Alice Hunter delivers a tense, addictive thriller in The Perfect Psychopath. The story follows Dr. Eleanor Spencer, a forensic psychologist whose past trauma resurfaces when women start disappearing, and the details echo her sister’s unsolved case.

Eleanor is a deeply flawed, intriguing protagonist, and her interactions with a manipulative convicted killer add a sinister layer to the plot. The pacing is mostly sharp, though it lags briefly in the middle. That said, the final twist completely caught me off guard and made the whole journey worth it.

A chilling exploration of memory, trauma, and deception, perfect for fans of psychological thrillers that keep you guessing.

A truly great psychological story. All the way throughEllie is trying to evaluate other people's minds and what they might have done over the loss of her sister. .Information is added throughout at an excellent pace and the twists continue right unti the end. The story is based upon how we are judging people's character or deep thoughts and why they do the things that they do. All the way through the question s raised who can you trust.
A superb story that starts and ends well.

Alice Hunter has done it again with another one of her binge-worthy suspense thrillers!
The Perfect Psychopath is a tense, taut thriller that pulls you along with it right to the last page.
I loved this book. Once I picked this novel up I didn’t put it down. Read in one sitting.
Not one moment did this book slow down to allow you to catch your breath.
The twist at the ending is so cleverly written that I was left thinking about it for a long time after.
Such an addictive read!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. Alice Hunter is a go to author for me, I have loved each of her books. What a great thriller. I can't imagine working with criminal minds in the prison, while also hoping to find out what happened to my sister. This was such an engaging thriller

The first couple of chapters set the scene well. We immediately feel really strong concern for Jess, willing her to say the truth. And, obviously, we are instantly enraged by Lewis. He deserves to have a taste of his own medicine.

When Jess speaks up, she is directed to a support group, and this is where she meets a bunch of women who ultimately change her life. The majority of the story is told through the narrative of Jess, so we do get to know her well, and through her, we then get to learn more about the women in the group.

Interspersed through the book is a mysterious point of view of The Caretaker, a secret identity. That first introduction is just wow, shocking. Whilst reading, I was going along with it nicely, and then the incident happened. The eye for an eye, and I just felt a bit unbalanced. Was what the caretaker doing justifiable? I can't say much about The Caretaker in this review as obviously it will give away too much about the plot.

We also get another narrative. And that is from Sophie Salam, the detective who is leading the case that is embroiled in the story. We get to see a work-life balance with Sophie, as she juggles being a detective and being a single mother to an autistic daughter. We are given tiny breadcrumbs of information that Sophie has a secret past.

This story does highlight domestic violence and how, even after speaking up. Sometimes justice isn't served. There is a whole moral debate going on, which I found myself changing my mind all the time with. Again, I can't say too much.

This is the first in a new series, which I didn't find out until the end, and I found that a nice surprise as now I am wondering how far things can go? What is Sophies secret? What about the men in the support groups? Loads of questions that I hope will get answered. I have seen some reviews that state that they felt the ending was rushed. But, given its the first book in a series, I like the ending, and it opens up for the next instalment.

What would you do to find out what happened to your sister? When a more recent crime indicates a possible link with her sister's cold case, Dr Eleanor Spencer is desperate to figure out what it all means. Desperate enough to seek the help of a serial killer - who is playing a cat and mouse game with her, because he knows more than he is telling...

A gripping thriller which manages to throw in multiple red herrings and plenty of twists to deliver a truly satisfying piece of story telling. This one is not to be missed. Look forward to more from this writer!

This had me on edge the entire time.

Ten out of ten for atmosphere, pace, and unsettling psychology. If you're a fan of forensic profiles, manipulative killers, and books that constantly make you second-guess yourself… this one’s for you.

The Perfect Psychopath follows Dr Eleanor Spencer, a respected psychologist whose life is turned upside down when a string of women are murdered — mirroring her own sister’s unsolved disappearance. Desperate, she turns to serial killer Lucas Hayne, whose cryptic mind games suggest the truth may lie closer to home than Ellie ever feared.

Told in dual POV with past journal entries woven in, this was sharp, gripping, and perfectly twisted. I loved the morally grey layers, the buried secrets, and the pacing that had me racing to the end.

I could totally see this being adapted for TV — think The Fall meets Criminal Minds, but with a British noir edge.

I really liked this one, once the story started it was really hard to put down. The twists were really well done and I had no idea what was coming next. Really great book

2.5 stars

Ah man, I had a hard time getting through this one. It was a very slow burn and it didn’t pick up until the last quarter of the book. I struggled to submerse myself into this story and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

An excellent psychological thriller about Eleanor a prison psychologist and Lucas a psychopath prisoner who she regularly visits. It appears Lucy's may have been involved in the abduction of Eleanor's sister who disappeared several years ago. Full of twists this book doesn't disappoint.

I really enjoyed this book. I read a lot of thrillers, and therefore it can become really 'samey', formulaic and repetitive. This book was like a breath of fresh air. It kept me reading, it kept me on my toes and I had no idea where the plot was going to next.
Such an original idea, and written in such a style that you don't ever want to put the book down!

