Review: The Perfect Psychopath by Alice Hunter

   

Print Length: 352 pages

Publisher: Avon (July 22, 2025)

From Goodreads.com: THE PERFECT PSYCHOPATH HIDES IN PLAIN SIGHT…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 finds 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 the key to the killer’s identity lies buried in her past, Ellie’s world begins to unravel. ​

Because now she faces a terrifying the real monster might just be closer than she ever imagined.​

And with time running out, the price of uncovering the truth may be her own life…

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

The synopsis instantly drew me in (as tends to happen with this author I've figured out). And while on the whole I enjoyed this one more than I did some of the other stories I have read by them; personally, I would call this one more of a slow burn mystery rather than a psychological thriller. 

Don't get me wrong, it has all of the elements to make a good thriller - the still grieving sister who has more questions than answers, the in jail for life former serial killer who may or may not know more than he is letting on, the dogged detective who failed to solve a disappearance years ago, and of course, the bona fide psychopath who has seemingly picked up where the other left off. But when it comes to the story itself, things happen so slowly that even when "big things" were happening, I never felt any real sense of urgency. It felt more like a leisurely car ride through the countryside than a highspeed chase through the city. 

Part of this is due to the fact that once again, as in other books, Ellie is an unreliable narrator because she both flat out doesn't remember certain things from her past, and she is also unwilling to confront those memories that she may have written down (she has kept journals for years, but says there are some entries that she just can't bring herself to re-read for whatever reason). Honestly, I never understood why she didn't want to re-read those earlier passages especially when there might have been something in them that would have helped her help the detective in charge. 

To give credit where it is due, I will admit that I was a bit surprised by the outcome of this novel for two reasons. To start, the killer was not the person I had been anticipating, so that was a (pleasant) surprise. But then there was that one twist closer to the end that I'm sure they author meant to be one of those sit up straight, gasp out loud moments. But for me, it just wasn't. I was more confused by it than anything else. What do you mean this happened? Why? I felt the reason given was mediocre at best. I wanted more of that conflict, but what is more important, I needed to know what came once certain aspects of the new investigation had been carried out. What repercussions were there (if any)? 

As it stands that whole plot-line seemed very incomplete to me, and I would go so far as to say that even the closing chapter was unsatisfying because it was exactly the same as the opening one without any extra detail. Sure, we can take an educated guess at who the characters were at the end. However, I would have made that passage for one or the other, but not both. At least not without more detail. The first time I read it, I was intrigued. The second, confused as by that point we knew what had happened, so there could have been more detail included in the text. And if by chance someone else was involved in those texts (which I initially thought and would have made things so much more interesting), that could have been revealed as well. But sadly, it was not.

That being said, I'm sure this novel will appeal to those who are fans of this author, or those who like more mystery than thriller. I would read more from this author myself, as they seem to keep getting better every time.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.