This novel is a treat for those of us interested in the mysteries of the human mind. Psychopathy is thoughtfully explored as we investigate what it means to be human. Maybe being "human" can be more of an action of doing the right thing rather than a state of feeling?

This advanced reader's copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

I’m so glad I had this book for vacation. The setting made it a perfect summer read. This book takes you into the mind of a person diagnosed as a psychopath. The author definitely did her research! There were so many times that I wanted to shake some sense into Cate, but her determination added to the storyline. I loved the dual POVs and the flashbacks to Cate’s time at the clinic for back story. I couldn’t believe this was a debut! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

The premise definitely piqued my interest: a woman who grew up in an institution for psychotic children, now on a hunt to find the one other “success” story to have come out of the program. Such a fascinating idea, and yet the story ended up being much more about investments and marine biology and dead fish, with a few gratuitous sex scenes thrown in. I would have loved more about growing up in such an institution, where the goal is to prevent children with “psychotic brains” from ending up in jail by teaching them to control their impulses and abide by society’s rules. Unfortunately, that gold mine took a back seat. What we’re left with is a well-written run-of-the-mill suspense novel, instead of the psychological thriller I was hoping for.

I was looking forward to a twisty psychological thriller where there are apparently 2 mysteries that our heroine needs to solve! Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me with its extremely slow start and 2 very different storylines that took too long to converge.

I liked:
- The main character's backstory. I really wish we got more insight into her childhood experiences (especially her time at the Cleckley Institute) or even just more glimpses into who she was before she sold her company. On a related note, I really enjoyed the way that psychology was weaved into the book (psychopathy, nature vs. nurture).
- The environmental themes that are central to this book.
- The second half of the book. The pace picked up and there was a lot more action so I was finally invested enough to binge the rest of the story.

What I didn’t like as much:
- The extremely slow start to the book.
- The first half introduced so many characters that it was kind of hard to keep up with them all and see how they were related/relevant to each other.
- The initial dual storylines felt extremely disjointed. I felt like I was flipping back and forth between 2 entirely separate books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A thriller with a side of science set in Mexico and the Pacific Northwest. I enjoyed the 2 storylines and how they intertwined. The book kept my interest and was a quick read. The characters were interesting and the plot was engaging. ” I’ll look out for other books by this author.

Cate Winter is an outlier. As a child she entered into a study on psychopaths, one that looks to study the behavior and possible correct it. For Cate, the program worked. She's a contributing member of society. But when she finds out there was another outlier in the study, she makes it her mission to seek him out for herself.

This was an interesting one. I was captivated with half of the book and left wanting with the other half. Cate and her past along with her pursuit of the other outlier was fascinating. I was very interested in the study and what really makes a psychopath. The murder mystery was interesting, but took a little too long to get set up. There are a lot of threads in this book that do eventually come together to make the story whole, but I found myself not interested in a few of the threads. They were necessary for the whole story though.

All in all this was a solid thriller that anyone who finds the idea of a psychopath interesting will enjoy.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy.

7/10

Very interesting concept. The research is done very well.

It had a weak start. I couldn't get into it until later on when things started making sense. Around 40% in, it's easily bingeable. There's a lot of characters to learn. They all become relevant but it was difficult for me to process. I dislike the mixing of 1st person POV and 3rd. It should have been two POVs at most. The ending is lackluster and felt incomplete.

Anyways, I had a fun time! This was so interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher who provided me an early copy of this book.

4 🌟

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

The premise of The Outlier was absolutely captivating. It dives into psychopath both in a clinical sense as well as how the disorder affects children & adults alike. This was a fiction story, but I found myself contemplating how many of these institutions and schools exist for children who suffer from similar disorders. Also, how often are we encountering psychopaths? This book really opened up a path for a hunger for learning more which is one of my top components of a “good read”.

Beyond the compelling storyline of psychopaths Is the story of a woman, cate, searching for who she is at the heart of it. She’s so caught up in who the reports, data, Dr. M etc tells her to be that for a moment she forgets she’s in charge of who she is.

