Title: Never Saw Me Coming
Author: Vera Kurian
Publisher: Harvill Secker
Synopsis:
Meet Chloe. First-year student, ordinary, legging-wearing, girl next door…and diagnosed psychopath with an IQ of 135. Her hobbies include yogalates, parties, and plotting to kill Will Bachman.
Chloe is part of a secret clinical study of young psychopaths run by the university’s Psychology Department. Most psychopaths aren’t criminals, but when a string of murders on campus causes upheaval, Chloe’s private vendetta is sidelined. Partnered with fellow study participants she can’t trust – and distracted by typical university life – Chloe has to walk the line between hunter and prey.
My review:
Never Saw Me Coming is a thriller in an academic setting, and I am often drawn to books like this. It’s a really interesting premise – psychopths are enrolled into a secret study at an American University where they’re observed by a pyschologist running the programme. There are eight in total, and they don’t know who the other psychopaths are. One of them, who we follow throughout the novel, is Chloe – she is very intelligent and very determined to kill a fellow student at the unviersity, Will Bachman. We also get to know Andre, who actually faked his diagnosis but is in too deep to admit.
Students start being murdered at the university, but who is killing them? And are Chlose and Andrew – and their ‘friends’, in danger? The novel feels less about this question at times and more about getting to know the characters as they navigate their time at university. Chloe is a really entertaining character. She’s not necessarily likeable but she is fun to read about!
The book isn’t necessarily fast paced but there is enough intrigue and mystery to keep me wanting to read on. There’s also plenty of dark humour which I didn’t expect but really enjoyed. I did feel the book could have been cut down a bit, as some parts felt a little long or unecessary.
However, overall, I feel Never Saw Me Coming is well worth a read.
Rating: 3.5/5
Many thanks to the publisher, Harvill Secker, for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.