Kind of a mess. Graphic sex and violence, but still felt juvenile. This was about psychopaths, and I think we were supposed to like them or root for them, but I didn't. I also think it was setting up a series. ( )

I get so tired of the psychopathic serial killer that, were this not one of this year’s Edgar nominees, I’d have probably passed it right by. That definitely would have been my loss, as the first time author cleverly turns the trope on its head and has you routing for the psychos. She breaks one time honored rule, but I won’t say what here, as it would be a spoiler. Looking forward to see what she comes up with next ( )

Psychopaths

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 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. ( )

I tend to enjoy stories in an academic setting, and Never Saw Me Coming was no exception! The premise behind this is really intriguing, with seven students attending college in Washington DC being part of a clinical study for psychopaths and finding themselves tangled in a series of murders, not knowing who to trust.

I liked the story being told from multiple POVs: Chloe, Charles and Andre couldn't be more different from each other and following the three of them was delightful. Chloe in particular, while not being always likeable, was extremely compelling as a character, and I could almost sympathise with her for wanting to kill her former childhood friend Will Bachman when her reasons for this became clear (although they were fairly easy to guess early on).

The characters were easily the best part of this as the plot was a bit thin for me. Two main plotlines are followed: Chloe's planned murder of Will Bachman and the investigation into the murder of a student in the psychopathy programme. While both were rich with potential, having both of them run at the same time ended up thinning them out somewhat. The endings for both felt very anticlimactic when they rolled around, and at times the narrative dragged a bit, feeling as though there was a fair bit of unnecessary padding in between.

That being said, I still found this to be a very compelling book. The characters were well-rounded and interesting, and I appreciated the attempt at providing a less stereotypical view of psychopaths (even though I can't judge how accurate this was). The plot could have used some tightening, and I could have easily done without the romance side-plot, but the whodunnit was still interesting enough with plenty of red herrings throughout.

I loved the actual writing in this, and especially all the dark humour, which worked really well. I thought this read more as an upper YA/NA in tone if not themes rather than an adult book, but I enjoy reading those as well, so I didn't mind too much.

Overall, a perfectly enjoyable book recommended especially to anyone loving an unreliable narrator.

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I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. ( )