I received a complimentary advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

HOW TO SPOT A PSYCHOPATH by MQ Webb

Published by: TBR
Publication date: April 20, 2022
Pages: 320
Genres: Psychological Thriller (classified by publisher); (and from me: thriller, a bit of police procedural, a bit mystery)
POV: Third person, past tense, told across multiple time periods: "Now" (following Oscar's POV throughout almost the entire book) intertwined "Then" (following Jess's POV), and nearly at the end there's a "Later" timeline comprised of different POVs
Narrator: Medium distance, trustworthy, strictly following either Oscar and Jess
Opening setting: Whitner Psychiatric Hospital
Other significant locations: a burger place; Jess's home
Number of named, identified or described characters: about 56

Publisher's Summary:

We’ve all wondered about someone... are they... how do I know?

How to Spot a Psychopath is a thoughtful, intelligent, psychological thriller full of conflicting accounts and sharp turns. How to Spot a Psychopath will keep you questioning who is hiding what, and why.

When four-year-old Mia Edwards goes missing on a play date, everyone suspects that Jessica Green knows what happened to her, especially Mia's mother, Holly, but Jessica isn't talking.

Psychiatrist, Dr. Oscar de la Nuit, is determined to save Jess from the same mistakes he's living with.

Will Jess lead to his redemption, or will she be his downfall?

Is Mia safe, and will Jess be able to return to the life she had before?

My Review:

This story opens a few weeks into the aftermath of a missing four-year-old Mia. Nearly everyone seems to think a journalist, Jessica Green, has kidnapped or killed the little girl. A psychiatrist, Oscar, secretly requests Jess to be transferred to Whitner, where he works, for analysis. When she is first brought into Whitner, Oscar wonders if she remembers him, so we are left to wonder about their shared history. We're also starting off curious about the potential love between Oscar and his co-worker, Hayley, since Oscar has divorced his ex- after some traumatic and divisive event.

The novel's start is promising and shows good craft knowledge, and it continued to propel me from chapter to chapter with some great cliffhangers along the way.

As the story unfolds, we learn about Oscar and Jess's individual histories that may be more similar than different. You learn about troubled dynamics and operations inside Whitner Psychiatric Hospital, which was interesting to me. I also liked seeing how some of the characters now trapped in the aftermath of a trauma are misreading facts, or at least I think they're facts--we'll see.

The narrative unfolds in two intertwined timelines known as "Now" and an earlier time known as "Then", and so far, the Now timeline is told through Oscar's POV (for most of the book) and the Then timeline follows Jess's POV starting maybe a month earlier yet moving swiftly towards present day, and nearly at the end there's a "Later" timeline. Great structure. The two timelines barrel through space and time on a collision course. These two characters (Oscar and Jess) share an unfolding similarity in their separate histories.

The middle of the book was fast-paced for me, and I enjoyed the logical progression of the story. Seeing inside a psychiatric hospital is interesting to me: politics, antics, patients and clinicians. It's a world I don't live in, so it was fun to explore.

At its heart, this book is a twisted tale exploring how we carry guilt, why we choose to blame ourselves and why we make horrible assumptions and decisions affecting other people in ways that might be destructive to them and to ourselves.

This story doubled and re-doubled its pace to cross the finish line after some neat surprises and twists. It was a satisfying, fun and exciting read.

You should read about psychs and psychos and decide what you think. ( )

Fast paced thriller. While I had part of the story figured out, it did keep me guessing until the end. The dual timelines kept the pace of the book moving well. I would have liked to have had more conflict between the characters. The motivation wasn't necessarily clear for the actions. Overall a solid read that was entertaining and fun. ( )

I was hoping for more from this psychological thriller but it really fell flat. There was not much movement in the plot and none of the characters were particularly likeable or relatable. I feel like the author only scratched the surface of a good storyline but didn’t dig deeply enough into the minds of any of the characters. ( )

When four-year-old Mia goes missing, journalist Jess comes under suspicion. Psychologist Oscar de la Nuit takes it upon himself to find out whether she's truly guilty.

How to Spot a Psychopath gives Big Little Lies vibes and rollercoaster energy. I stayed up past my bedtime several nights hoping to finish this book and solve the mystery. Several times throughout the book, the author lets you think you've figured it out, only to be thrown for another loop. Even in the last few chapters, the reader isn't quite sure whether the mystery of Mia's disappearance has really been solved. While the book is plot-heavy, we get to know Oscar and his colleagues well. We also learn just enough about the players in Mia's disappearance to connect with the characters, without giving too much away.

My only complaint about the story is that it seemed like Jess' journalism career would be more important to the plot, but we only got a glimpse of it.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries and doesn't want an easy solve. I'm looking forward to the next book in the Oscar de la Nuit series. ( )