathy. Among the college campus someone is stalking the supposedly anonymous members of the study and picking them off one by one. Our primary protagonist is Chloe - who only has one goal, to stalk and kill the boy Will, who ruined her life years earlier. Now however her plans run amok as she finds herself embroiled in a serial killers plans, also possibly bent on revenge.

With a whole cast of villains you love to hate and hate to love, this was a unique and delightful take on the psychological thriller/murder mystery genre. It's page-turning suspense at its best but smart and witty at the same time (which is pretty hard to do). With multiple POVs and possibly unreliable narrators, its difficult to sort the fact from fiction and get ahead on just who is murdering these kids, and exactly what is going on. Plus the subplot of Chloes scheme to bring down Will is pure dark fiendish delight (don't expect her to have a change of heart here folks....she is a psychopath, but one you root for in spite of knowing better).

And I know this isn't a series....but I'm kind of hoping for a sequel here. I want more Chloe and her crazy retribution on her next target.

Loved this unique thriller and highly recommend it - already shortlisted it at work and gave it a promo shelf talker!

This book hooked me from the very first page. I both liked and questioned the main character, unable to determine whether or not she was meant to be liked or hated. And it worked for this story.

A college-based story about students, psychology, and murder. Murders? Oh, and you can’t forget that this isn’t just your typical college-based murder story, but rather one with a specific psychological study occurring on campus for a group of psychopaths.

This book was clearly well-researched and, as I love learning about psychology, I truly appreciated the insight into psychopathy and the misunderstandings and misconceptions this diagnosis brings to a large population of individuals in the world.

If you like psychological thrillers and whodunnit stories, this is definitely one for you.

I have to say, after attending a writing workshop with the author herself, she will always be an auto-buy author for me. I’ve loved the various pieces/excerpts I’ve read of hers and I hope to see a lot more from her in the future.

This is one of those books where it’s not easy to find someone to root for - because pretty much all the characters are psychopaths. Literally. We spend most time in the point of view of Chloe Sevre, a college student who’s on a full ride scholarship, as long as she allows a psychology professor and his staff to study her at the same time, because Chloe is a diagnosed psychopath. Thing is that lots of people are clinically psychopaths… but only a few of them actually commit crimes. Since we’re in Chloe’s point of view, we know from the outset that she fully intends to commit a crime. To commit murder, exacting vengeance for a terrible crime committed against her years before. Chloe knows she’s one of seven in the study… and then two of the others are gruesomely murdered.

Andre is another student in the study - but Andre has a secret. He’s faking it. And now he’s in too deep to back out, because free college tuition? Who can afford to turn that down, especially if you’re a Black kid from NorthEastern DC.

Charles could afford it - he’s the quintessential trust fund brat, but being in the study is just a good way to poke one in the eye to his father. And Charles is learning. He’s been in three years and has a steady girlfriend; he’s learning to fit in with the ‘normals’. Now the murders - and the off-the-rails Chloe - might be about to mess everything up.

I was really, genuinely fascinated by this book. Andre is probably the most sympathetic character because he does actually feel empathy, but we don’t get all that much time in his point of view. Most of it is in Chloe’s, and she’s riveting, with her rage and her poor impulse control and her determination to wreak vengeance.

The problem is that the villain of the story is introduced too late. I won’t give away who it is, but we barely met them before the actual story climax. We didn’t get any insights into their character, and honestly, I feel like it would have been quite easy to do it with a nameless point of view coming in occasionally - it’s not like the chapters were headed with whose PoV we were even in. And because the killer comes in so late, it feels like a bit of a deus ex machina, which is why I’m afraid I have to knock off a star. I really liked the concept, was riveted by Chloe in particular, but the climax felt underdone because we’d been cheated of the villain. Four stars.

***I received an ebook copy from the publisher at no cost***

The blurb on this one caught my attention right away and I just had to read it. I'm happy I was given the chance because it's a great story. 

Chloe is just like any other college freshman ... except she's a psychopath looking to exact revenge. Chloe agrees to be part of a study on psychopaths at John Adams University in exchange for a free ride at the school. Chloe adapts to life on campus but, not long after the start of the school year, students in the same study as her start turning up dead. Then Chloe finds herself in a race against time as she tries to figure out who is responsible for the murders and what their motive is. 

I could spoil this story fairly easy so I'm going to leave out a lot of details. This was a unique plot, unlike anything I've ever read before. The twists and turns fit well with the story and kept things moving. Kurian kept me on my toes the whole time, while I myself tried to figure out who was responsible for the murders that rocked the campus. Charles reminded me a lot of Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl. He's smug and full of himself but can turn on the charm like no other when he needs something. I liked the UST that was there between Chloe and Charles. I never knew if they were going to take things a step further, they were always dancing along that fine line between allies and lovers. That made the story even more fun to read. 

Andre was a pleasant surprise. Not only did I love his personality but I enjoyed his overall storyline. 

Chloe was a fun character. There's a lot of inner monologue from her and it was both disturbing and humorous at times. Yes, she's a psychopath and can manipulate others easily, but she's also strong-willed and didn't fear much. She doesn't let anyone take advantage of her. 

The main characters in this story are anti-heroes. The author was able to humanize each of them, which made it easier for me as a reader to empathize with them. I think this book also spoke to how easy it can be to slap a label on someone without really knowing the person. 

My one critique is that the flips between first and third person were sometimes confusing. It wasn't enough to detract from the overall story for me, but it was enough that I noticed it right away. 

Five stars to this novel!

