This is another very good thriller by Alice Hunter. Although it’s a bit of a slow burn, the ending took me by surprise and brought everything together.
As with her other books, this one also has a unique and intriguing plot.

I really wanted to like this one, but I just couldn't. It was really slow to start with, it wasn't until the last quarter that it started to pick up pace. None of the twists were that surprising. Ellie, the main character, was just a mess and really annoying. It just felt like something was missing.

The Perfect Psychopath is a chilling, twist-laden psychological thriller that grips you from the first chapter and doesn’t let go. Dr. Eleanor Spencer is a compelling protagonist—intelligent, driven, and deeply haunted by her past. Her descent into paranoia and doubt is both believable and harrowing, especially as the lines between her professional detachment and personal trauma begin to blur.

The dynamic between Eleanor and Lucas Hayne is the book’s most electrifying element. Their tense, cerebral exchanges crackle with danger, and Lucas is written with just the right blend of menace and charisma. As Ellie is pulled deeper into the investigation of the missing women—and into her own memories—the story becomes increasingly claustrophobic and intense.

The plot delivers a steady build-up of suspense, with well-placed twists and a final reveal that is both shocking and emotionally resonant. That said, a few pacing issues in the middle act and some slightly predictable moments keep it from being a full five-star read.

Still, this is a standout psychological thriller with a fresh take on familiar tropes. Fans of The Silent Patient or Mindhunter will find much to enjoy here.

I’ve read other books by this author and was really pleased to be sent a digital copy of this book by Netgalley. In fact, I bought The Serial Killer’s Daughter, which was the first I read, for my granddaughter one Christmas. She is now studying criminology at university (not that I’m crediting the book with her choice of subject, more that knowing her interest was the reason I bought the book)

Ellie is a psychotherapist working prisoners so, when a female is murdered she is asked to help solve the crime by talking to someone who was serving a life sentence for murder and attempting to out how a serial killer’s mind works.

I was hooked from the start and couldn’t put the book down, which is howI read it all in one day.

I am a huge Alice Hunter fan and was very excited about a new release. Unfortunately, it wasn't to my taste/interest. The premise was intriguing but the story never quite came together for me. Ellie was not a sympathetic or interesting character and I found it difficult to care about her. I'll try to wait patiently until the next Hunter release or reread an earlier one.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

The perfect psychopath was a very thrilling and captivating story!
Ellie’s life has been haunted by her missing sister and the unknown, working as a psychologist for the prison she deals with serial killers every day. But when new murders happen Sarah Knight asks Ellie for help. What follows is a riveting story.
I really enjoyed this book! Kept me hooked from the first page and also trying to puzzle out what was happening through out. It was such an easy read and I just had to keep going to find out what was going to happen! The ending completely shocked me! Absolutely loved Alice Hunters previous stories and this one is not different!
Thanks to netgalley and HarperCollins publishers for the arc!

I really liked how the main fmc worked with psychopaths, while her own sister is missing. Very early on we realize she may be an unreliable character, along with the detective that was hiding things. I absolutely could not figure any of the twists, and it kept me glued to the book to figure it out.

I seem to be in the minority with this one and I don’t know what it was about the perfect psychopath but I just couldn’t get into, I didn’t like or care about any of the characters and I jumped to the end only to see who the perpetrator was. Sadly it wasn’t for me.

OMG what a brilliant book. I have most of Alice Hunter's books but this is by far the best of them. So many twists, you think you've figured out who did it then BOOM and you're back to the drawing board. Fantastic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compulsive reading, I could not put this book down.

Insight into the minds of serial killers, what drives then to it? Revenge for misdemeanours of the past come back to haunt.

Gripping thriller. Excellent.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

This was a gripping story where I just didn't see the perpetrator coming!! It was a bit slow to get going in the beginning but was worth persevering.

This started off a bit slow for my liking but I stuck to it, as I wanted to give it a chance. The story was good and it did thankfully pick up around half way through. I was hoping there would be more chapters between the prisoners and Dr. Eleanor Spencer. I liked the idea of solving a strong of murders, from the perspective of a psychologist and a convicted killer. It never really took off in the direction I wanted but I did like the chapters of their sessions. The story was enjoyable and I was able to finish quickly

Release: May 22, 2025
Author: Alice Hunter
Publisher: Avon Books

Rating: 4 ★ 

Dr. Eleanor Spencer has built a successful career as a psychologist and appears to have it all together. But when women start disappearing, old wounds resurface from her sister’s still-unsolved case. Pulled into the investigation, Ellie seeks help from Lucas Hayne, a convicted serial killer known for playing dangerous mind games. When Lucas suggests that the truth is tangled up in Ellie’s own past, everything she thought she knew starts to unravel. As she digs deeper, Ellie realizes that the real threat might be much closer than she ever thought — and this time, it’s personal.


