Never saw me coming by Vera Kurian is a great thriller, I loved the concept and the main character, it was so interesting and I was on the edge of my seat.

This book really says ‘psychopaths, but make it fun.’ What a totally wild experience.

The premise is super interesting. I think it does attempt at times to show that not everyone with a conduct or personality disorder is a murderer/criminal. I actually found Charles to be the most compelling character because of this. You can really see he's genuinely trying to stop his diagnosis from controlling his life and how others perceive him.

But this is a mystery/thriller, so of course there has to be some emotionless killing. lol. I really wish more page time was dedicated to Chloe and her revenge against Will. It's set up so well, so you're dying to know what Will did and why he deserves to die. But as the story progresses and more POVs are added, it becomes more of a side plot, which I found to be a bit of a bummer.

But the overall story is unique and entertaining. I think those interested in psychology and glimpsing inside the minds of people who think completely differently will find this fascinating.

This premise of this book is so unique - a clinical study of student psychopaths - and Kurian fully exploited it to give this range of characters with different personalities (because no two psychopaths are alike) and a rich setting in which the drama takes place (the typical college campus turned on its head, now that you know who walks amongst its students). I enjoyed these characters and the glimpses of their life we see outside the college and mystery, that only add to that big question of - what really makes a psychopath, and could you even tell? (Short answer is no.)

This book was packed with unexpected turns in plot - who did Chloe want to kill and why? Who are these other students in the study? The build up towards the climax was so well-crafted and had so many twists to distract and entice us. The tension built so much, switching between three perspectives (which each had very distinct voices, so there was no difficulty telling them apart) I honestly felt I couldn’t trust anyone - not even the narrators. If psychopaths can lie so well even they believe their lies, who knows if what they’re saying is the truth? In fact, having read half the book till 4 in the morning, I was honestly a bit scared to sleep.

Two cons (my rating would be a 3.8 but rounded up here). First, the writing occasionally felt teenage. There were several moments, like when she described “Chloe wore this, this and this, but this other girl wore that and looked amazing without trying” - these lines felt immature and what I expect in a YA book. Second, the reveal felt a bit anticlimactic. Since the chapters right before had already given us several hints, there was no great shock when we learnt their identity, no flipping back pages to figure out what we missed.

Regardless, what an interesting space we inhabit in these pages, alongside thoroughly unexpected characters. Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Chloe Sevre is a college freshman in a special program that studies psychopaths. The program is also conveniently the same college where Will Bachman is a junior, the childhood friend whom Chloe plans to kill. But when another student is found dead in the psychology building, Will's life isn't the only one that's threatened.

This book was amazing! It's probably in my top three favorite books of 2021 to date. As a psychology major in college, the plot alone had me interested and from page 1 I was hooked. This book was a literal page turner for me that I could not put down.

The book is told through varying perspectives of three students in the psychopath program: Chloe (told in first person), Charles (told in third person), and Andre (also in third person). Sometimes varying perspectives and character switching can get a bit confusing, but it was very clear here. I never felt confused as to who was telling the story, and because the story doesn't change time periods at all the reader really gets an insight into each character's experience as the story progresses in real time.

I was also impressed with the amount of research that clearly went into this book. I find psychology books very interesting, so this was combining the best of all genres for me--contemporary fiction, thriller, and psychology. I also could not predict the plot at all. Kurian has masterfully created a book that not only provides an educational insight into psychological research but is also a fast-paced thriller that had me second-guessing every character's motive.

Overall, this is truly one of the most exciting and unique books I've read in a long time. It's as fast-paced as it is memorable and well-written. I would recommend this to anyone and encourage everyone to pick up this book when it is published!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I liked the book and got sucked into all of the characters and the mystery if who is doing the murders.

This is a book that actually lives up to the tremendous advance reviews. The premise is original, at least in my memory. Seven diagnosed psychopaths are given college scholarships so that they can be followed and studied. Sort of a good plan....but these ARE psychopaths. Someone starts killing them off. Lots of mystery, unreliable narrators, and surprises. This author will be among my top mystery writers to watch in the future.

