Layne Fargo

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Trigger warning for emotional, physical, and sexual violence against women.)

Scarlett Clark

“Why—” he starts, but his throat is too constricted to speak.
I put the phone in his twitching hand and lean over him, my body casting his in shadow.
“Megan Foster,” I say.
Tyler’s eyes widen—and this, this is my favorite part. The abject terror that takes over their faces. That’s how I know they’re finally seeing show more me, realizing what I truly am.

Carly Schiller

Next to the car ahead of ours, there’s a petite black girl standing on her tiptoes to hug her dad goodbye, tears streaming down her cheeks. He’s crying too but trying to hide it, clenching his jaw tight, squinting his eyes shut. I can’t imagine feeling that way. I can’t imagine feeling anything but relief at saying goodbye to my father. I let him hug me, though, because I know it will be worse if I don’t. It’s important to him that we appear to be a happy family, even if there are only total strangers around to witness the charade.

***

Usually I start off my reviews with a brief plot summary - but the synopsis for THEY NEVER LEARN is so pitch perfect, and I don't want to give any of the delicious twists away, so I think it's best to steer clear of the landmine of spoilers that await us in my notoriously wordy reviews. (Holy run-on sentences, Batman!)

Instead I'll just say: I'm a sucker for rape revenge stories, and THEY NEVER LEARN is a doozy. The story is told from two alternating points of view: English professor by day, serial murderer of on-campus misogynists by night, Scarlett Clark; and freshman student Carly Schiller, a mousy, anxious wisp of a girl who's finally exploring life beyond the shadow of her abusive father.

Sadly (or happily, maybe, in Scarlett's case; Dexter's gotta Dex), there's no shortage of abusers on the campus of Gorman college, located in scenic rural Pennsylvania. When Carly's roommate/crush Allison is assaulted by a fellow thespian at a house party, the trajectories of both women are sent careening on a collision course - with each other, and maybe also THE LAW. (Ironic, that: considering it cares so little about the impetus for all of this, e.g., violence against women.)

The twists are many, and delightful: the BIG ONE at the 44% mark literally had me doing a spit take - I so did not see that coming, and it was one of those epic twists that forces you to see the story from an entirely new perspective, to reexamine everything you thought you knew. Plus it's just the first of many! Every time you think you've got a handle on where this story is headed, Farho throws you for a loop.

The mystery aspect of the plot is propulsive, as are the short, punchy chapters. I lost count of the number of times I promised myself "just one more chapter" before bed, only to repeat the lie ten more times before finally conceding. (Adulting sucks.)

All of the female characters are a revelation: complex, nuanced, and fascinating as heck. Even when you're not entirely on board with their behavior, Fargo does an excellent job of imparting understanding and compassion. (I want to say more but SPOILERS!) I'm sure that critics will argue that the men are more one-dimensional and predictable, cartoon caricatures of banal evil - and while it's fair to say most of the men at Gorman do indeed suck, I absolutely love what Fargo did with Wes (*chef's kiss*). Plus it's not like the women are free from sin - the big baddie is a female serial killer, after all.

But truly, the cherry on top is the ending, which is not all what I expected, or how these things usually go (see, e.g., Alex Craft from Mindy McGinnis's THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES). Fargo deserves a round of applause for taking the road less traveled. Finally, a rape revenge/female serial killer epilogue I love to see. show less

Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor. But she’s even better at getting away with murder.
The story centers on a woman who has been killing men for several years, and thoroughly enjoying it, suddenly finds her secret is under investigation. Dr. Scarlett Clark, a successful English professor at small, but elite Gorman University, has a BIG secret: For years, she’s been dishing out her own brand of justice by killing males...both boys and men who were guilty of assault and rape show more of women.

In a world where the university system shies away from seeking this or any other type of justice for these young women, she has taken it upon herself to assume the role of judge and jury...an avenging angel. She stages most of the deaths as either accidents or suicide. Then she eliminates a star football player, and doubt that he was suicidal surfaces.

Dr. Samina Pierce, head of the psychology department, begins to look for patterns present in all the past deaths. However, this doesn’t stop Scarlett from planning one of her most personal murders yet. Scarlett’s story unfolds beside a second story. Chapters from Scarlett’s point of view alternate with chapters from the perspective of Carly Schiller, a Gorman University freshman who had witnessed an assault of her roommate and has become obsessed with exposing the person that was guilty. In this story everything is either black or white: but we in reality know that this is often not true. It also works on the concept that male behavior is always predatory while the female response is always justified, which we also know is often not true.

The author may have intended her victim to have been the embodiment of independent, enlightened womanhood, a heroine for the "MeToo" era, it’s clear that Scarlett is actually a closeted sociopath. Those who deem themselves an "arm of justice" often have to live in that gray area. There was little evidence that Scarlett feels any guilt nor any inner conflict, as the most "vigilante characters" in literature usually do. Instead, the argument that murder is always justified, and even admirable, while making for an exciting thriller, it rejects the opportunity to explore the process of accountability. It simply equates revenge with justice. The title pretty much says what the unspoken lesson of the story was...They Never Learn. show less

holy wow. this was so good in all the ways. i loved it. the feminist rage, the morally gray main character (i literally didn't know what i wanted to happen to her!), the twists (i never saw them coming but the fun thing was even if you did, there was so much else going on that it wouldn't even have taken away from the book to have seen them coming).

this was so very fun and twisty and i loved it so much. excellent things to consider re: trauma, revenge, justice, and in such a fun way.

So cynical ass me picked this up and was repulsed by the first person POV touch, but I let it ride. This story is about two Scarlets. Scarlet Clarke, a college worker, and Carly, whose real name is Scarlet(so they allude to both being named Scarlet). Scarlet is an established female Dexter who only kills men, namely rapists and -implied- pedophiles. Carly is a budding one.

My assumption from the description was they would meet and join forces, that's how it comes across, but no, they never show more do. So don't read if that's your dream outcome. These two POV characters only are implied to glimpse each other in passing. Which is our red herring that really confuses things.
My sibling assumed maybe this was past and present Scarlet, like how she came to be, and how she was near her "end".

We just so happen to be following two Scarlets as our main POVs which switch from one to another per chapter. Both females. Both bisexual. Both female leaning.
A lot of coincidences.

Despite not expecting to like this book, I loved it. It's not perfect, and fixates way too much on a "girl power" undertone. There's these constant implications that were this a male killing female predators or pedophiles, it would be frowned upon or he'd be taken out for it. It's hard not to feel soured by it. Scarlet only kills men, which means we never find out what she'll do if a woman rapes or a woman is a predator. It's very one-sided.

The twist at the end is well delivered, I expected to throw the book in anger, but no, it goes a different path entirely. Showing Mina has many facets, and is not just a married woman who becomes too curious as time passed. Mina is very lacking in depth and because of that -and the POV issue- we really will never know anything about Mina. This is why this isn't a five-star review. These are massive flaws, but they're not the end of the world.

There is a lot of "only men are evil" happening, despite Carly's female friends being quite the problem and worthy of being knocked down pegs. Sexual assault gets swept under the rug, and a lot of other things happen.

I really recommend Dexter fans read They Never Learn, but don't take it to heart. All sexes and genders can be bad or evil, it's not one-sided like Scarlet would like you to believe. show less