The Perfect Psychopath had everything I love in a psychological thriller — a chilling setup, lots of twists, and a story that kept me guessing right up until the end. The book follows Dr. Eleanor Spencer, a psychologist assigned to work with a manipulative killer behind bars, but it quickly becomes clear that he knows way more about a string of new murders than he should. The sessions between them grow increasingly personal, especially as Eleanor’s own past — including her sister’s mysterious disappearance — starts to intertwine with the present investigation.

The pacing was strong throughout, with a gripping beginning that immediately pulled me in and an ending that really stuck with me. I loved how the author explored the killer’s psyche and built complex characters that felt real and layered. There were a few moments where I had to suspend disbelief, and at times the back-and-forth between timelines made the story a little harder to follow, but overall, I stayed hooked because I needed to know how everything connected.

This was a dark, twisty read that kept me second-guessing everyone, and the character development made it even more compelling. If you’re into thrillers with morally gray leads, mind games, and secrets that refuse to stay buried, this is one worth picking up.



Favorite Quote:
"psychopaths don't have to be violent to be dangerous. They just have to be manipulative enough to make you doubt your own reality."

A good, keep you guessing, psychological storyline. A serial killer on prison seems to know more about serial killings outside than he should and his connections run deeper than you might imagine. A psychologist is tasked to have regular sessions with him as a study to assess his risk to those around him but those sessions become a lot more personal and poignant. Her sister had disappeared in the past and assumed a victim of the killer but the actual circumstances are shrouded in mystery and questions left unanswered.
There are some good twists and this definitely kept my interest right to the end to see what all the connections were. Some bits were a little bit of a stretch for plausibility but overall a good read.

A lot of books usually either have a super good beginning or an amazing end. It's pretty rare for me to find one that has both but this defiantly had such a great beginning and all the way through pace that kept me wanting to keep reading like crazy and it also had an unforgettable ending.

I love Alice Hunter anyway so I fully expected to adore this book about a psychopath and a forensic psychologist: and I wasn’t disappointed.

The twists were great, it all happened in one go at the end and I was like WOW! It felt like I was watching a film.

Dr Eleanor Spencer a respected forensic psychologist and works in the nearby prison. When she hears of a woman’s body is found with her sister’s necklace on her. Her sister disappeared five years ago never to be seen again.
She is asked to work on the case and se agrees because she wants to find out if there is anymore connection to her sisters’ disappearance. But when another body turns up, they know they have a serial killer on their hands. She knows that this is getting personal. She asks help from notorious serial killer Lucas Haynes who is one of the inmates to get into the serial killer’s mind, but the shocking truth emerges that he knows stuff from her past.
Alice Hunter is one of my go-to authors, so I was excited to read a new novel ‘The perfect Psychopath.
I liked the sound of the premise and got straight stuck in, but I found this to be quite a slow burn or me and I felt it was hard to connect with the characters at times. For me there was something missing. It didn’t give me the intensity that I find and enjoy in other books of this type. This is not a bad book it’s just my personal taste. I wanted more but it didn’t deliver for me. 3.5 stars

I love a good serial killer book but this wasn’t it for me. At times it was hard to follow along when the story bounced back and forth. I had a hard time getting into this book

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Perfect Psychopath by Alice Hunter:

This is a psychological thriller about Dr. Eleanor Spencer, a psychologist whose life unravels when a series of women disappear, forcing her to confront past traumas. Eleanor turns to a convicted serial killer, Lucas Hayne, for answers, leading her to question whether the true threat is closer than she thought. She believes he may hold insight into a series of disappearances—but the real question is whether she can trust him, or whether she's being manipulated. The novel explores the ways in which trust can be used as a weapon, particularly when the betrayer understands their victim’s weaknesses. Eleanor’s own past traumas intertwine with her present situation, suggesting that betrayal may not be limited to Lucas Hayne. Whether from colleagues, loved ones, or even her own instincts, she faces layers of deception that force her to reconsider who is truly dangerous.

The story suggests that seemingly trustworthy individuals may conceal sinister intentions. Betrayal here isn't just about broken promises—it’s about the fundamental misjudgment of character and the devastating consequences of misplaced trust.

This book was a really good read and part of a genre i truly enjoy. Highly recommend.

Dr. Ellie Spencer works as a forensic psychologist at a jail. However, when women start disappearing and turning up dead, Ellie is reminded of her past. Her sister went missing five years ago and was never found. When her sister's necklace turns up on the body of one of the latest victims, Ellie is desperate to find a connection to her missing sister. In order to figure out what is happening, Ellie works with one of her patients, a notorious serial killer, in order to get into his mind and catch the latest killer.

I really enjoyed this one! I love novels that dive into the psyche and the inner workings of a killer. You can tell the author is very knowledge on this subject. The author does an excellent job at keeping the reader engrossed and on their toes. I honestly had no idea who the killer was and kept changing my mind throughout the story. Lots of great twists and turns. The character development was really well done - you can really get a sense of each character and connect with them.

Thank you Avon Books UK | Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.