A dark and twisted tale, They Never Learn by Layne Fargo is just brilliant. It’s a raw psychological/crime thriller that will keep readers up at night as they devour a story about two women who give bad men exactly what they deserve.

Meet Scarlett Clarke, English professor at Gorman University. For 16 years she has kept a very dark secret. She is a killer. But not just any killer. Scarlett, in the vein of Dexter, kills bad men. She finds men who think they can get away with treating women badly. And once she identifies her next target, she stalks them, she gets to know their schedule better than they do, and she plans their murder down to the smallest detail. And she has never been caught.

This is also the story of Carly Schiller, a first-year student at the same university. She’s a shy, bookish girl who struggles to fit in and make friends. Now that she’s away from home, she can put her emotionally abusive father in the rear-view mirror and focus on her studies. Except that her new roommate isn’t on the same page. Still, university life is an eye opener for Carly, and will change her life forever.

How these two characters of Scarlett and Carly intertwine becomes clear about halfway through. Two very different women with strong feelings.

The Bottom Line: They Never Learn is very twisted in all the right ways, just as it’s funny and it’s completely addictive. Crime lovers will fly through this book just like I did. Easily all the stars and one of the best books I’ve read in 2020. I am off to get myself a copy of Layne’s first book, Temper now.

Thanks so much to Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley for my copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.