An Action packed, psychological thriller with so many twists you won’t know which way to turn. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t put it down. Chloe has just arrived at College and she already has plans to hunt down and kill Will. I love that the author didn’t hide this part of the story and gave us this info immediately. You would think it might take away from the book but it doesn’t. The characters are deeply flawed yet the author explains their psychopathy so a lay person can understand. It is creepy to think that people you might meet I. The street could be diagnosed with this but are so good at blending in that you might never know. Thank you to Killer Crime Club, Harper Collins Canada and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this exciting book.

This shouldn't have left me smiling, yet it did. The main characters, college students who are part of a clinical study of psychopaths, are original and actually likeable in spite of how dark their true characters might be. When two students are murdered, also members of the study, Chloe, Charles and Andre try to solve the mystery while protecting themselves. They may not think like the average person, but their actions kept me turning page after page.

This character driven story was well written and engaging much in the vein of YOU and Dexter. Except Kurian had the task of balancing multiple characters with psychopathy and she did it brilliantly. I adored the way this story slowly unravels and the scope of it becomes larger until you are fully immersed in the world with these characters..Because this book has a few different narrators there were lots of tendrils of storylines that we were constantly following but it never felt overwhelming or confusing. I also appreciated how Kurian still made time to let the characters naturally develop and we really got to know our main characters intimately. It would have been so easy to make the study participants all seem one dimensional but instead Kurian really showcased the different sides of psychopathy which gave each character their own distinct voice. I will say that if you are not a character driven reader than parts of this book may not work as well for you as they did for me since this book mostly feels like a character study. There is a lot of action and twists and turns but there are also quiet moments where we are just getting to know our characters and those happened to be my favorite parts. I did think the ending was satisfying but also farfetched at certain moments. It is an odd feeling to have strong emotional connections to characters who are supposed to be on the “bad” side and yet it is something that Kurian easily succeeded at. For that reason, I highly recommend this book to any fan of true crime or psychology because I think you will also find a lot of value in reading this. I also recommend this to anyone who loves to delve into characters because this is where the book really shines.

Format: audiobook

This was the first audiobook I’ve ever listened to. I know, it seems unlikely but it’s true. I’ve only ever read books never listened to them. Until now.

I want to preface this review by saying that perhaps some of my critiques of this novel is shaped by the fact that it was my first audiobook and I’m not used to that format.

Firstly, I felt like some parts of this really dragged. Again, maybe because it was an audiobook but I was so consumed by it in the beginning but I felt like some of the chapters towards the middle were really not needed. I was entertained by the story, but it could have been executed a bit better.
There were so many unnecessary twists and turns and talking about who the murderer was and speculations that my interest fluctuated throughout. Sometimes I felt exasperated and bored by the plot line and the characters.

While I have many critiques, I did ultimately enjoy it and felt entertained by it at least some of the time. I didn’t care what happened to the characters all the time, but I was also invested in the storyline? I suppose I have mixed feelings.

I was hooked as soon as I read the blurb. What a premise--a collection of psychopaths on a college campus who end up being the target of some sort of attack. The way that Chloe's story and focus on killing Will played into the overall story was good. Charles was my favorite character because he seemed to be more developed than the others. I hope to see another book about this group in the future!

Thank you to Park Row Books and NetGalley for the e-arc for review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Park Row Books, and Vera Kurian for a free electronic ARC of Never Saw Me Coming in exchange for an honest review—and of course, to Indigo for having early release copies on the shelves!

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian was published on September 7, 2021 - OUT NOW!

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian is such a fun, clever, and original read, with an absolutely fascinating premise—seven college students, who are classified as psychopaths and part of the university’s clinical study to understand the minds of psychopaths, are seemingly being stalked and killed off one by one.

Chloe Sevre, the main character, is one of these seven students.  Apart from being a psychopath and part of the clinical study, Chloe’s real purpose for attending John Adam’s University is to get revenge on someone who harmed her in her childhood.  As Chloe begins her hunt to find the person who hurt her, it becomes clear that she, along with the other participants in the study, are being hunted themselves.  Reluctantly, Chloe works with two other psychopaths to find the hunter in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, before they become the next dead bodies found in the psychology department. 

Here’s what I loved:

The premise—it is so original and so clever.  It's refreshing reading something that feels new.
The psychopathic characters—Chloe is so fun and interesting.  I really enjoyed her personality or, should I say, lack-thereof? The psychopaths, although they had less depth to them, were just as interesting.
The setting—I love when books are set in schools and universities.  Dark academia may very well be my new favourite sub-genre of crime fiction and this book excelled at creating the perfect darker school setting.
The short chapters—short chapters are EVERYTHING, especially in longer books.  These help give the book a faster reading pace.

Here’s why I didn’t rate it 5 stars:

Despite the short chapters, some parts of the book were extremely dense and really slow.
The book jumps between characters for almost every chapter.  Some of these jumps and transitions are clunky and sometimes I needed to re-read the first page in order to figure out whose character the chapter belonged to.
The ending—as much as I don’t like to rate thrillers on their endings, this one feels a little rushed and predictable (once you get to a certain chapter in the book) and I did, in fact, see it coming.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this one—especially if you're a fan of dark academia and books featuring psychopaths!

You can also find my review on my blog: https://rebekahreads.ca/never-saw-me-coming-by-vera-kurian/
bookstagram review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTp3JySr48c/

What's the worst that can happen with seven diagnosed psychopaths at the same college? John Adams University has a program to give a scholarship to seven students that just happen to be psychopaths in exchange to meet with them and do little studies.

Chloe is the main character of this novel, and she is planning on killing another college student named Will that just happens to also go to John Adams University. You follow her as she is tracking down Will and making her plans, as well as, running into some of the other diagnosed psychopaths.

While I enjoyed the book, I didn't really find myself excited to get to day 0. The plot twist did not really surprise me either.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin publishing for the galley.