The Teacher by Danielle Stewart
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 14th October 2023
Published: 20th October 2023
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
I‘m the perfect teacher. From the outside, you’d never know that I’m hiding a dark secret. And if anyone finds out, it’ll destroy everything…
I always wanted to teach. I imagined rosy-cheeked students bringing me apples, grading their homework with a cup of coffee, and making a real difference in their lives. Maybe even saving them. Because I never want anyone to go through what happened to me when I was a young girl…
My beloved son Bryson is even in my school now. He’s a model student and the answer to all my prayers. Having my baby at work with me every day is all I could wish for.
Except one day, my perfect world turns into a nightmare.
When my student Daisy comes to me with tears in her eyes, she tells me that my darling little boy did something unspeakable to her. I’ve worked so hard to raise him right—gentle, kind and caring. Nothing like the men that hurt me when I was young. I want to believe he’s innocent. But should I?
Then, the threatening messages start.
But they’re not just for Bryson. They’re for me too. Someone knows my secret. Is someone trying to ruin my son's life to make me pay for what happened? Or did he really do the horrible thing he’s accused of? Either way, I have a feeling I might not get out of this alive…
This addictive and gripping psychological thriller is perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, Lisa Jewell and The Girl on the Train.
MY THOUGHTS:
One dangerous accusation...one lession you'll never forget...
I am actually pleasantly surprised by this one. I don't know what I expected with this thriller but it was so much more than it was. There truly are so many twists coming from all angles that you don't know what to believe. Nicely played Ms Stewart.
We meet Elizabeth, a high school teacher who is not your average teacher. She goes the extra mile for her students because she knows what it's like to come from nothing, to have nothing and no one to look out for you. She's the teacher that students can have a laugh with, someone they can approach and confide in. Which is how Daisy comes to confess to something that Elizabeth is all too familiar with. She sees Daisy looking dishevelled and distressed one day during class and approaches her. After some prompting, Daisy reveals that she was assaulted at a party she attended after becoming intoxicated. Concerned for her student's welfare, Elizabeth tries her best to help. But then Daisy drops another bombshell. Her attacker was her own son, Bryson.
Elizabeth's world shatters as she tries to be present for both her son and Daisy but soon her credibility begins to crumble. Her care and concern borders inappropriate and she risks everything in her quest to be the person to her student she wished had been there for her at Daisy's age. But nothing will prepare Elizabeth for the hurricane that is about to be unleashed... and just how closely her past is tied to her present.
With her marriage at risk, her son suspended and her job on the line, Elizabeth goes down the rabbit hole in her quest for absolution.
Unfolding primarily through Elizabeth and Daisy's narratives, with the odd one from husband Rick, this fast paced thriller is a little far fetched in places but completely entertaining from start to finish. I honestly had no idea the direction it would take. And then comes the twist after twist after twist. And suddenly readers don't know what to believe. Is Elizabeth being gaslighted? Are we? What is true? And what is fiction?
A delightfully entertaining thriller that came together nicely with a satisfactory end. Trigger warnings of sexual assault and mental illness.
I would like to thank #DanielleStewart, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheTeacher in exchange for an honest review.
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