2024 52 Book Challenge - 20) A Revenge Story

I really enjoyed this book. It's got a lot of tropes, and reading it to begin with, I felt very ugh about them, but I think they were pretty decent, and handled much better than I expected.

I liked both of the plots within the book, and how the two intersected. I felt more interested in the murder mystery plot than the revenge plot, purely because the murder mystery parts included the other characters, and I really liked the interactions between Chloe, Charles and Andre. It was also nice to see a main character with a chronic condition, in this case, Charles suffers from migraines, and he suffered a number through the novel.

I just didn't want the novel to end because I was enjoying it so much, and now I have to find the other novels by this author.

I wasn't too taken with this book. I just didn't think that the university would actually give a scholarship to students with socio/psychopathic tendencies from a questionnaire in order to study them. from that moment on I couldn't get into it. Despite that, the characters were purposefully obnoxious and all devious and plotting and this was the only thing that kept my interest. My inherent dislike of every single one of them! The author is someone I would definitely try again in the future just to see if anything else they write would become more of a thriller for me

Never Saw Me Coming is a thriller following a psychopathic protagonist, but in this novel the authors attempts to present an almost sympathetic version of psychopathy. Chloe Sevre is a typical college girl on the outside - pretty, fit, honours student that likes to party - yet is also planning to murder her childhood friend, Will Bachman.

Getting a view inside Chloe's head provides a window into the person she pretends to be, while also seeing how calculated she is in every interaction. Her distress, charm, smiles and tears are all masks he wear - with the exceptions of anger, which shows her true self.

Chloe forms part of study with seven additional student all diagnosed with psychopathy disorder. In exchange for a free ride scholarship to the fictional John Adams University in Washington, all participants must attend weekly sessions with the doctor conducting the study, and wear wristwatches that periodically quick them on their emotional state. Of course, none of the psychopathic study subjects are meant to meet each other yet all of course do.

Throughout the first half of the novel, we readers wonder what Will Bachman did to make Chloe want to kill him. However, at that point it become a minor subplot that's resolved almost too neatly. Meanwhile, two other psychopaths in the study have ben murdered, which forces Chloe to team up with the stud-muffin Charles and friend Andre to figure out which of their psychopathic peers is stalking them.

While I enjoyed this book, and felt the twists were good albeit sometimes stretching plausibility, there were a lot of POV shifts which caused confusion when learning to differentiate among the voices. On the hand, this did enable a view into everyone's minds. I believe the author here did a reasonable job at capturing the mindset of a psychopath who's not a crazy serial killer, and who is almost likeable.

This was a good thriller with characters I wouldn't mind seeing in another book!

Interesting main character kept me reading this exciting page Turner. Kept me guessing with how the story unfolded. Surpassed expectations. 4 stars.

After multiple attempts, I have nit been able to connect with this book and regrettably have to mark as dnf

I was absolutely hooked on the premise and the beginning of the book also completely delivered. In fact, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Towards the last bit of the book the story got a bit wild for my liking but it didn't stop me from wanting to keep reading. It is a cleverly thought out, character driven, highly psychological, slightly crazy read and needs to be read to be believed!

Never Saw Me Coming is a psychological thriller that delves into the lives of a group of college students with psychopathic tendencies. The premise of the novel is intriguing, and Kurian's writing style is engaging and fast-paced.

The story follows the character of Chloe Sevre, a college student who is recruited to participate in a research program for individuals with psychopathic tendencies. As the plot unfolds, Chloe and her fellow participants are drawn into a series of dangerous and unpredictable situations, which force them to confront their own inner demons.

Kurian's writing is sharp and insightful, and she does an excellent job of exploring the complexities of psychopathy and its impact on individuals and society. The characters are well-developed and the plot is full of twists and turns, which keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

However, one potential drawback of the novel is that it may not be suitable for all readers, as it deals with sensitive topics such as mental illness and violence. Additionally, some readers may find the portrayal of psychopathy to be overly simplistic or sensationalized.

Overall, Never Saw Me Coming is an engaging novel that explores important themes and raises thought-provoking questions about the nature of psychopathy and the consequences of our actions. While it may not be for everyone, it is definitely worth a read for fans of the psychological thriller genre.

An excellent read, even though it took me a little bit to get going. I loved the way it's written and the main character. Loved all of it!

Never Saw Me Coming is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. The characters are incredibly well-written. The plot is fast-paced and captivating. If you're looking for your next favorite thriller, this is the one for you. Be sure to check out Never Saw Me Coming today. Highly recommended!