Chloe Sevre is your typical college freshman....or that's what she wants you to think. She's actually at school on a full-ride scholarship as an incentive to be a part of a groundbreaking study on young psychopaths. But while they're studying her brain, she's studying her next target: Will. See, Will did something unforgivable when Chloe was a child, and she's ready to get revenge. That is, until other members of her program start being murdered one-by-one. They say never to trust a psychopath, but what if it's the only way to survive?

My heart is still pounding hours after finishing Never Saw Me Coming. One unreliable narrator makes for an interesting book, but filling the entire cast of characters with psychopaths truly makes you turn the pages faster than ever before. I can't wait to read more from Vera Kurian in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

This story is a masterful web of psychological suspense. I loved the different character perspectives, the collegiate setting, and the twists and turns that Kurian built in the last 25%.

Each chapter pulls you along to the next in the most thrilling way. A free ride to a university in Washington DC. Except, our narrators are psychopaths that have mandatory therapy sessions and random check-ins on their smart watches to track their moods. It's gripping, thrilling, and very suspenseful!

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian is a well paced book which has alot of suspense and mystery, a little bit of revenge and some sexy spice mixed in. The story revolves around a female student who goes to a college to seek revenge on a boy that did her wrond many years previously. In the meantime, there is a series of murders in the psychology department which had students on edge. So three students decide to band together to keep each other safe and solve the mystery. The twist is that they are all certified psychopaths, so they have trust issues. The main characters are very well written and have great chemistry, so the reader wants to see them work together and be successful. There are quite a few supporting characters which adds to the suspense of who did it, but sometimes leaves the reader confused about who is who.
Altogether a well paced and engaging novel with an interesting plot and enough mystery and suspense to keep the reader going until the end, which is satisfying but open ended so it also keeps us guessing. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre
#mystery thriller #psychological thriller #suspense #revenge

Never Saw Me Coming follows Chloe, who is one of seven psychopaths attending her college as part of a clinical study. While she plots to kill someone from her past, another person murders a member of the study. She has to decide which of her fellow psychopaths, if any, she can trust to help her track down the murderer without devouring from her own murder plans too much.

I really enjoyed this book. It was so different from other books in the thriller genre. You aren't able to predict how the characters will react to any given circumstance and having morally grey narrators throws out any rules of engagement. It's weird to admit that I like Chloe as a character since she's actively plotting a murder the whole time, though I did equally love Andre and the strange middle ground he found himself in.

If you like thrillers or books with a protagonist that is definitely not a "good person" then you'll love this. I definitely had no idea who the killer was until the end and the extra thrown in plot twists made the whole read even better. Do check any trigger warnings though because it does deal with heavy topics such as sexual assault.

I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy of Never Saw Me Coming, a unique thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat! I couldn’t put this book down and read it in one sitting.

A special group of college kids, different in many ways with one unique thing in common; they are all psychopaths. What happens when the hunters become the prey? This twisty thriller will keep you guessing until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vera Kurian for an advanced copy of this debut novel. This story details the lives of seven diagnosed psychopath teenagers who were all accepted to a university on a full ride in exchange for random check ins and meetings with a campus psychologist. The book is mostly narrated by one of these seven, named Chloe, she has a vendetta against a non psychopath student on campus and plans to kill him, but before that can happen, two of the other seven psychopaths are murdered and everyone is now trying to figure out who did it. Through the whole book you’re wondering who you can trust and who is reliable. There is a serial killer mystery to be solved, a student faking his psychopath diagnosis, a hunt for an old iPhone 4, and even a little bit of romance. I find I get bored of the typical thriller “tropes” but this was unique and fresh and I really really enjoyed this and am already hoping this author will write many more novels in the future. 4.5/5

3.5

Chloe Sevre seems like a normal college student. She’s pretty, popular and comes off well-adjusted. But she’s actually a psychopath and part of a secret program sponsored by the college. Her peers are incapable of experiencing the breadth of human emotions. Chloe agrees to be part of the study so she can enact revenge on the man who hurt her years ago. She stalks him and has set out an elaborate plan to kill him. But then people from the program start turning up dead and Chloe has become one of the hunted. She sets out to execute her plan and find the killer before it’s too late.

