This was quite the psychological thriller featuring a psychologist as the lead! Dr. Eleanor Spencer is trying to come to terms with the mysterious and terrible loss of her sister which came to light again after a recent string of murders.
Her job takes her into prison where she talks to serial killers. She is talking to Lucas Hayne, a serial killer who seems to have knowledge of her sister’s disappearance and seems to have a connection to the recent murders too. How can he when he’s on the inside?
Lots of twists and turns and points of view in this one. Including a Detective who seems to be personally motivated to solve the case.
I definitely did not expect the ending. The book picked up its pace in the last few chapters. An interesting look into the minds of quite a few of the characters from an author with personal experience going into prisons.
Thanks to AvonbooksUK and NetGalley for the ARC!

Lucas Hayne shouldn't know anything about the current disappearance and murder of women but he does. Dr. Eleanor-Ellie-Spencer must plumb his evil mind to get the information law enforcement needs to find a real villain as well as answers to the mystery of her sister's disappearance. It's a bit trope-y, what with Lucas having info about Ellie's past and the threat to her, but that doesn't mean you won't find yourself turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Nicely paced.

I had read one book previously by this author, and although I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book I read, I was eager to give this author another chance as I’d heard so many good things about her, and this book didn’t disappoint! I throughly enjoyed this plot from start to finish, and if you’re looking for a thriller that holds your attention and delivers surprising twists, then you need to give this a read!

The premise was super interesting to me, and I thought the author executed it perfectly. One small critique I have is that after the killer was revealed, we didn’t get any more chapters from their perspective, which I would have liked. The killer was a complete shock to me, and I was hoping for some chapters from the killer’s perspective so we could see inside their mind a little bit. I also would have liked more of a showdown when the killer was outed, and I felt the reveal was kind of rushed. Apart from that, this book was amazing and I’m so excited to read more by this author in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Psychopath by Alice Hunter is a psychological thriller with a chilling premise: a respected psychologist drawn into a disturbing investigation that forces her to confront the darkness of her past. The description pulled me in right away and the plot promised an intense, twisty ride.

However, the book was a slow burn for me. I didn’t find myself fully engaged until around the 60% mark, and even then, it didn’t quite reach that ‘unputdownable’ level. The writing style may not have been the best fit for me personally - I never quite lost myself in the story the way I hoped. I was constantly aware I was reading, waiting for something to truly pull me in.

The plot itself was unpredictable and the ending tied things together well, but it lacked the punch I expected. I hovered between a 3⭐️ and 4⭐️ rating before settling on 3, simply because while the final twist was unexpected, it didn’t deliver the emotional or narrative payoff I was hoping for.

Character-wise, I didn’t feel strongly about most of them - except for Lucas, the convicted killer. His presence and the dynamics around his interactions added intrigue and were some of the more compelling parts of the book. Otherwise, I didn’t feel deeply connected or invested in the characters, which made the reading experience feel more detached.

That said, I do think others will enjoy this, especially fans of slow-burning psychological thrillers with dark, layered mysteries. This one may not have left a lasting impression on me, but I’m still curious to explore more of Alice Hunter’s work to see if another title clicks better.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

More of a mystery than a thriller I would say, I did not see the ending coming at all and kind of wonder if there might be a sequel?

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The Perfect Psychopath will keep you guessing all the way to the end.
Dr Eleanor Spencer is a well respected forensic psychologist, she works in a prison with prisoners there on life sentences. Eleanor’s younger sister went missing years ago and has been shrouded in grief ever since, it was suspected that she was murdered by a serial killer but as her body was never found this is unfounded. Eleanor’s memory of the past is very sketchy, there is a lot she doesn’t remember or does she? Now there is a serial killer in Eleanor’s town and it is raking up the past. Detective Sarah Knight and Eleanor work together to try and get information out of a prisoner and he seems to know more than he should. Who is the killer and is Eleanor next?
This was a decent read, I liked the short chapters making it easy to pick up and put down even when you’ve not much time. I enjoyed the multiple POV giving a deeper insight to all the main characters. The storyline was a little slow at times but that didn’t bother me in this book. The ending was everything I’d hoped it would be and I didn’t get who the killer was, I lead myself up a garden path that was wrong and did think I’d got it but nope I was wrong! Another decent read from Alice Hunter and can’t wait to see where she’ll go next.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Avon Books Uk for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Psychopath is the first novel I have read of Alice Hunter. She has another novel, The Serial Killers Wife which is now a series available on Prime Video - I will start watching tonight.

The Perfect Psychopath is about Dr. Eleanor Spencer is a respected forensic psychologist who works at a prison with prisoners who will never get out of prison and that includes the serial killer, Lucas Hayne. Eleanor lost a sister many years ago and she was never found. Eleanor is an unreliable narrator as she doesn't quite remember everything in her past but she has glimmers of these memories and tries to retrieve them through writing in journals. I am not a fan of the use of an unreliable narrator.

