The Outlier Paperback – August 6, 2024

This is a gripping thriller, written so compellingly, that you can easily see the movie unfold in your head as the chapters progress from the contrasting locations—Seattle to La Paz— to the rich characters that stay with you long after you put the book down. I thought the choice of anchoring the character development around the science and lived experience of psychopathy a fascinating one, adding an extra picante edge and interest to the plot. Beyond the novel, however, this is a timely subject. On the one hand, we are living with many prominent psychopaths in both public (long list of politicians) and private offices (CEOs score high on the psychopathy continuum.) While on the other, for average people living with this mental disorder, being a psychopath is sorely misunderstood and therefore needs certain myths aired. Way more nuanced than how it is portrayed in pop culture, like Cate, we may have friends or family or colleagues that are technically psychopaths but are nonetheless lovable, functioning members of society. So, in addition to a fun and entertaining read, I left with a more holistic understanding of the emotional dilemmas of living with this disorder, something I wouldn't have learned by reading a scientific report. I am paraphrasing here, but there was a comment at the end by Cate's business partner that she wasn't a friend to a "lab report" but to a real person, which encapsulates to me a bit a wisdom about transcending the labels modern medicine often puts on us. Whether it is ADHD or cancer or some other disability, we are more than our diagnoses and what the data or science says doesn't always map onto how we are living or seeing ourselves.

The book dragged a bit in the middle, but ultimately led to an exciting and visually immersive climax. I’m sure it’s going to get optioned as a movie. I wish the middle section had been better paced. But stick it out—a great summer read. Debut novel from an accomplished nonfiction author.

THE OUTLIER is a multilayered thriller dealing with the nature of one’s psyche and whether a psychopath can truly be rehabilitated. Eaves crafts a smartly conceived and brilliantly executed mystery with twists, secrets, and complex characters.Eaves surprised me with this book. I didn’t expect to invest in Cate, but this anti-hero was superbly developed, and her interactions, as well as her reactions, were candid. There was no sugarcoating or glossing over her lack of empathy or occasional desire to give in to hurting someone. Combined with the others in the story, it is easy for the reader to see how carefully constructed dynamics between everyone are. Then you have an environmental awareness directly tied to the suspense level of the narrative. It is one of the better eco-thrillers I have read in a while. And finally, there is the binge-able darkness of the human condition in which certain people are predisposed to more violence than others. The only thing I would have liked a little more was the background of the past of our psychopathic children. It sounded fascinating and the bit we got in Cate’s flashbacks and Hunter’s documents, pulled me further down the rabbit hole. I wanted more.THE OUTLIER is a unique thriller with a tense mystery pushing the boundaries of what people are capable of doing not only because of who they are, but what they believe in. I will be looking out for this author’s next book.

Can't believe this is the author's first book. So very good with great character development, suspense and a captivating story. Even some well done sex scene. I'm looking forward to book two. Well done.

I love a mystery thriller with a cool twist, and so I enjoyed this book primarily because of its anti-hero Cate. I cannot recall a book that I've read before where the protagonist is a diagnosed psychopath (albeit rehabilitated?). There are plenty of stories out there where the main characters are neurodivergent or even sociopathic, but not one that I know of where they've been clinically diagnosed psychopathic. A thriller where both the protagonist and antagonist are highly intelligent, socially aware yet lack basic empathy, and live by their own moral code? Fascinating.I also enjoyed the actual plot points and the way they wove together - the specific environmental and scientific issues at hand, a mysterious murder, and attempting to unravel Cate's murky past and her connection to another "outlier". The story is told first-person by Cate, and third-person by each of the other characters.

I like the writing style of the author.

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