Engrossing writing, kept me reading 'til the last page. The first half is fascinating. From there through the end? Not as much.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at NetGalley for a chance to read an advanced reader copy of this book.

This was a fun and interesting thriller - it was super fascinating and caught my attention from the very beginning. I had a blast with this thriller.

I expected more from this book and was excited about the exploration of psychopathy along with the unique premise. Unfortunately, this felt incredibly immature and lacked all the things I was hoping it would be. While I did think the target audience was supposed to be adults, even if this was geared toward young adults, it still could have been significantly better. I’ve read many fantastic YA novels. This was a huge disappointment.

I am immensely grateful to Park Row Books tor my digital review copy.

This novel makes you question if you can read and turn the pages fast enough. This cat and mouse narrative is riveting and one you won't want to miss.

Thanks to Park Row for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 thrilling stars rounded up!

It took me until about the 15% mark to really get absorbed into the book but once I was hooked, I couldn't put it down and finished it in less than one day! Never Saw Me Coming was an entertaining and thrilling read with characters that you can't help but root for, despite them being psychopaths and frankly, more than a little terrifying. This was definitely a wild ride but I had fun with it!

What I enjoyed:
- I've only read two other stories from a psychopath's perspective but I hated one of them and the other was an older serial killer who lived in isolation, so this book gets points for the unique protagonists. I'm pretty sure these characters aren't meant to be likeable but I couldn't help rooting for them to survive. The story is told through multiple perspectives and while I'm not entirely sure that it really added anything to the solving of the mystery (because only one of the characters really *did* much of the crime-solving despite them "working" together), I liked how it showed the different ways psychopathy manifests in people. I found this quite interesting from a social perspective!
- Charles' character was surprisingly my favourite, in as much as a psychopath can be a favourite. He was a compelling character and I couldn't help but feel for him and his efforts to not let this diagnosis affect his life; he seemed to be the only one who was trying to be better through this study/program and who took it seriously. There were definitely moments when he'd "slip up", especially when he was around Chloe, but he was never really that manipulative and sadistic person that psychopaths are made out to be.
- The murder mystery kept me on my toes the whole way through and there were plenty of times when I was dead certain I knew what was going on and whodunit but I couldn't have been further from the truth 😂 Needless to say, I never figured it out until the very end when the characters themselves did, and for the most part, it was a satisfying conclusion!

What I was on the fence about:
- While I did like the multiple perspectives I have to admit that it was sometimes confusing because their voices weren't all that different, so sometimes it took a while for me to work out whose POV I was reading from. I felt that so many POVs also kind of took away from parts of the story because each character had their own unique story and motive for being in this program, and I felt some parts of that faded off as more perspectives were added and the focus turned towards the murder.
- The last 30% of the story seemed to drag a little bit and then the ending itself felt a little bit abrupt and almost... unfinished? It was satisfying overall because the main plot was concluded but it was a little open-ended when it came to the characters and what happens after! I guess this is more a personal preference as I'm not the biggest fan of open endings.

This was such a fun, fast read. There are perspectives from many different characters which I found really kept the story moving. This was definitely the sort of novel where I didn’t necessarily root for any one person, or even particularly like most of them, but that just made me want to race to the end to see how it all turns out. The humour was a nice surprise too, especially with such dark themes. Highly recommend this one!

Highly entertaining and engrossing. Never Saw Me Coming was impossible to put down. I highly recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. So much so that I wish it had been a series. I would read about Chloe and friends without hesitation.

I loved the layout and set up of this story. It’s a little bit of wondering if the main character is the good guy or not. The lines ar a blurred with this book. Who do you cheer for? I loved the writing and it sucked me in from the first chapter.

Can’t wait to read the other book this author has written!

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Didn't enjoy. I didn't find it realistic and didn't care what happened or who did it. It was a struggle to finish.

I love a great thriller set in a school. Unfortunately, I cannot call this great. A bunch of psychopath students are involved in a secret university study. All is well until the students begin to die. It’s a race to find the killer before it’s too late. The first part of the book was pretty slow and boring. The second half was better, but not enough to make this a great read.

Chloe Sevre is a freshman at a Washington, D.C. university. She's highly intelligent, beautiful, charismatic - and she's also a clinically diagnosed psychopath. Recruited by a psychology professor to be a part of a secret program studying psychopaths, she receives a full scholarship. It also doesn't hurt that her teenage nemesis attends the same university, which will allow her to exact revenge upon him. Her plan is interrupted when a killer strikes against two students in the study, prompting Chloe to seek out the others. Together, they seek to turn the tables, turning the hunter into their prey. With their lives on the line, the question remains: can you really ever trust a psychopath?

A group of diagnosed psychopaths and a murderer. What more could I ask for in a thriller?! Brilliant cat and mouse chase story set on a college campus. A group of students takes part in a program designed to help psychopaths before they can become a danger to themselves or society in exchange for college scholarships. Chloe is one of them, but has another reason for going to Adams college - that reason being revenge on Will Bachman, who attacked her as a child. As the murders begin, Chloe begins to hunt for the killer, along with other members of her cohort, including Charles and Andre. But can they be trusted?

