He wasn’t afraid of me. That was his first mistake.
Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor and an even better serial killer. She’s made it her mission in life to track down predatory men on campus and kill them and she’s preparing for her biggest murder yet.
Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year at college – keeping her head down and focussing on work. But when her roommate Allison is assaulted at a party Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay.
When police start investigating the spate of local deaths, Scarlett starts to realise it’s only a matter of time before her secret life is exposed and everything she’s built comes crashing down with it…
Book Info: Print length: 344 pages. Publisher: Vintage Digital. Publication Date: 3 July 2025
My Thoughts:
Ooh a female vigilante serial killer. Thank you very much as this is right up my twisted street and the fact that one of my favourite authors, Samantha Downing, has given it a glowing recommendation is enough for me to instantly buy it. It’s also reduced to 99p for a limited time so grab it quickly.
We have 2 main characters. Scarlett is a brilliant English professor who has a very dark and deadly secret. In her spare time she is a vigilante serial killer murdering men who have got away with sexually abusing women. She’s clever and methodical, researches and watches her targets carefully and ensures each kill looks like a suicide or accident.
Carly is a young freshman trying to navigate through the early days of college having escaped a traumatic childhood. She’s trying to fit in on campus, but having suffered emotional abuse all her life, she’s wary and socially awkward.
Told from the perspectives of 2 very strong, morally complex female characters, the reader is taken on an emotional and compelling journey through Scarlett and Carly’s life.
They Never Learn confronts misogyny head-on. It delivers a very powerful punch of feminist rage and covers some very uncomfortable and triggering topics including sexual assault and emotional abuse.
If you loved Gone Girl or Killing Eve, then I think you will really enjoy this book.