I have not enjoyed all of Alice Hunters previous books, but this one was a corker. Thoroughly recommend!

I've absolutely loved this slow-burn phyclogical thriller. Not only is there an older case, of who killed Ellie’s sister, but who is the copycat killer?

Ellie, the psychologist, tries to get into the mind of a psychopath to find out why her sister was murdered.

Full of mind games. I didn't see the reveal coming

This was flippin brilliant. I couldn’t put this down. I love all @alicehunter_author books, but this one feels like the one I didn’t know I was waiting for.

This book is set in a prison - I have got used to reading books set in prisons and having to push aside the thoughts of ‘well that wouldn’t happen’, as I am sure we all do when we read books set in an industry we work in, and thats okay. BUT this book nails it, you can tell the author has the knowledge and experience to do the setting justice and it gives the book such extra authenticity when reading.

The story - Ellie (prison psych) is working with a serial killer in prison. Her sister went missing five years ago. She gets the feeling she is being watched.

I loved the story and the relationship between Ellie and Lucas. The anticipation of if he would trick her into divulging personal information, the games between them.

I would love to see more of Lucas, so @alicehunter_author can we have a prequel with Lucas’s story please?! 😂😁 he is such a great character, it would be a shame not to mine him!

Thanks to @netgalley @avonbooksuk and @alicehunter_author for the ARC.

This reads very quickly. The chapters are short; POVs and timelines are clearly identified. Although not my favourite read by Alice Hunter, I enjoyed it.
Thank You to NetGalley, Avon Books UK, and Alice Hunter for
the exclusive access to read this ARC.

Intense and terrifying this is a fabulous thriller that keeps you hooked from the very first page. With a plot I wished I had thought of. This book twists and turns to it’s nail biting conclusion.

Things I loved:
• the blurb
• the writing style
• The mystery itself

What didn’t land for me:

•The ending wasn’t that surprising sadly & actually left me with more questions as it felt a little under developed
• I didn’t love the characters but I did find myself thinking I’d read more with Sarah in, even if she was willing to accept the ending & broke all the rules haha

Overall, I preferred bad Apple to this one, but it was still a decent read & I can imagine lots of people loving it!

The Perfect Psychopath is a spellbinding story, unputdownable, twisty, scary and very clever!           💫💫💫💫💫

Dr. Eleanor Spencer is a psychiatrist working in a prison, with very bad men. When women start to vanish, Dr. Spencer will need to face an unsolved case from the past. 

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books Uk for this ARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

The Perfect Psychopath follows the story of a psychologist Dr. Eleanor Spencer. She is doing a case study on a prisoner, Lucas who is notorious serial killer. Women has started disappearing and their bodies shows the similar death--i.e. Lucas used to kill women in similar fashion and someone seems to be copying what Lucas did. However, every time Ellie tries to interview Lucas, Lucas tries to steer her away from the interview by asking personal questions. Five years ago, Ellie's sister Grace mysteriously disappeared. Now a body of a woman is found wearing Grace's necklace and holding Grace's ID. Together with DS Sarah Knight, Ellie and Sarah must find this copy cat killer before too late.

This was a fast paced thriller, filled with twists and turns. You get snippets of journal entries written by Ellie. You also see a mysterious killer who is seemingly hunting women to kill. This was well written and will really put you at the edge of the seat. I have read this author's The Serial Killer's Wife before which I read in one go and which I really enjoyed and this was also actually really good. Overall, I will give this book a 4.5 star rating.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Dr Eleanor Spencer is a respected forensic psychologist with a seemingly perfect life. But when a series of women start to vanish, she's haunted by the memory of her sister's disappearance and she herself drawn into the chilling investigation. As the body count rises and her paranoia deepens, Ellie is forced to delve into the mind of a monster to uncover the truth. Her work leads her to Lucas Hayne, a notorious serial killer now behind bars. But when Lucas cryptically hints that that the key to the killer's identity lies buried in her past. Ellie's world begins to unravel.

Once you open up this book, you get entwined in the pages of this cleverly crafted story.Dr Eleanor Spencer works in a Cat B prison as a forensic psychologist. She's currently working with serial killer Lucas Hayne. Ellie's (Eleanor) sister disappeared five years ago. Then there's a spate of murders that all have the same MO.

This is a chilling read with plenty of twists. I was second guessing throughout the entire book. The pace is fast. There was a few times I had to suspend my beliefs, but i don't mind if the story is good.

Published 22nd May 2o25

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AvonBooksUK and the author #AliceHUnteer for my ARc of #ThePerfectPsychologist in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a perfect edge of the seat thriller. it left me breathless, uneasy and wanting more.
Girls are vanishing and found murdered in horrific circumstances. This is a brilliantly written psychological book, leaving the reader guessing until the end. Alice Hunter has made the story and characters so believable, A serial killer is on the loose, will they get to him in time before he takes another girl?