This was a quick and easy read that drew me in from the very start and I couldn't put it down. There was a good level of suspense and atmosphere that kept me guessing all the way through

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Michele Fleming’s The Psychopathy Project is a cerebral thriller that dares to ask: what happens when those who study psychopaths become targets themselves? Set within the cloistered halls of Burley Griffin University, the novel follows Dr. Emilia Dalton, a young psychology academic whose research into psychopathy takes a deadly turn when her mentor is murdered—and then another colleague. As suspicion coils around the lab, Emilia must navigate a minefield of academic ambition, buried secrets, and the chilling possibility that the killer is one of their own.

Fleming, a former university professor with a background in psychology, brings authenticity to the academic setting and a nuanced understanding of the psychological terrain. The novel is steeped in tension, but it’s not just a whodunnit—it’s a whydunnit. The murders are not random; they’re methodical, almost clinical, and the deeper Emilia digs, the more the line between researcher and subject begins to blur.

What makes The Psychopathy Project stand out is its layered approach to suspense. It’s a murder mystery, yes, but also a meditation on trust, power, and the ethics of psychological inquiry. The characters are sharply drawn, particularly Emilia, whose evolution from cautious academic to reluctant investigator is both believable and compelling.

Fleming’s prose is clean and deliberate, with just enough emotional undercurrent to keep the reader tethered to Emilia’s unraveling world. The pacing is brisk, the twists well-timed, and the final reveal—while shocking—feels earned.

An excellent, enjoyable read.

Typical murder mystery with a twist. Not sure I loved the writing style of this author. It was a quick read with a lot of action.

Thank you NetGalley! I really wanted to like this one and I did enjoy parts of it. It was definitely a slow burn but a little too slow. And it unfortunately fell flat and did live up to my expectations

Twisty academia murder mystery with just enough emotional chaos to keep me hooked.

This one surprised me (in a good way). The Psychopathy Project is part campus thriller, part psychological puzzle, part slow-burn emotional unraveling, and I was into it. Emilia makes for a solid lead—she’s smart, relatable, and just unhinged enough to start suspecting everyone (same, girl). The academic psychopathy research angle gives it a fun, nerdy edge, and the tension builds steadily as lab members start dropping like flies.

Is it a little extra at times? Sure. But I like my murder plots messy and my red herrings plentiful. The romance subplot was surprisingly tender too, which helped balance out the darkness. The pacing drags just a bit in the middle, and I saw one of the twists coming—but there was enough misdirection to keep me second-guessing myself until the very end.

It’s not trying to reinvent the murder mystery wheel, but it is trying to make you wonder if you could be working next to a psychopath. (Spoiler alert: you probably already are.)

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review—and for the existential dread.

I really enjoyed the plot behind this book, begging the question, what is or what makes a psychopath? The book follows a student when two of her classmates are murdered, to find the answer to that question before she is possibly the next target. Murder mystery to it's fullest. However, I felt this read lacked thrill, shock, suspense and that psychological thriller vibe that I was expecting from not only the genre, but the title as well. The positive feedback from me was the transitions throughout from the main character and the others and all loose ends are tied up at the ending. Overall, I gave this one a 3.5. Great plot, smooth transitions, and I overall liked the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc!

Although this was a bit slow at first, once the plot picked up I was interested to see it to the end. Staff at a university are working on a psychopathy project, until they start dying. Essentially everyone is sleeping together murking the investigation further.

I actually really loved this one! I’d set my book down for awhile and found I kept thinking about the story. I mostly liked the main character until closer til the end and then she got on my nerves BIG time. Trying to leave a review without spoiling anything but I had my suspicions about a few characters from the start, but couldn’t place why. It all ties together very nicely at the end.

How do you identify a psychopath? That’s the question Dr Emilia Dalton, a young psychology academic, and her colleagues are trying to answer! Good book! This book had good suspense, mystery, murder, intriguing, and a few shocking moments! The story was interesting, it wasn’t one of my all time favorite but still worth reading! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

The premise of this was interesting, as psychopaths do live among us and being an academic the setting and description of that was good. The pacing could be improved in this story as some parts there was a lot packed in and others not a lot happened in a lot of words.

I didn’t see the twists and turns coming and I really enjoyed the first 30% the most.

I think the pacing felt oddly timed from 30-70% as things got very chaotic but there would be stretches of calm as well. This might be preferred for many readers but for me it felt a bit clonky and it felt like filler combined with the meat of the book.