I was truly pulling for her and Gabriel to be able to right their ship, but that’s just one of those topics we are left to ponder.

And let’s all hope hunter didn’t make it out of the sea that fateful day.

I would recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Canada for providing a copy for review.!

I’m giving this debut novel by Elisabeth Eaves a solid 3 stars. There’s a lot happening here, but it all ties together well at the end.

While I enjoyed the book, I felt it lacked the tension I usually expect from a thriller, and Gabriel’s role seemed somewhat superfluous. This thriller is equally a character study of Cate.

But overall, I had a great time reading this book!

I really wanted to like this book. As someone with a degree in psychology, I love reading both fiction and nonfiction about psychopathy. However, this book felt like it was a lot less about that and a looot more about a marine mystery, which unfortunately I just didn't care for.

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed reading it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The premise of this book intrigued me right away and I was eager to read it.

I enjoy multiple POV stories and Eaves did a great job writing the story in this format. It took me a bit to get into this one as it wasn't clear how the multiple characters were going to be related or how the storylines would come together, especially as the synopsis only mentions the FMC. Once the character relations came together, the plot was a bit predictable.

I enjoyed most of the characters and felt their motivations and emotions were well written and described. Despite the slow start and predictable plot, it was overall enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a 3.5 rounded up to a 4.

The premise of this one sounded so perfect for me, I requested it immediately. I really enjoyed the plot (though once we made it about halfway, it was pretty obvious where it was going) and the characters were fun. Sure, you need to suspend your disbelief at times, but I liked that almost sci-fi (but not quite) aspect. It was alityle more convoluted than it needed to be with a few more characters than necessary. But I'd recommend it and read more of hers.

I'm always a sucker for books that are told with dual storylines and Eaves did a great job of doing so! While captivating from the very start, it was difficult to make any guesses on how the stories would intersect - once things started to unfold, I couldn't put it down! Writing felt a bit formal for a narrative and some parts dragged toward the middle, but overall it was an enjoyable read. Thanks for the ARC!

This book captured my attention from the beginning. Although it dragged a bit inte middle, still a worthwhile read.

Thank you to NetGalley aan the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Intriguing characters, interesting commentary on psychopathy, and a satisfying ending.. I look forward to reading more of this authors work in the future.

I cannot wait to read more from this author, the book grabbed my attention right from the beginning and kept it throughout the story. I loved the characters and getting to learn about their stories while following along with the overall plot and flipping between the two story lines. Overall I really enjoyed this novel and couldn't put it down once I started. The attention to detail and clear research that was taken for this story really adds to the reading experience, I never felt overwhelmed or confused by the technical terms, I just felt like I was better understanding the plot.

Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for an ARC.

What a wild ride! This would make an excellent film! SO much going on, so many twists and turns! OK, so it's completely unbelievable in parts and you have to suspend reality a little (kind of like in a Bond film !) but that's part of the fun. It's definitely a slow burn; care is taken to really lay the groundwork so we understand Cate's (and to a lesser extent, Hunter's) backstory. Both Cate and Hunter are really well-developed characters, and I enjoyed reading about their childhood at the Cleckley Institute - if you're interested in how the brain works, this will be a fascinating read for you.

A page turner of the best kind!

Thank you NetGalley for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to this book based on the description. For the first half of the book, I felt as thought I was reading two different stories, as the characters, and their story lines, were not yet connected. This made it difficult for me to get into the book and feel connected to all of the characters. I like Cate as a protagonist; the author did a good job of letting us into her life and the things that impacted her as she was growing up.

Once the storylines merged, I was more interested in where the plot was heading. I liked the ending, but it felt like there was a lot of build up for something that felt as though it ended quite quickly.

The beginning of the book grabbed my attention, but within the first few chapters, my attention was wandering. I think making the writing so clinical and straightforward made sense given Cate's history, but as a reader, I felt a bit detached from the narrative. This ended up being a DNF for me, but I would absolutely try something else by the author.