I love the unusual premise of this book and it is an absolute rollercoaster of a ride that grabs your attention from the opening page and not does let up until the very end. The characters were credible, compelling, and repellent in equal measure and the insight into the whole area of psychopathy was intriguing and cleverly woven into the story. Looking forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

This was the psychological thriller I needed in my life. Dr. Leonard Wyman leads a special program at John Adams University in DC studying Psychopathology. All is well until some of the students participating in the program are found killed. Chloe and two other participants take it upon themselves to figure out who is killing off the participants in this program…
This was such an interesting premise. I had not read or heard of a book with such a plot before, and for someone who has always been interested in psychology, minored in psychology and took abnormal psychology in university, this book was right up my alley. I enjoyed the idea that the program was created to show that psychopathology does not automatically equate to a criminal/murderer. It makes for a very interesting theory and thesis.
It was a very gripping story with other side plots/stories which in the scheme of things felt a little random but I also could see why the subplot existed. I think it was used to explain what might have triggered Chloe in becoming a psychopath. However, it did feel like the book was a little long and a bit random because of this subplot and that connection was never made. I would have liked it better if the connection had been explicit in the book.
I enjoyed the various point of views and it helped to really understand the thoughts of a psychopath - the psychological term, not the term that criminal tv shows and movies have created. I enjoyed the interactions and the character building throughout the book as well.
Even though at one point I had pointed fingers at literally everyone, and no one at that point would have surprised me as being the killer, it definitely kept me questioning and I love a good whodunit story. I stayed up quite late to read this book and get to the end as I was so curious about it!

Thank you to the author, publishing company and NetGalley for this electronic review copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the arc

This is probably one of the best psychological thrillers I have read in a LONG time, especially because there was a lot of humor peppered without. I actually like Chloe even though she was crazy!

LOVED THIS ONE

This has to be one of the most interesting books I have read in recent memory.
Not only did it have twists and turns, and a feeling of foreboding, but it has one of the most anti-heroine protagonists I’ve ever “met.”
It’s quite the strange feeling to know that a character really isn’t nice and is in fact a diagnosed psychopath bent on revenge…and still root for her.
That’s the genius of Chloe. We know from the beginning that she is no good as she tells us right off what her plans are. But then the plot continues, and things get more involved, you can’t help but root for her.
So weird.
Anyway, that’s another remarkable aspect of this book. I mean, where else does a murder plot take second and third fiddle to the plight of a group of psychopaths?
I’m probably not doing a good job of talking this book up, but it’s difficult because I loved experiencing it on my own, without thinking about what other people thought. And I want others to have this experience.
That being said, there’s a lot that goes on that I can’t even begin to relate accurately because the plot is twisted. It’s part cat and mouse, part revenge, part college-life…and all of the parts work together to make one page-turner of a plot.
I thought that the interactions between Andre, Charles, and Chloe were intriguing because they all approached the issues from different perspectives and with varying amounts of fervor.
I also found Andre to be an interesting character. I don’t want to give anything away, but in some ways, I think he was possibly the most psychopathic of all. But I can’t say why. And I wish the author had done a little bit more with his character.
I did think there were a few missed moments, such as the Halloween party. The catalyst for the major twist came late in the story and felt very rushed. I would have loved a bit more detail and more hints about it earlier on. And I’m not quite sure about the end. It felt abrupt.
Regardless, the book still held me enthralled, and I would certainly recommend it. Just be prepared to root for someone who you probably should be rooting against.

This was a quick, breezy read full of suspense. It was a little difficult to care about most of the characters though because... well, they don't care. They behave a bit inconsistently, but that seems to be part of the psychopath premise. The best part was that I didn't see the ending coming-- always important for a mystery!

I wish someone would commission me to write a full review about this! Never Saw Me Coming is a riveting debut psychological thriller with a new twist on dark academia. The thing that sets this novel apart is that in addition to being a talented writer with a distinctive voice, its author Vera Kurian is a scientist with a Phd in social psychology. She begins with an outstanding premise and executes on it with finesse that keeps the pages turning effortlessly and depth. Chloe is a freshman honor student who likes yogalates, frat parties and plotting to kill a childhood friend who did her wrong. She’s one of seven college students in a campus based study of psychopaths, people who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. When one of them turns up dead, they all become potential targets in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Dark academia is one of the best genres ever, and "Never Saw Me Coming" fits nicely into that world. The plot is a bit wild -- a campus program that focuses only on psychopaths -- but overall, it was a fun and twisty book that kept my attention. Parts of it were a little unbelievable and most of the characters were unlikable (I mean, we're talking about psychopaths here) but overall it was a fun read.

Never Saw Me Coming is SO aptly named! I love a murder mystery with a villain I never considered. Vera Kurian is definitely a writer now on my radar; her own experience lent such realistic details to the story, giving it a depth unlike many others of its ilk. A college program for psychopaths and a serial killer, which could be scarier? The answer created a fantastic thriller.

With such a cool premise, this story could really have gone places. Sadly, it did not and I was left disappointed.

I came into this novel expecting it to be dark and evil. Instead, this novel read more like a YA story to me. The immature tone took me aback because I was expecting our MC to be less of a girly-girl and more dangerous. However, I got used to it and it did bring some hilarity to the story.

The author chose to tell this story from multiple perspectives. In my opinion, that was a mistake. I didn’t really care for the voices of the other characters because they just weren’t as interesting as Chloe. Since the entire story was about finding out who the mystery killer was, giving other characters their own chapters meant that the readers’ suspect list was shortened and it became easier to guess the identity of the killer.

The only character I really wanted to know more about was Chloe. Sure, Charlie and Andre had some interesting elements to them – but they paled in comparison to what Chloe could bring to the table. Sadly, I didn’t feel satisfied with Chloe’s psychopathic ways. I wanted her to be even smarter, even more ruthless than how she was depicted here.

There are 2 different plot lines going on in this story. I was more invested in the revenge plot that Chloe had than the murder plot that took over the story. Neither one had much tension, and I was disappointed with both of them.

Ultimately, this book failed on multiple levels. It was easy to read but didn’t keep me interested and the resolution of conflict was disappointing. Sadly, I’m giving this 1/5 stars.