In other words the twists and turns are intense but the pacing felt weird. It’s hard to explain and might simply be because it’s the ARC on my ereader versus the physical book as I can’t pin point an exact element.

With that being said, this is still a great twisty turner.

There are heavy references to a lab project as well as entries while working on this study so be aware that the formatting is varied throughout the book and there are a lot of details on the study.

While I personally feel this thriller wasn’t for me, I think it’s still a good twisty thriller and it’s got a great cover. 3.5 rounding up to 4.

Thank you for the eARC. I appreciate the opportunity to leave honest feedback voluntarily.

so much exciting and tense moments in this book. way more than i was expecting. a great whodunit with extra spins in between.you are trying to link also the whys to the who and Michele makes you feel almost everything and anything. and when i think ive got to grips with where this might go it delights me again with a new intriguing plot point. was this to do with their research and oh the dark irony if people researching psychopaths are being killed by one.

A book about a team studying psychopathy... I am in. Dr. Emilia Dalton has to take matters into her own hands when two of her colleagues are murdered. There are secrets, ambitions, and a killer on the loose. This story is full of tension and suspense. There was a few slower parts but overall I really enjoyed this murder mystery.

The Psychopathy Project starts off slow and initially feels a bit shallow, but things change quickly. After two campus murders, the plot thickens—and by the end of Part 1, a totally unexpected character is arrested. That twist hooked me. I devoured Part 2, which ends with another surprise that sets up Part 3 perfectly. The psychological study finally comes into play, and while I correctly guessed the general outcome, there was still one final twist I didn’t see coming. I'm still undecided if I loved or hated the ending, but it definitely left an impression.

Firstly thank you for my chance to read and review this book.
As a psychology student this caught my eye immediately and had an intriguing premise.
This was an enjoyable read that explored a fascinating topic.
At times the dialogue and writing was a bit awkward and lacked a natural flow for me personally .
However I connected with the lead character and what a journey she went on .
Fast paced , exciting and engaging.

This is the book for you if you enjoy a quick read, but a slow burn and you don’t mind guessing the twist early on.

I was very excited by the premise of this book but I don’t think I was expected to have known so early on what the reveal would be, I also found this quite unrewarding as a slow burn, it could use a little more pace.

This was a quick and easy read although it is a slow burn. It is pretty twisty but a little predictable in places. Overall it was an entertaining read.

This was fun. The main reveal was clear very early on but there is enough other stuff going on so that doesn’t really matter as there’s still plenty to think about.

It was nice and light but with a real sense of dread so was well done for what it is. How some of the relationships evolved was well observed.

3.5 Stars
Thank you for Troubador, @NetGalley and Michelle Fleming for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
"How do you identify with a psychopath?"
The Psychopathy Project is a mystery/thriller that follows Dr. Emila Dalton as she suspects she is in danger after her colleagues are murdered during a study on...psychopaths. Was this study correlated to the murders? Was she next? It was fast-paced with action, and twists. Overall, it was a quick thriller read.
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I read this very quickly and was intrigued by the premise and an academic setting as I used to be one. Most of it I enjoyed but easily guessed early in the book who the culprit was. However, I found the resolution to be unlikely and the writing itself to be too much « telling » and not enough « showing ». The characters were shallow and poorly drawn. Nevertheless it continued to hold my interest and kept me turning the pages which is no mean feat.
Thanks to the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Quick and easy to read, but if you don’t like slow burns this is not for you. I enjoyed this and it was definitely entertaining.

Thanks to NetGalley & Troubador for the chance to read this book

So completely transparent here, I honestly thought about DNFing this book, the pick up was a bit slow for me, I would say maybe the first third of the book had me kind of bored but I thankfully picked it back up and was like "no, we're gonna get through this!" and I'm really glad I did, it def picked up and ended up getting really good. I knew who was doing it all pretty much the whole time but funny enough that only made me wanna get through it more so I could see how it all played out. There was still a bit of a twist at the end for me to be surprised about, no spoilers read it yourself to find out more!

When collegues start dying at the University, where Dr. Emilia Dalton, a young psychology academic works she finds herself thinking that it could be someone they all know and possibly work with.

This is a suspenseful read and filled with intrigue. I loved the setting of the University and the plot was quite an insight into the the doctors working environemnt.

It was a quick read for me as I was hooked from the start and I was not disappointed with the end.

Perfect reading