Outlier. First off an outlier is when someone or something is different or apart from the group they are in. Cate is a brilliant neuroscientist who may have just cured Alzheimers. She’s ruthless and…a graduate of a school for children with psychopathic tendencies. It’s a fact that she keeps secret and that she’s honestly quite proud of; because she’s the only person in the study who ever did something “more” with their life. That is, until she finds out that there’s another person in the study who is succeeding like she is. Having thought she was the only one, she’s obsessed with the idea that she’s not alone in this world–that there’s someone else like her. Are either of them capable or culpable of murder?
I really wasn’t expecting this novel to be in dual POV’s. At first it made no sense at all, because I couldn’t see the connection. Since they were giving a POV then there had to be a reason.

Gabriel is too good, he easily gets roped into things. He’s a bit of a pushover in some ways. Lucianna doesn’t want to let someone down that she believes in, and once even loved. But she can’t condone whatever is going on now. She struggles with her own sense of guilt in what’s happened. Cate’s just there to satisfy curiosity. It’s an impulse she cannot control. When all three of these narrators are put together like puzzle pieces we can finally start to see the whole picture. It all comes down to the science involved, if I’m honest. Is the greater good of science worth more than the individual man? Can people really be labeled? How badly can emotions or the lack of them affect your judgment?

The writing is superb and the characters feel authentic. It’s worth the read and the ethical discussion it provokes. I’d highly recommend it.

Cate is an outlier. After being diagnosed with psychopathic tendencies, she spent most of her childhood institutionalized at Cleckley, a place for kids who were similarly diagnosed. Now a successful neuroscientist in her 30s, she has developed a revolutionary cure for Alzheimer's. But Cate has little to no empathy and no fear and would still meet the definition of psychopathy. What makes her an outlier is that she is one of only two of the children from the Institute who have gone on to a productive, successful adult life. Now, with nothing else to do, she tracks down Number 98 (Hunter), the other outlier from her school days. Told from different points of view, we learn about the Institute and a second storyline, which merges with Cate and Hunter at the end.

Elisabeth Eaves' debut novel, The Outlier, is a psychological slow-burn thriller. I enjoyed its strong plot, interesting characters, and excellent writing, and I look forward to reading more of this author's work!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is a well researched and very well written story.  The characters are all brought to life. This is an amazing debut novel. 

At times it did feel like I was reading two separate story lines but Eaves does a great job of tying it all together nicely by the end. 

I'm curious to see what she will write next.  I will definitely read it.

This debut novel is a mesmerizing deep dive into the mind of a psychopath. I found myself shocked at times at the decisions made by the characters, which was a nice surprise. I particularly enjoyed the multi-POV and the flashbacks to Cate's time at the clinic, which provided valuable background information.

I try not to DNF books that I'm reviewing. This nearly ended up being the first, though. I just couldn't get into the novel to start with, finding switches between POVs difficult. It wasn't that it was a switch between characters, but switches between first-person and third-person POVs. Please stick with one!

There was clearly a lot of research that went into the books, but I did find that there were times that the scientific terms made me lose focus in the book. It didn't help that I wasn't really into it and couldn't connect with any character in the first place. Maybe had I found my flow, the terms wouldn't have pulled me out as much.

While I wouldn't read this again, I do know people who would enjoy it and I would recommend it to them. I'd also considered Elizabeth Eaves's books in the future, as I don't believe that one book determines an author forever. It wasn't a bad book; it just wasn't for me.

3.75/5⭐️

To go inside the mind of a psychopath sounds so interesting to me. To try and understand the functioning of their brains in comparison to the more average person’s brain just seems so incredibly intriguing. I was pulled towards this book in part because I have an addiction to true crime and, therefore, find murder thriller books intriguing and also because the description sounded so interesting. I loved how this book had multiple points of views and include several mysteries that seemed to somehow link together. The only reason I put this at a 3.75 instead of a 4 or higher is simply because I found the beginning to be a bit of a slower build. While usually that’s fine, I just found it hard to want to keep reading until I really got pulled into the plot. Overall, it was an interesting read and I did enjoy it!

Story about Cate Winter. She is a neuroscientist and entrepreneur. When she was younger, she was sent to live at an institute for kids diagnosed as psychopaths. She believed she was the only success story from the program but discovers there is another outlier. She decides she needs to find him and find out what they have in common.

I liked the setting of the book, first in Seattle and then in Mexico. The descriptions of the locations set the scene well.

Cate was a fascinating character. I think the author researched psychopathy well as her mix of personality traits felt realistic.

We are introduced to some other characters and for a while, it was hard to understand why they were in the book. The characters and story do all come together eventually, but I think it should have happened quicker. I also don’t think we needed the secondary plot of Luciana and the Reef Pirates. It didn’t add much to the story.

I enjoyed the science in the book and liked that it felt different than most other mysteries I’ve read recently. I think the pace and structure could have been improved though to make the story flow better.

I loved the unique premise for this thriller; I’ve never read anything close to it.

I found the character development in this book to be one of its strengths. Sometimes I read thrillers that are so focused on the plot that we don’t get a good look inside the character’s heads, but I didn’t feel that way with this one. We get the most insight from Cate—notably, her chapters are the only ones written in the first-person—but most of the other characters are well-developed, too.

One element of this book I really liked was the look at the past relationship between Cate and Gabriel. What might it be like to date a psychopath?

This book kept my attention throughout, but if you like an action-packed thriller, the real action doesn’t start until about 85% in. Even if you do read for the action, it’s worth reading for the last 85%!

If you liked this book, Patric Gagne’s recent memoir “Sociopath” might be of interest to you! I found myself thinking of it often as I read this book.

