A mixed review for me: I loved the premise and the background information about psychopaths and how they function. However, I found the whole American college / dorm aspect unrelatable and some of the aspects of the plot almost comical rather than thrilling. Having said that, I did happily continue reading and was gripped towards the end .

A story full (mostly) of genuine psychopaths. Really interesting from this perspective - and with a fast paced constantly evolving storyline it kept me intrigued to the end

I'm afraid I really didn't get on with this book. On the face of it, it is just my kind of thing - a crime novel with murder at its heart and a good cast of possible suspects, working against time to find the killer before they themselves become victims. The writing was also good, but only in parts. At other times it very much felt like someone writing for the first time about a subject they were not overly familiar with. I felt there were a lot of gaps in the plot and not enough detail. Also the Americanisms were confusing for a British reader. By the end, I was just glad to finish it. The good bones of a story, but could have been executed better.

Chloe Sevre is a freshman student at John Adams University, she is part of a program led by Dr Leonard Wyman studying psychopathic behaviour along with, among others, Charles Portman and Andre Jensen.
As a part of the study, she and the others wear a smart watch which periodically asks them to complete a mood survey as well as tracking their location.
As the book progresses, it becomes clear that Chloe is actually there to track down and punish Will, a boy from her past who has committed a hideous crime.
When two students are murdered at the university, links are made to the CRD serial killings of twenty years ago which Dr Wyman was involved in.
So far, so good - this read more as a YA read to me, not a problem but not quite the psychological thriller I was expecting. Parts I would have expected to be in more depth felt rushed, however, I did enjoy it. The ending is open - possibly for a follow on?
Vera Kurian is a skilled writer and I enjoyed this book a lot. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

"I've never met someone like me, but when I do, eventually, I think it will be like two wolves meeting in the night, sniffing and recognizing a fellow hunter."

From the premise i was all in. Something different, inventive, the other side of the psychological thriller that we don't see very often.

This was definitely a slow burner, at times a bit too slow but I did stick with it purely because the topic really interested me. When most people think of any severe psychotic disorders we don't think of them living amongst us, standing next to us in the supermarket or sitting next to us at work so the story or 'normality' whilstbliving with psychosis really intrigued me.

Diagnosed psychopathic college students, medical study... what can go wrong ???

A slow burner that gains speed and doesn't slow down. Inventive and intriguing BUT the ending infuriated me.

3.5*

Thanks to netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC.

Very sharp and suspenseful; a fascinating read if you like this crime/thriller genre or are intrigued by psychopaths...

Loved this book, a gripping read and one that has you from page one, it didn’t let up, a fast paced book with a fair few twists and turns, what more could you want!!!! Defo a must read!

I loved this brilliant cat and mouse thrillers. Totally different idea and so well written. I would highly recommend this book.

I found this book interesting in that it was about a group of psychopaths who were being studied at a Washington university while murders are taking place. The depth of research was well done but I found the book slightly too long and a little repetitive. The characters were well defined but obviously being psychopaths their motivations are different to normal people. I also found the ending somewhat rushed and not fully explained.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

When we meet Chloe she is a fresh faced student just starting university but with one ulterior motive - to kill fellow student Will.

But what would you expect from a student that has joined university under the secret program for psychopaths. Not knowing who the other participants in the study are the games begin when students start begin murdered.

Who has discovered who they are and why have they started this murderous spree? And just why does Chloe need to kill Will?

A brilliant cat and mouse read that has you routing for the "bad guys" !!

This was a great read. Beautifully written making for a compelling read. I loved getting to know the characters. Absolutely riveting and kept me reading with its interesting premise. Students offered tuition for taking part in a clinical psychology study. This was an excellent read.

I was intrigued by the idea but this didn’t work for me. Chloe is seeking revenge on Will for an historic wrong he’s done to her which sounds a great plot but I just couldn’t get invested in the story. I tried the ebook but also downloaded the audio - I did get further with the audio but still didn’t finish it. For me it was a no unfortunately.

