For Your Own Good @smariedowning @BerkleyPub #suspense #mystery #thriller @JanBelisle @absltmom

Jan’s review

Featuring a dark and devious teacher/protagonist who shows little mercy to students he dislikes, the book was fast-paced and unpredictable with over-the-top character development. 

Oh, Teddy, you so deserved the Teacher of the Year Award, and have the plaque to prove it. If only you received the respect and accolades you deserve. You devious, cunning man! You just took 1^st place for my favorite psychopath! And what better place to use your finely honed skills than a private elite school?  No one escapes your solution to problems.You will do anything  for your students. At least the ones who deserve it. It’s all for their own good, even if they don’t understand.  Right? Whoops, you sometimes make a little mistake but collateral damage is nothing to worry about. You will fix it.

And that’s all I will say about the plot! It’s such fun to discover it for yourself. Just know Teddy isn’t the only devious character at play here at #HomicideHigh 

It was SO FUN to be inside Teddy’s head, and listen to his thought processes. The characterization of the others were just as fun and over-the-top as Teddy, and kept me laughing at the dark humor. I haven’t had this much fun reading about a group of characters in a very long time. 

I listened to the audio and the narrator was EXCELLENT in the role, making a terrific book even better. I struggled to press pause and went looking for projects around the house just to get more listening time. This unique and deliciously devious story grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let go until the very last page, and then I was sorry it was over.

I don’t give out 5 stars lightly, and this will be on my list of top books of 2021. 

·      This was a buddy read with Marialyce and one we both loved!

Marialyce’s review

Welcome to Belmont Academy where the teachers have more “issues” than the teenage students! One of the teachers, Teddy Crutcher, has just won the coveted “Teacher of the Year” award receiving a plaque and what he hopes will be the acclaim he rightfully deserves. Teddy is an envious sort of fellow, in addition to his other “charms”, so when his day of glory comes to a foul end, due to the accidental death of a parent, he is crushed.

As jealousy works its way into Teddy’s soul, which by now is turning blacker by the moment, he plots a way to get back on top, for to him, that’s the only place he deserves to be. However, his best laid plans seemed to be thwarted by one of his former smart Alecky students, Zach.  In the past, Teddy has seen fit to deliver to these types of students their just desserts, with a nice finger up to the parents as well. Teddy feels the horror of these entitled rich people and in true sense of what he is deems himself, the arbiter of what constitutes the right kind of student. As Belmont Academy becomes known as Murder Inc High, Teddy shows the world what it means to be on top of the hill, and of course being Teacher of the Year does have its perks.

I have never gone wrong reading a Samantha Downing book. She is definitely one of my go to authors and always seems to deliver that sinister punch that takes one into “thrillerville”. Jan and I so loved the utter deviousness of this story that had us going “oh my” quite a lot. The characters, the plot all came together in a most compulsive read that was very hard to put down. (even had me carrying my book EVERYWHERE!)

If you are in the mood for a wonderfully done suspense thriller, do get this one, for you are soon to realize that you don’t ever want to go near Belmont Academy, where excellence is just a murder away!

and here’s the author:

Samantha Downing is the author of the bestselling My Lovely Wife, nominated for Edgar, ITW, Macavity, and CWA awards. Amazon Studios and Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films have partnered to produce a feature film based on the novel.

Her second book, He Started It, was released in 2020 and became an instant international bestseller. Her third thriller, For Your Own Good, will be released in the US on July 20, 2021.

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She currently lives and works in New Orleans.