Thought this was a really unique storyline!! Chloe starts college and is determined to kill Will. She's a psychopath and is one of a few students who is taking part in a programme in secret at college, but very quickly after she arrives two of the students are murdered and she's determined o discover who the murderer is and why they are killing psychopaths

I was intrigued by the concept of this novel and I love crime novels set on university campuses, so was hugely looking forward to reading Never Saw Me Coming. The novel starts off really well, initially it's told from the point of view of freshman student Chloe who is enrolled in a study of psychopaths at her university. As the novel progresses we also get the points of view of another student Andre and their professor in charge of the study. Initially I found it fairly gripping and intriguing, I had no idea where the novel was going and it moved along at a good pace. However about a third of the way through I found that the pace really slowed down and the novel became farcical. I'd be interested to read the author's future novels as this definitely has promise but it was ultimately disappointing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I loved this book! I really enjoy a tale with a psychopathic (and often unreliable) narrator and this book definitely had that. Told from alternating points of view of three characters (but felt more like one main character and two supporting) who are on a special programme for psychopaths, this story gripped me throughout. It was much longer than I was expecting, which I’m not complaining about as there wasn’t any ‘filler’. At one point I thought I was about halfway through but when I checked I was at 20ish%. I think some other authors would have spun the story out and tried to make a duology or trilogy so I am glad the author stick to one book to tell the story as it was great! I would recommend for fans of You, Jane Doe and Baby Teeth.

Well I never. An amusing story about psychopaths. They always have such a bad reputation but is it deserved? Generally yes but this author explores psychopaths in a different way from the norm.
Unique take on psychopathy.
Chloe is part of a clinical study of psychopaths at a college. They are tracked through a special smart watch.
When a murder happens on campus things change quickly .
4 Stars ⭐️
Recommended reading if you want something different.

I love a story that has a good psychopath, if it happens to be a female more the better!

Lots of twists and turns in this one, hold on to your seats!

Super enjoyed this! It did a great job (I think) of showing the different personality traits of this population without demonising. Great moment at the end and it zipped along nicely.

This book had an absolutely ridiculous plot and I bloody loved it! I thought that the interactions between all of the psychopaths in the program was really well done and I thought Chloe was a fascinating protagonist to follow. Being in the head of someone so morally grey was really good fun and while a lot of the decision making was very questionable, I feel like that was the point. Overall, I think that if you enjoy Samantha Downing plots, you should definitely give this one a try.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It's been a while since I started a book and thought "Wow! That's something different!"

Under the guise of a 'students having lots of fun' story, here are a group of diagnosed psychopaths getting a free education in return for logging their emotional responses. Or so it seems. Until one of them is dead. And then another.

The story is told in a mix of 1st and 3rd person - the 1st person narrative coming from Chloe, a girl with a long term plan to get to this particular college and get revenge for a past crime committed against her. Then there's Andre who shouldn't really be there but bluffed the psychopath test, and Charles, the smooth, good-looking senior who wants to be class president.

It's clever.
It's twisty and turny.
It throws you around in different directions trying to work out who is killing the psychopaths and why.

Loved it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

Never Saw Me Coming is one of the most original books you will read. From the first page, the voice of Chloe draws you in and compels you to read on as you discover the world of the psychopath from the inside.

Chloe exists on both sides of the fence, as a psychology student and a diagnosed psychopath herself. This doesn’t mean she kills people - but she might. We get to see her from multiple angles as the story switches between three points of view. The pace is relentless and the writer shows how psychopathic traits can make people attractive. Especially Chloe, who has an agenda of her own.

The reader is drawn into a strange relationship with Chloe. Is she reliable? She is easy to like but difficult to trust. Her narcissism and self-absorption make her shine brightly. And Chloe is an accomplished liar.

We are being educated about psychopathy. Psychopaths display an easy confidence and show little natural awkwardness. They lack empathy and impulse control, which makes them risk takers. The psychology experiments are fun. The reader is effectively invited to consider how they would respond to the questions. Do we have the mindset of a psychopath?

There are 7 people in the study of psychopaths, but none of them knows the identity of the others - at least not to start with. Then there is Dr Wyman, who is running the program and has an intriguing past. Lots of potentially dangerous people. And then one of them is murdered.

One of the really successful features of this book is the writer’s sense of humour. It is a dark subject but the entertainment draws on comedy as well as suspense.

The ending is beautifully crafted. Of course, we’ve come to know quite a lot about psychopaths in the course of the story but I doubt many readers will see this coming.

I would struggle to be able to review this book due to issues with the file/download. The issues stopped the flow of the book. The issues are:
- Missing words in the middle of sentences
- Stop/start sentences on different lines
- No clear definition of chapters.

Not sure if it was a file/download issue but there were lots of gaps, stop/starts which really ruined the flow. I would love the chance to read a better version as the description of the book appeals to me.

I loved this book, a lot! I couldn't put it down, I was intrigued straight away by the concept of psychopaths being the centre of a university study and how they would cope and react in the environment.

I liked reading from the different psychopaths' perspectives and learning their motives and histories. I am a big fan of psychological thrillers. This had me guessing who was guilty, who was innocent, who was good, who was bad, who was acting, who was true to themselves. I couldn't trust anyone. An excellent cat and mouse novel.

I can't wait for Vera's next book.