Book Review: Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 400 pages

Published: September 16, 2019

Publisher: Park Row

Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Fiction

Synopsis:

Meet Chloe Sevre. She’s a freshman honor student, a leggings-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. Her hobbies include yogalates, frat parties, and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her.

Chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study for psychopaths—students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements.

When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of her fellow psychopaths—and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath.

What do you get when a group of psychopaths come together to hunt a serial killer on a college campus? One very inventive thriller. Kurian has written a creative mystery that is perfect for readers who enjoy shows like “Veronica Mars” and “Riverdale”. You would never think that a group of psychopaths could convincingly try to solve a mystery together, especially when they don’t trust one another. However, Kurian has convincingly made this story work. As the characters don’t trust one another, you as the reader are not trusting what you are reading. Could you be reading the perspective of a murderer? Who knows?! You have a fun time trying to figure out a mystery that is both suspenseful and fast-paced.

However, there were times when I felt the story dragged on. While reading it, I thought it was just getting tedious, and the story was not going anywhere. I felt the story would have been more convincing if the book was in one perspective instead of three. The changing perspectives jarred the plot. You’re getting interested in the scene, and then suddenly it changes to something else. Some readers will choose to give up because of this, and that would be a shame since it is an intriguing plot concept to read. Another issue was the anti-climatic ending. For a book with an intriguing title, I saw this predictable ending coming. I found it to be disappointing, and it could have ended differently and obviously, much better.

Solid and innovative debut, Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian is a fast-paced mystery. It has great potential to draw new adult readers into the mystery genre. Although it drags in the middle, readers should continue reading it. They will certainly enjoy the ride they embark on.