Review: 'Never Saw Me Coming' by Vera Kurian

University is a strange time, full of new people, new classes, new expectations. What you don't expect is psychopaths, per se! But at Adams University there are at least seven which means I was hooked into Never Saw Me Coming straightaway. What a ride! Thanks to Harlequin, Park Row and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 9/7/2021
Publisher: Harlequin; Park Row

YOU SHOULD NEVER TRUST A PSYCHOPATH.
BUT WHAT IF YOU HAD NO CHOICE?

It would be easy to underestimate Chloe Sevre… She’s a freshman honor student, a legging-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. She spends her time on yogalates, frat parties and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her. 

Chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study of psychopaths—students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements.

When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan for revenge into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of her fellow psychopaths—and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath.

Never Saw Me Coming is a compulsive, voice-driven thriller by an exciting new talent in fiction that will keep you pinned to the page and rooting for a would-be killer.

 I have to admit that I'm a True Crime fan that doesn't yet entirely understand the difference between psychopathy and sociopathy. I know there is a difference and I know that it is an important one, but I couldn't quite explain the finer details to you. I do know the stigma around it is intense, in part due to the very easy way in which we use the word 'psycho' as an insult, joke, or film title. So imagine you are  a psychopath and are invited to become part of a study that aims to not "fix" you, but give you tools to cope, to appear more "normal"? I found this a fascinating idea and thankfully Kurian does take the time to walk the knife's edge between the fun and drama of her plot and the more earnest discussion of mental health and psychopathy.

Chloe has a plan. She is part of a clinical study of psychopaths, which means she has to be smart about her plan. But as a psychopath, that should come easy to her. She has no idea who else is in the study but this quickly changes when another member is found dead. And not just dead, but straight-up murdered. Together with Charles and Andre, two other students in the study with their own secrets, she tries to balance finding a murderer while trying to get away with potential murder. The plot of Never Saw Me Coming is a riot and I loved experiencing it through Chloe, Charles and Andre's eyes. They each have a clear and different voice and their experiences vary wildly as well, which gives the reader various viewpoints with which to approach the plot. I must say Chloe was my favourite, even though she is a bit dramatic and does occasionally run riot. Her actions aren't always logical, but they were

Vera Kurian crafts a brilliant story that takes some Dark Academia influences but makes them shiny and new. There are secrets, weird professors, old buildings and death, but it never runs along the expected lines. At times the two plot lines, Chloe's plan and the murders taking place, battle for supremacy, but Kurian manages to bring them together satisfactorily in the end. Kurian strikes a great balance between high tension and light moments, making sure we never forget that were dealing with young students who also want to hang out, date and drink, not just hunt down killers. While Never Saw Me Coming technically doesn't end on a cliffhanger, I would love for Kurian to continue with these characters. What can I say, I adored these three characters!

I give this book...

4 Universes!

Thrilling and snappy, Never Saw Me Coming was a delight to read! I adored the characters and enjoyed the high stakes plot. I can't wait to read more by Vera Kurian!