Chloe may look like any new college student but looks can be deceptive. She is extremely intelligent, a psychopath & out to take revenge on the boy who treated her abominably. Her university is running a study on psychopaths. Students are expected to take part in interviews & questionnaires although they don't know who else is in the programme. Rich boy Charles is there partly to annoy his father who wanted him to attend a more prestigious school. Andre is there because it was a chance to get a free education. He is not a psychopath but has managed to fool everyone so far. When he comes across a student brutally stabbed & another student is also killed in the psychology building (in a really gruesome way!) The three of them try to find the killer before they are found- but should you ever trust a psychopath?

This was a fascinating premise & I enjoyed the characters- particularly poor Andre! I'm not sure how plausible the whole thing was, but I didn't really care. It was an enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review it.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Without a doubt a five star read.

Chloe is one of seven people diagnosed with psychopathy taking part in a testing programme for a free college ride in DC. She’s smart, she’s cunning, and she’s counting down to kill Will Bachman. What she doesn’t expect is a serial killer on the loose.

What ensues is fast-paced and gripping - I read this book so quickly as I couldn’t put it down! Full of twists and turns you won’t see coming and full of characters you love to hate.

I’d highly recommend adding this to your 2022 TBR!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I was quite intrigued by the plot, a bunch of psychopaths together, but once I started reading.....I just could not stay focused. I expected a bit of cat and mouse, but I don't know....things just happened, and I found it all very anti climatic.

For psychopaths, I expected some backstabbing, but this trio of psycho buddies got on well....like an episode of Barney. The synopsis talks about not trusting psychopaths, but they really all were friends, so this didn't quite make sense to me.

I ended up skipping 100 pages after 200 pages, and I didn't feel like I missed much.

I'm not sure if I was just not the target audience for this. I do feel it may appeal more to the YA fan base.

Quite an interesting premise, love reading about different psychopaths and I do think the author has made good research, however I think the book was made to be unecesarily long and I lost interest midway. Not a bad book, but ended up not being quite for me

Chloe Sevre is a freshman student, enrolled in a clinical study program for psychopaths. Conveniently for her, the study means she is able to attend the same college as Will Bachman, a boy from her childhood whom she has been planning to kill. However, when one of the other students in the study is found dead, Chloe herself might be in danger. Teaming up with a couple of other fellow psychopaths, Chloe must identify the killer… and maybe pin Will’s murder on them instead.

Never Saw Me Coming has such a good concept, and was fairly well executed. The story is totally character driven, and despite not being entirely likeable, the characters are very good. Chloe and Charles are both manipulative, disloyal and impulsive, but still manage to come across as relatable. Even Chloe’s plan for murder is kind of understandable once you learn the background. Andre, on the other hand, seems actually pretty nice, but has gone too far in his act as a psychopath to be able to stop.

Despite all the murder, the story is pretty entertaining. Because the characters are psychopaths, the element of fear is removed and this was very interesting. The focus was much more on uncovering who the killer was, rather than being afraid that they were going to come after one of the protagonists.

The only place where this book fell down was in the style. It felt very Young-Adult where I’m not sure it was supposed to, but overall was quite a unique and entertaining read.

I really enjoyed this. Daft but intriguing premise for a book - in a college program full of psychopaths, which one is the serial killer? Some ‘fun’ characters. The author managed to make CHloe, the central psychopath, an engaging character, to the extent that we find ourselves overlooking the fact that she has some seriously nasty thoughts and habits!

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian is a book with a very complex plot so I found I really had to pay attention while reading. It held my attention well though and had a very unique premise which I've not seen in a book before.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

I loved the premise of this - it was quite original! I just feel the execution was rather lacklustre. It didn't really get going until about 70% of the way through and once it did there was just something missing.

I really liked the story line, and the idea behind it and would definitely read another book by this author!

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review</i>