Now there is a serial killer in Eleanor town and along with detective Sarah Knight they are trying to get Lucas Hayne to share information about the ways in which a serial killer works. There is much tension and drama to keep the story moving. I liked the psychology research parts of the novel specifically and I felt like she described the prison environment well.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Avon Books in exchange for an honest review.

I've been in a bit of a reading slump so ot dod take a false start or two but before I knew it, I couldn't put it down! What a book!! It gives you everything you could want. The characters are vividly brought to life, there are so so many twists and turns. It's all so well plotted out and it never feels like it's dragging or slowing down. I was so invested and couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Its just the perfect book to get lost in for a weekend!!! Loved it

Firstly, huge thank youfor the ARC 🩷 This one kept me guessing from the start. I really thought I knew how it was going to end, seemed so obvious. But I was so wrong! It kept me gripped & really got me out of the reading slump I was in following my previous DNF. After the ending, I did feel slightly disappointed as I felt there were still questions to be answered but that is completely personal preference & doesn't take away from a really good story!

Gripping from beginning to the end. This is all about Ellie, she works as a prison psychologist, interviewing the prisoner's in the hope of reducing the risk of violence in the prison. She's focused on Lucas as her main interviewee or source, In the back ground a killer awakes . Ellie's sister is missing

Loved this book it had so many twists and turns, clues and dead ends. I was captivated from the beginning.
Well done on all fronts.

The perfect psychopath is a gripping thriller. From page 1 I was invested and this continued right to the explosive ending.

Ellie is a psychologist working with serial killers, while also trying to find out what happened to her sister who disappeared some years ago.

Plenty of secrets long hidden are about to be revealed and the twists and turns will keep you guessing. A complex plot that really keeps you enthralled.

Great storyline. It had me hooked from page 1.
Riveting and compelling, I could not wait to read the next chapter.
An explosive ending with a what the WTF did I just read. Totally floored me,I did not see that ending coming.
Excellent!

This was a brilliant read with intelligent twists and a fabulous shock ending. I really liked Ellie and thought she was a great character. Full of vulnerability and human flaws. Also her interviews with the psychopath were fascinating. I must have changed my mind a hundred times as to who the killer was!

Really enjoyed this one, great characters and an intriguing storyline that I was loving! This author is an autobuy for me

What constitutes the perfect psychopath? As a psychologist Dr Ellie Spencer is in a position to answer that question. She works in a prison, evaluating inmates prior to parole hearings or to assess whether they are a danger to others. Five years previously Ellie’s sister Grace disappeared and has never been found. A recent murder now has links to Grace and Ellie wants answers. She meets with a lifer, Lucas Hayne, as part of her job, a serial killer who she feels knows the mind of someone who could be responsible. While knowing he is not directly involved in either crime, she feels he knows something. Does he? Or is he just playing her? As Ellie’s obsession to get to the truth escalates, she puts herself into increasingly dangerous situations much to the distress of her husband, Michael. As the truth finally realises, lives are changed forever with some huge twists revealed. A real page turner with some heart pounding and chilling revelations.

Ellie Spencer is psychologist doing research on serial killers. One of the serial killers seems to know more about Ellie than he should. This is a tense read. Totally unexpected revelations as the plot unfolded

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC!!

I loved the collaboration of a psychologist with the police in this book. I absolutely love a story line with any psychology links. The end had my mouth agape. I definitely did not see the story leading there.

This is my first book by Alice, although I do own all of her others, they’ll certainly be bumped up my tbr now! Nice short, snappy chapters with a multiple POV, we have Ellie, Sarah and an unknown but also some different formats such as journal entries which I loved! I wasn’t sure if I liked Ellie all that much, she seemed quite stand offish towards her mum but the more you get to know her and understand the family dynamic it makes sense. I got towards the end thinking it was all being wrapped up nicely, well wasn’t I wrong, I didn’t see the twist coming at all! If you’re looking for a thriller to keep you gripped, this is it!

I feel like I'm being spoilt with some great psychological thrillers at the moment! Another gripping, tense and suspenseful read. It's quite fast paced and leads you down so many different paths. Whilst I didn't see the ending coming at all, it wasn't quite as shocking or jaw-dropping as I had hoped. That being said, this book was full of great twists and turns, and characters I constantly switched between trusting and hating. Another great Alice Hunter book!

I really enjoyed The Perfect Psychopath by Alice Hunter. The past few books from the author have left me feeling a little flat after her debut novel being such a huge hit with me. This, however, is back up there as a great read.

It is captivating and intriguing. I always like reading about criminals and psychopaths and love to read it from a different POV of a therapist. It is always interesting in trying to peer into the inner workings of how the perpetrators of crime feel and work.

There are a few twists that most probably won't see coming and will have you turning the pages to see the crime solved.

Highly recommend.