Never Saw Me Coming

i really enjoyed this. normally i get annoyed when there's a psychopath in a thriller as it feels like lazy writing, but here the trope is turned entirely on its head. so instead of someone being found out as a sociopath (used interchangeably with psychopath here) we are surrounded by them in this book and we know it from early on. so we never know if what they're saying is the truth or a lie, we never know who to trust or if they are really working together or not. it takes the unreliable narrator to an entire different place and i really love it when authors play like that. so fun and interesting. plus she interweaves black lives matter protests and antifascist protests in throughout in a way that adds really nicely to the story but show more is also such a good contrast to what is happening on the campus setting, with the danger of these students who are seemingly being hunted. and it gives a nice background to orient us in time and place. i particularly love that the murderer (i mean, of the students, of course our main character murders too) was theoretically the "normal" one and also that the explanation for working with this population, even when they're known to be violent, given by the professor was one of such humanity and expansive love.

an excellent first novel, i will definitely read her again. show less

I had pretty much given up on reading suspense thrillers because they are either alternate versions of plots I've already read or try to out-do other books by throwing in plot twists, each more over-the-top than the last, until the resolution feels like a cheat.

This book is not particularly suspenseful or thrilling but it's compelling! The premise is unique, the writing is smart but accessible, the characters are believable (for psychopaths), and Kurian keeps the reader guessing through careful plotting rather than outrageous twists. And, I'm not sure how, but she even makes some very troubled characters likable and relatable!

In all candor, "Never Saw Me Coming" had me wondering numerous times when I would see it ending. The premise is intriguing: A program that aims to better understand and help psychopaths. But I have to disagree with some glowing reviews that described Kurlan's work as a "fast-paced thriller." I almost stopped reading about halfway through the work. In my estimation, the same creative yarn could have been spun more effectively if it was at least 30% shorter and hadn't tried to develop as many characters.

Kurian's debut novel is a welcome surprise making her a writer I'm going to watch. This well-plotted foray into a world of college psychopaths is a must read for anyone looking for a crime thriller unlike others. The main characters are all psychopaths enrolled in a secret program at a college who are there on full ride scholarships. Shortly into her first semester, one of the psychopaths in the study is murdered and psychopath honor student Chloe Sevre begins her quest to determine who the others in the program are and to find the murderer before she is the next victim. There are other thriller stories told from a psychopath's point of view but Kurian manages to make Chloe and some of the others in the program very human and relatable show more while preserving their extreme differences from others. show less

Enormously fun and lively thriller with a high concept premise - an American university offers a program for young people diagnosed as psychopaths, where they will pay all of their fees in exchange for them participating in a series of surveys and interactive social experiments - and agree to wear a smartwatch that tracks their movements. One of the partakers is Chloe, expert at mimicking girly guilelessness and wholesome extroversion while she plots to murder the boy who attacked her as a child, and whose plans are brutally shaken up when someone starts murdering the other students on the program. Somehow she must forge alliances with her fellow program members to find the killer, which is a big ask when everybody is a conscienceless show more psychopath...

This book was like a refreshing can of something fizzy - the interactions between the program members are a joy, and the plot full of sharp turns and surprises. I quickly became quite fond of this disparate gang of plotting, scheming young monsters. Can't remember reading something I enjoyed so much in ages. Highly recommended. show less

I love dark acedemia novels and this one I could not put down. Chloe is one of 7 students that are in a unique study involving psychopaths. Chloe has been planning revenge to kill Max and he also goes to school there. Her plan to kill him is so detailed and organized.

Plans do need to be shifted when dead students are found murdered. Her and some other psychopaths try to collaborate, but really none of them believes or trust the others…because who would trust a psychopath?

I read this in one sitting and was quite captivated with hearing thought from a true psycho!

College students participating in a psych experiment? Yes, please. I collect those for fun. Give me a Milgram (that's the one where average 1950's housewives and business men shock another person for a shockingly long time, just because they are told to), or a Marshmallow (that's the one where toddlers who can manage to wait to eat the marshmallow get two instead) or the Stanford Prison Experiment. That's the one with actual college students posing as guards who turn into fascists. The twist is the college students in Vera Kurian's novel are all psychopaths who are being hunted by a serial killer. While not as charming as Dexter and lacking any moral purpose, 'coed' Chloe is an interesting and entertaining character with her detailed show more long term planning and sudden spectacular lack of impulse control. But she is only one of the characters. There are so many suspects to choose from, it will keep you guessing until the end. show less