Psychological Thriller Review: Never Saw Me Coming | Vera Kurian

If you are looking for an absolutely wild and compulsive psychological thriller (particularly one about psychopathy)—Vera Kurian’s Never Saw Me Coming is your next read! I didn’t go into this with any expectations, and I found it dark, fun, and a bit bonkers.

Chloe Sevre is not your average athleisure-wearing, honors student, college freshman. While Chloe may rock a pair of yoga pants with the best of them, find herself hooking up with a hot guy at a frat party, and chatting with the girls in the dorm, she’s also plotting to kill Will Bachman. Will was someone Chloe knew from childhood, and she’s made it her mission to get him back for something he did years ago.

When Chloe enrolls at John Adams University in Washington D.C., she’s one of seven students admitted with a full ride to participate in a study on psychopathy. Chloe and the other six students have all been diagnosed with psychopathy disorder. They don’t know who one another are, but in exchange for their tuition they have agreed to attend weekly sessions with the professor overseeing the study and wear a wristwatch that tracks their emotional states periodically.

Chloe has spent her life learning to mimic the emotions and behaviors of others around her. Now, she will put those skills to the test as she circles around Will, preparing to murder him. She may not feel fear or guilt, but she certainly feels vengeance. However, when one of the other students participating in the study is murdered in the psychology building, it becomes clear that one of the psychopaths is out to get the other ones. Chloe must shift her focus to identify the killer before she becomes the next victim.

While the book is primarily narrated by Chloe, there are also some chapters narrated by two other students enrolled in the psychopathy study—Charles and Andre. Charles is the stereotypical young, attractive psychopath (f you can consider a psychopath stereotypical). Andre, on the other hand, is not a psychopath. He faked his way into the study in exchange for the free tuition. Andre offers the reader the conscience and empathy we are lacking in the other perspectives, which added balance to the story. Chloe and Charles are the sort of characters who you shouldn’t like but you find yourself liking despite yourself. I guess that is the power of a psychopath, right? Manipulation!

The story has a lot of twists and turns along the way. The psychopathy study itself was fascinating! The cat and mouse game between Chloe and Will hooked me, and that story evolves and wraps up sooner than expected as the main focus of the book shifts to the person stalking the study participants. Chloe is a really great character—she’s smart and strategic. She doesn’t lack feelings, nor does she set out to harm others (without a strong case for it). She’s the prototype for someone born with psychopathy who with therapy could potentially go on to live a relatively normal life.

I had a lot of fun reading this one! The story was addictive and this is easily a read-in-one-day book. I would be interested in reading more about these characters or even a follow up to some things revealed in the ending. A tantalizing and compulsive psychological thriller for fans of the darker side of humanity!

Recommendations | Books to Check Out

If you like the twisted side of academic life set on a college campus, I have a few other books you might check out. The first is Tell Me Everything by Cambria Brockman, which is one of those books I don’t think got the recognition it deserved. In Tell Me Everything, a tight knit group of friends stick together throughout college, until a shocking murder tears them apart. I also recommend checking out Good Girls Lie by JT Ellison. This story is set at a prep school rather than a college campus, but delivers the same addictive, twisted vibes. Meanwhile if the psychopathy part intrigued you and you love an antihero, #FashionVictim by Amina Ahktar is everything you could want. Absolutely wild! I’d also recommend The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton for a villainous lead.

About the Book | Never Saw Me Coming

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.

Never Saw Me Coming is a compulsive, voice-driven thriller by an exciting new voice in fiction, that will keep you pinned to the page and rooting for a would-be killer. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

About the Author | Vera Kurian

Vera Kurian is a writer and scientist based in Washington DC. Her debut novel, NEVER SAW ME COMING (Park Row Books, 2021) was an Edgar Award nominee, was named one of the New York Times’ Best Thrillers of 2021, and has sold in 15 countries. Her short fiction has been published in magazines such as Glimmer Train, Day One, and The Pinch. Her second novel, A STEP PAST DARKNESS, is due to be published in February of 2024. She has a PhD in Social Psychology, where she studied intergroup relations, ideology, and quantitative methods. She blogs irregularly about writing, horror movies and pop culture/terrible TV. She enjoys existentialism and puppies. You can find her on Substack or Instagram.