Never Saw Me Coming

September 1, 2021

DEBUT Chloe Sevre, a university student with clinical psychopathy, is one of seven students who have been recruited to participate in a psychological study, which takes up much of her time. When she's not checking in for mandated counseling, participating in psychological experiments, or completing random mood surveys, she's plotting. For six long years, she's waited to deliver vengeance. Now she's not only in the same city as the boy who raped her but at the very same school. Then two of the study participants are murdered. Suddenly, it's not just about the boy she wants to kill, but the hunter picking off members of her program one at a time. VERDICT Readers won't want to put down this fast and engaging debut novel, and they'll root for the characters who've been cast as villains; Chloe is a particular paradox, simultaneously deplorable and charming. Kurian seamlessly interweaves multiple perspectives, though there are enough different points of view to overwhelm some readers. Those with a strong sense of justice might also be turned off by the fact that Chloe's crimes go unpunished.--Vicki Briner, Broomfield, CO

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Starred review from August 1, 2021
Chloe Sevre has scored a full scholarship to John Adams University in DC in return for her participation in a groundbreaking study designed to influence the behavior of her and six other students diagnosed with psychopathy. Chloe plays along because it puts her in an excellent position to execute her carefully plotted revenge against frat boy Will for a childhood crime. Fellow participant Andre's diagnosis is based on a rage-filled spiral after his sister's death, and he also has a secret agenda. Chloe recognizes a kindred spirit in Will's fraternity brother, Charles, when he witnesses her making an impulsive, violent slip and proves his worth by helping to cover her tracks. When someone begins taking out the study's participants, Chloe realizes that if she's going to survive to kill Will, she needs Charles and Andre's help to take down the campus killer. Kurian expertly threads revenge and cat-and-mouse story arcs with Chloe's frank, show-stealing narration. This bar-raising debut exposes the gray areas in an often-misunderstood disorder and defies readers to root against its psychopathic antiheroes. Kurian's highly anticipated thriller will undoubtedly lead fans of Gone Girl, Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, and Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley novels to hope for Chloe's return.

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September 27, 2021
Eighteen-year-old Chloe Sevre, the narrator of Kurian’s splendid debut, is a freshman at John Adams University in Washington, D.C. She’s delighted to be in “a busy city with a relatively high murder rate,” because she has a plan that she has been nurturing for six years: to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who cruelly hurt her and lives in D.C. Chloe is one of seven students diagnosed as psychopaths receiving free tuition in exchange for participating in the university’s Multimethod Psychopathy Panel Study. It’s overseen by an earnest psychology professor who believes that, with the right direction, psychopaths can lead productive lives. Then one of the subjects of the study is fatally stabbed, and shortly thereafter another participant dies horribly. Chloe and two other surviving students, including the son of the Virginia state chairman for the Republican National Committee, realize they could be the next victims and do their best to band together to find the killer. Excellent pacing, sprightly narrative voices, and judicious dabs of wry humor make this a highly entertaining tale. Kurian’s refreshingly different slant on psychopathy marks her as a writer to watch. Agent: Rebecca Scherer, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

November 1, 2021

Chloe Sevre is a college freshman who gets excellent grades, loves Starbucks, and enjoys the occasional hookup with a good-looking frat boy. She is also a diagnosed psychopath. She and six of her classmates at John Adams College are there on full scholarships that are conditional on their participation in a psychiatry study tracking their moods and impulses. Chloe decides not to tell the researchers that she's about to carry out her plan to kill another college classmate, a childhood friend who had raped her years ago. But then two of the study's participants are murdered, and Chloe realizes that she's being stalked; she must figure out the culprit before she becomes a victim herself. Brittany Pressley ably voices the variety of characters. VERDICT Kurian's debut is entertainingly twisty and will appeal to listeners who enjoy an antihero.--Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.