Thank you Net Gally for the opportunity to give feedback. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book and could not finish it. It just wasn’t my interest.

Brisk, intricate, and suspenseful!

The Outlier is a thought-provoking, ominous tale that transports you into the life of Cate Winter, a high-achieving psychopath who, after selling her biotech company for millions, is determined to do whatever it takes to identify and track down the only other successful resident, who didn’t turn to a life of crime, from the research institute she grew up in.

The prose is tight and intense. The characters are secretive, impulsive, and driven. And the plot unravels quickly into a gripping tale full of twists, turns, lies, deception, power, abuse, corruption, greed, indulgence, revelations, ruthless ambition, and violence.

Overall, The Outlier is a sinister, entertaining, edgy debut by Eaves that explores the line between nature and nurture and does a wonderful job of combining ecological issues, poor choices, questionable motivations, and morality all in one eerily creepy storyline.

Cate Winter is a successful neuroscientist who co-runs a biotech company that she’s about to sell off. However, things get complicated when she learns about someone from her dark and disturbing past. Meanwhile, in Baja California, Luciana (a marine scientist) is baffled by the strange dead fish turning up in the ocean. The Outlier brings together both storylines and a bunch of connected characters.

The book is categorized as a suspense thriller, however I felt it didn’t have enough suspense elements. None of those intricate twists that leave you gasping. No random characters that become unpredictably important.

But what does work in its favour is the writing. It’s tightly woven, keeps you turning the pages and makes you want Cate and Luciana to get to the bottom of things. I enjoyed all the marine life details as well as portions involving Dr. M and the Cleckley Institute. Made me want to google more about psychopaths (yes, I’m ok). Also, despite not being a beach person, The Outlier made me want to visit Baja – it sounds so beautiful!

It's definitely an interesting read although it might not necessarily satisfy your thriller craving.

3.5/5

The Outlier by Elisabeth Eaves is a suspenseful slow burn thriller that was captivating and thrilling.
This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene and put you in the storyline.
Very interesting, entertaining and really good.

Thank You NetGalley and Random House Canada for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book really pulled me in from the get go. What I like is that the subject matter can get very scientific & detailed, but Eaves handles it so adeptly you can absolutely follow it. It’s an interesting mix of domestic thriller & a tech novel. Cate is a fascinating lead, a productive & successful psychopath. Her search for the one other person like her was the best plot line in the book for me. I wasn’t sure where some other storylines were going & they were the ones I less interested in. They do tie in eventually but Cate is where the best parts of the book are. Overall it was a really entertaining book, it gave me Michael Crichton vibes, in a good way. It’s pretty interesting for a debut novel.

🔬

Read if you like:
* Upgrade by Blake Crouch
* The Endless Vessel by Charles Soule
* Sphere by Michael Crichton

This book felt a little disjointed to me. There were two separate stories going on and though I knew they would eventually collide, it was challenging to keep going. The ending was less climatic than I had anticipated. Cate's character is well thought out and there is excellent character development! Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC of this book.

Cate and Number 98-known now as Hunter-are believed to be the only successes of the Cleckley Institute, which experimented with children identified as psychopaths to see if they could be "normalized." But were they? Cate's a scientist who has found a cure for Alzheimers and now she's chasing after Hunter. A separate plot line sees dead fish washing up in Cabo. You, like me, might suspect that Hunter's altruistic project might have a dark side but no spoilers from me on how everything links up. This is best when it's in Cate's voice-she's the most developed character and the one you'll come to care about. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. An interesting read.

"The Outlier" by Elisabeth Eaves is a mesmerizing deep dive into the mind of a psychopath. The author's research is seriously impressive, and I found myself having to put the book down multiple times due to the shocking decisions made by the characters. However, this only drew me further into the story. I particularly enjoyed the different points of view and the flashbacks to Cate's time at the clinic, which provided valuable background information. It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing what else Elisabeth creates.

Thank you to Elisabeth Eaves, Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for providing me an early copy of this book. "The Oultler" is on sale August 6, 2024.

This book is chilling and brilliant. There are several POV, but the real main character is Cate, who grows up in the Cleckley Institute, an institution for children deemed to be psychopaths. It was quite strange spending time in the head of a character who lacked empathy for others. Who mirrored behaviour in order to fit in. But mostly to see that her mirroring became a kind of reality for her. She believed her own narrative, and that may be one of the most chilling parts of this book. Especially because hers is the only first person POV.

As she chases after an another apparent outlier from the institute, a larger story emerges with elements of almost James Bond subterfuge and intrigue. The additional viewpoints bring balance to a book that could have wound up cold and a bit deceptive (after all we never really know if what Cate believes is even really true).

Chilling book, but I couldn't put it down.

This was such a fast paced, interesting read that kept me interested the whole time. I have always been interested in the human mind and with psychology so when I read the synopsis of the book I knew I wanted to read it. It lived up to all of my hopes and it was such a great and fascinating read.

A woman who is on the verge of selling her biomedical company learns something from her past might derail her future.

I thought this was an interesting premise, but I really didn't like characters' voices. The way Eaves wrote the characters' thoughts just was not for me. Maybe others who don't mind the style will enjoy it more.

An excellent book. Lots of intrigue, well written, fast paced, very topical and most interesting. Interesting research study into what constitutes a sociopath. Looking at the criteria, I would think that many of us have at least some of these attributes. Can a sociopath, a true sociopath, be made 'trained'/brainwashed into becoming less of a sociopath? That indeed is a more difficult question to answer. But these questions and these criteria do make for an interesting discussion and contemplation. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It left me with lots of questions to follow up on. Always a positive indicator of a good book, in my opinion.