The premise of this book intrigued me. It debunked the stereotypical image of the murderous irrational psychopath and enlightens readers on the scientific basis of the diagnosis. Chloe was refreshing as a kick-ass protagonist and she reminded me a bit of Joe from the novel You. She’s messed up but you can’t help but cheer her on as she gives unlikeable people their comeuppance. The beginning of the novel really drew me in and I loved the twist surrounding Charles but then it lagged in the middle as Chloe tried to solve the mystery. The ending also didn’t really surprise me and there were several questions unanswered such as whether the perpetrator was also the cyberattacker. I also didn’t find Andre’s parts of the novel captivating and thought he would play a larger role than he did.

Overall this book had great potential but the middle and ending fell a bit short.

A wonderfully twisted thriller! Well developed characters drive a story centered around a special group of college student/subjects recruited for a study about psychopathy. One by one the subjects start to die. Who’s responsible for the killings? The director of the study once treated a notorious serial killer. Could it be a copycat? A quick read that will keep you guessing! I can’t wait for this to be picked up for a Netflix series!

WOW ! what a an engaging and interesting idea. I have not read a book like this before and I would
highly recommend it!

Chloe Sevre is a college student attending Adams university on full scholarship. This scholarship however, is based on allowing scientist to study her diagnosis. She learns early on that she is one of seven psychopaths recruited to attend the university. The study requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements and they report to the pscyh building to participate in tests.

Chloe makes no attempt to hide from us her true self. More interesting is Chloe's reason for attending the university. For several years she has been shadowing Will Bachmand and has created a long term plan to enact revenge. Now that they are at the same university, the game has begun.

However, when one of the students from the study is murdered, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, Multiple POV's ,darkly funny, and a ticking time clock are just a few of the components making up this exciting book.. Chloe and others in the study are forced to band together to solve the mystery of who is after them. But if you are a psychopath, who can you trust?

An innovative plot, likeable characters and thrilling throughout - highly recommend you read this book! I look forward to more from author Vera Kuriam. Special thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest and fair opinion.

Thanks you to NetGalley for an ARC of Never Saw Me Coming.
I was really interested in the premise of this book and excited to read in the beginning. The idea of the main character and 6 other college students in a clinical study of psychopaths was really unique to me and something I had not read before. While the book was really interesting to me in the beginning - especially with the murder mystery involving those in the study - the middle seemed to drop off for me and I began to skim through to find out what happened in the end. I did enjoy the twist, but this would be a 2.5-3/5 stars for me.

It's really tough to come up with a unique premise for a thriller these days, but Vera Kurian really hit a home run with the tightly plotted Never Saw Me Coming. This clever story features a group of psychopaths who are attending college in D.C. on a full scholarship in exchange for participating in a program that studies psychopathy. When someone starts killing off the participants, several of the others begin to wonder how long before they are next.

This exciting and fast paced story, told from multiple POVs, keeps the reader engaged and guessing all the way through. There are multiple plot lines that are expertly interwoven as the story unfolds. It was a fantastic book and I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A thriller about a program that studies diagnosed psychopathic co-eds at a DC university? Hell yeah, I’m in!

I absolutely loved this fun, fast paced novel. The character dynamics between the group of young psychopaths was so fun to read and the pacing of the story was perfection. I could barely put it down!

I would have liked a little more character development on the main characters, but I’m hoping the author is paving the way for a sequel (or two). I need to know more about these people!

4.5 stars