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Performance
Overall
Excellent, Unforgettable, Best of the nest
Very good, thoroughly enjoyed,
Good, Solid, Enjoyed many aspects
STAR RATINGS GUIDE
Aaaaaargh-mazing. Jon Ronson’s The Psychopath Test meets Alice Feeney’s Sometimes I Lie meets Scream (shout out 1996).
THE BIRDICT
💛 There I am just requesting a psychological thriller on NetGalley, as I am wont to do, vastly underestimating what a fantastic listen this would be. Because it is. Fantastic.
💙 Firstly, the concept is inventive and intriguing: Oh, we’ll just pump this college campus chock full of psychopaths and see what happens. (Grabs popcorn). But it’s the execution I can’t get over. It’s a whodunnit campus killer mystery with unreliable characters aplenty, an entrancing revenge storyline and a few extra crimes peppered in just for good measure. In other words, all it lacks is a dull moment.
🖤 My understanding of psychopathy is somewhere on the a-little-knowledge-dangerous-thing side of the expertise scale. But Vera Kurian’s approach to the subject seemed incredibly well-researched and intelligently nuanced (which totally tracks because she’s a scientist as well as a writer). Each psychopath is different, each is unique and well-rounded. And they’re likable! Well… mostly. Their motives were believable, their stories fascinating.
A big thanks: This honest review was written after listening to a NetGalley ALC from Vera Kurian, Penguin Random House UK Audio and Vintage Digital.
SQUAWKING THE TALK
🎧 This was my first Brittany Pressley listen and she was perfect for this. The performance was expertly modulated to keep the ears on their toes. You get the sense she’s planned out every character. When reading as Chloe, I imagined a sly smile on her face. And her interpretation of Chloe as slightly bored, condescending, dry and playful is deliciously mischievous.
🎧 I thought she was brilliant at differentiating characters. I do think this deserved a male narrator for Charles and Andre – because it’s worth it – but Pressley did a great job with male voices. Her approach reminded me of Julia Whelan.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SIMILAR AUDIOBOOKS
No spoilers for this one. Maybe next time!
Click For Spoilers
Never Saw Me Coming
THE BLURB
I've never met someone like me, but when I do, eventually, I think it will be like two wolves meeting in the night, sniffing and recognizing a fellow hunter.
Meet Chloe. First-year student, ordinary, legging-wearing, girl next door...and diagnosed psychopath with an IQ of 135. Her hobbies include yogalates, parties, and plotting to kill Will Bachman.
Chloe is part of a secret clinical study of young psychopaths run by the university's Psychology Department. Most psychopaths aren't criminals, but when a string of murders on campus causes upheaval, Chloe's private vendetta is sidelined. Partnered with fellow study participants she can't trust - and distracted by typical university life - Chloe has to walk the line between hunter and prey.
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